Bill of materials example: a complete, costed BOM you can copy
Here’s a full bill of materials example for a 48-inch steel bench with a white-oak seat: every part, how many go on one bench, the unit, the scrap and the cost, rolling up to $152.87 of material. Below it you’ll find the same bench as a multi-level BOM, plus two more from a cabinet shop and a hot sauce kitchen.
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The full BOM is right below. No signup to read it.
In TrackFinch, the same BOM tells you how many you can build from what’s on the shelf.
The full BOM for one bench, line by line
This is a sample bill of materials for one 48-inch bench: the bench itself, then the welded frame that goes into it, which has a BOM of its own. Both are real tables: copy either one as CSV, or select it and paste it into a spreadsheet.
Line cost
qty × (1 + scrap) × unit cost
The oak: 12 ft × 1.10 × $4.10 = $54.12
| Part # | Component | Type | Qty | Unit | Scrap | Unit cost | Line cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SA-210 | Frame weldment (its own BOM, below) | sub-assembly | 1 | ea | 0% | $51.23 | $51.23 |
| SV-601 | Powder coat, black (outside vendor) | service | 1 | ea | 0% | $38.00 | $38.00 |
| RM-310 | White oak 5/4 × 6 in, surfaced | raw | 12 | ft | 10% | $4.10 | $54.12 |
| CN-501 | Exterior wood oil | consumable | 0.12 | qt | 0% | $26.00 | $3.12 |
| PP-401 | Carriage bolt 5/16 × 2-1/2 in, zinc | purchased | 6 | ea | 0% | $0.38 | $2.28 |
| PP-402 | Flange nut 5/16 in | purchased | 6 | ea | 0% | $0.12 | $0.72 |
| PP-410 | Rubber foot, 2 in | purchased | 4 | ea | 0% | $0.85 | $3.40 |
| Material per bench | $152.87 | ||||||
Tap or hover a marked row to see why it’s on the BOM.
| Part # | Component | Type | Qty | Unit | Scrap | Unit cost | Line cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RM-110 | Square tube 1-1/2 in, 14 ga | raw | 18 | ft | 5% | $2.35 | $44.42 |
| RM-120 | Flat bar 1-1/2 × 3/16 in (seat tabs) | raw | 1.5 | ft | 0% | $1.90 | $2.85 |
| CN-140 | MIG wire ER70S-6, .030 | consumable | 0.4 | lb | 0% | $3.20 | $1.28 |
| CN-150 | Shielding gas, 75/25 | consumable | 12 | cu ft | 0% | $0.09 | $1.08 |
| CN-160 | Flap disc, 60 grit | consumable | 0.25 | ea | 0% | $6.40 | $1.60 |
| Material per frame | $51.23 | ||||||
Tap or hover a marked row to see why it’s on the BOM.
This bill of materials example uses sample prices and sample part numbers, so swap in your own. Material only, so labor and overhead are not on these lines.
What makes this a BOM you can build from
There’s no official bill of materials format you have to follow. A BOM you can build from keeps six rules, and they hold whether you make benches, cabinets or sauce.
A part number on every line
If you pay for it, it gets a number. That includes the powder coat a vendor does for you, so it can go on a PO and get a price next to the steel. A line with no number is a line nobody orders.
SV-601 · Powder coat · $38.00
Quantities for one finished unit
Write what goes into one bench, never what a batch uses. Then any run is multiplication: 25 benches is every line times 25, and nobody has to remember how big last month’s batch was.
6 bolts × 25 = 150
A unit on every line, the one you use
You buy tube in 20-foot sticks but the frame uses it by the foot, so the line says 18 ft. Turn feet into sticks when you buy, not on the BOM.
25 frames · 472.5 ft with scrap · 24 sticks
A scrap % for what never makes the product
The saw and the knots take their share, so you buy more than ends up in the bench. Put it on the line as a percent and the cost and the order both cover it.
Oak 10% · Tube 5%
Consumables get lines too
Wire, gas, the flap disc and the oil are $7.08 of every bench. Most first BOMs leave them off because nobody counts wire one bench at a time. Estimate it once, write it as a decimal, done.
wire $1.28 + gas $1.08 + disc $1.60 + oil $3.12 = $7.08
The total is materials only
$152.87 is what the parts cost, not what the bench costs you to make. Labor and overhead sit on top of it, and your margin sits on top of that.
$152.87 + labor + overhead
That’s the whole BOM format. Every line carries a part number, a quantity for one unit, a unit, a scrap % and a cost, consumables included, and the total stays materials only. Keep the six rules and the BOM can answer the next question too: can you build 25 with what’s on the shelf?
The same bench as a multi-level BOM
A single-level BOM lists what goes into one product, one layer deep. A multi-level (or indented) BOM lets a line be a part with its own BOM, so you see parts inside parts, each level indented under the one that uses it.
In this bill of materials example, the frame gets its own BOM because you weld frames in a batch ahead, stock them and cost them on their own. The bench doesn’t care how a frame gets made. It lists SA-210 as one line at $51.23.
- 0BN-48 Bench, 48 insteel frame, white-oak seatfinished productfinished product25 benches
- 1SA-210 Frame weldmentsub-assembly, its own BOM1 ea / bench1 ea / bench25 frames
- 2RM-110 Square tube1-1/2 in, 14 ga18 ft / frame18 ft / frame450 ft472.5 ft with 5% scrapOrder 24 sticks of 20 ft
- 2RM-120 Flat bar1-1/2 × 3/16 in, seat tabs1.5 ft / frame1.5 ft / frame37.5 ft
- 2CN-140 MIG wireER70S-6, .0300.4 lb / frame0.4 lb / frame10 lb
- 2CN-150 Shielding gas75/2512 cu ft / frame12 cu ft / frame300 cu ft
- 2CN-160 Flap disc60 grit0.25 ea / frame0.25 ea / frame6.25 ea
- 1SV-601 Powder coatblack, outside vendor1 ea / bench1 ea / bench25 ea
- 1RM-310 White oak5/4 × 6 in, surfaced12 ft / bench12 ft / bench300 ft330 ft with 10% scrap
- 1CN-501 Wood oilexterior0.12 qt / bench0.12 qt / bench3 qt
- 1PP-401 Carriage bolt5/16 × 2-1/2 in, zinc6 ea / bench6 ea / bench150 ea
- 1PP-402 Flange nut5/16 in6 ea / bench6 ea / bench150 ea
- 1PP-410 Rubber foot2 in4 ea / bench4 ea / bench100 ea
Sample part numbers and sample prices.
Here’s why the extra level earns its keep. Change the frame, say to a heavier tube, and you change one BOM. Every product that uses SA-210 picks it up, because they all point at the same frame.
In a spreadsheet, that’s every copy you pasted it into. The one you miss is the one that gets quoted.
BOM examples from a cabinet shop and a hot sauce kitchen
Not building benches? Here are two from very different floors: a 24-inch base cabinet and a 5 oz bottle of habanero sauce. The units change. The columns don't.
Cabinet shop
B24 · Base cabinet, 24 inper 1 cabinet
| Part # | Component | Qty | Unit | Scrap | Unit cost | Line cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RM-701 | Maple plywood 3/4 in, 4 × 8 | 0.6 | sheet | 15% | $92.00 | $63.48 |
| RM-702 | Plywood back 1/4 in, 4 × 8 | 0.25 | sheet | 10% | $38.00 | $10.45 |
| RM-710 | Edge banding, maple 3/4 in | 22 | ft | 5% | $0.18 | $4.16 |
| PP-720 | Concealed hinge, soft-close | 2 | ea | 0% | $4.60 | $9.20 |
| PP-721 | Drawer slide pair, 21 in | 1 | pair | 0% | $14.50 | $14.50 |
| PP-722 | Shelf pin | 4 | ea | 0% | $0.06 | $0.24 |
| CN-730 | Pre-cat lacquer | 0.08 | gal | 0% | $62.00 | $4.96 |
| Material per cabinet | $106.99 | |||||
What's different here
You buy ply by the sheet but a cabinet uses part of one, so the line says 0.6 sheet. Offcuts eat about 15% of a sheet: 0.6 × 1.15 × $92.00 = $63.48. Edge banding goes by the foot, 22 ft per cabinet. Hinges, slides and shelf pins are counted.
Hot sauce kitchen
HS-5 · Habanero hot sauce, 5 oz bottleper 1 bottle
| Part # | Component | Qty | Unit | Scrap | Unit cost | Line cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SA-850 | Habanero sauce, batch (its own BOM, made by the gallon) | 0.039 | gal | 4% | $14.20 | $0.58 |
| PK-860 | Woozy bottle, 5 oz | 1 | ea | 0% | $0.42 | $0.42 |
| PK-861 | Cap with orifice reducer | 1 | ea | 0% | $0.09 | $0.09 |
| PK-862 | Front label | 1 | ea | 0% | $0.11 | $0.11 |
| PK-863 | Shrink band | 1 | ea | 0% | $0.03 | $0.03 |
| PK-870 | Shipper carton, 12 bottles | 0.0833 | ea | 0% | $0.96 | $0.08 |
| Material per bottle | $1.31 | |||||
What's different here
The sauce is its own item with its own BOM, cooked by the gallon, like the bench frame. Each bottle takes 0.039 gal, plus 4% lost in the filler. Packaging is counted per bottle, down to a twelfth of a shipper carton (0.0833 ea).
Same seven columns, whatever you make. A sheet, a foot, a gallon or a twelfth of a carton is still just a quantity and a unit on one line, and decimals are fine on any line, in a spreadsheet or in TrackFinch. A pendant works the same way: grams of sterling sheet with a scrap % for filings, one stone and centimetres of chain, which is how TrackFinch works out what each jewelry design costs to make.
Sample prices and sample part numbers. Material only, so labor and overhead are not on these lines.
How to write your first BOM this afternoon
You don't need software for this part. Block out a few hours and keep the bill of materials example above open beside you. Start from our free BOM template so the columns are already set up, and work through these in order with one product.
Walk the build in order, at the bench
Start at the first cut and finish with the unit on the cart. Write down everything you pick up, in the order you pick it up.
One line per thing it uses up
If it leaves the shelf for this build, it gets a line. The bolts, yes. The spool of wire you dip into, yes.
Count for one finished unit
Count what one bench takes, not what the last batch did: 18 ft of tube, 6 bolts, 4 feet.
Write the unit next to every count
0.4 lb, 18 ft, 6 ea. A bare number gets ordered in the wrong unit sooner or later.
Take scrap from your last few jobs
Compare what you bought with what went into the units you shipped. The gap, as a percent, is your scrap. Don't guess it from memory.
Price from your last invoices, and date it
Use what you actually paid, not a catalog price. Write the date at the top so you know when the prices went stale.
Anything built ahead gets its own sheet
You weld frames in batches before any bench gets a seat, so the frame gets its own BOM. The bench lists it as one line: SA-210, 1 ea.
The same bench, in TrackFinch
Put this BOM in TrackFinch and ask it: can we build 25?
Bring your parts list in from a CSV: SKU, name, type, unit, reorder point and unit cost. Those parts become your stock, counted by rack and bin in TrackFinch's inventory software, free for the whole shop. Then build each BOM in the editor, one pick per line: the part, the quantity per unit and the scrap %. For this bench that's 7 lines, and 5 for the frame, the same lines you just wrote in the spreadsheet (BOM lines aren't imported from one; you pick them). Add the routing too: the steps and minutes to make it, setup once plus run minutes per part. Then take an order for 25 benches and open Planning.
Can you build 25?
The BOMs screen shows on hand next to every line, short lines in red, and how many you can build right now. Put an order for 25 benches in and Planning explodes it: it works down through the frame's own BOM to the tube and lists every shortage. Plan WO means plan a work order to make it (the bench, the frames). Draft PO means draft a purchase order to buy it (tube, oak, hardware, powder coat). Your crew ticks its steps off on the shop floor screen on their phones, and when the work order is finished the parts come out of stock.
A frame change has to reach every product
The frame is one BOM that every product points at. Change SA-210 once and Planning works every order through the new version. The frame's page lists every BOM that uses it, under Where used, so you know what you just touched.
Steel goes up
Receive the tube at the new price and its cost moves: the new sticks are averaged with what's already on the shelf. The frame's BOM costs every line at that part's own cost, so it shows what a frame costs now. Put that on SA-210 and the frame's price is one number on one item, picked up by every product that uses the frame, instead of a fix in every copy of a sheet.
Built for a shop your size: a few products and a few dozen parts, which is exactly what you just wrote down. Each cost has its job: the BOMs screen shows what the parts cost at the BOM quantities, and quotes add each line's scrap % when they price a job. More on how TrackFinch handles BOMs.
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Bill of materials questions
Short answers to what usually comes up after the first BOM is written.
What goes on a bill of materials?
Every physical thing that ends up in the product or gets used up making it. That covers raw stock, bought parts, sub-assemblies, outside services like powder coat, and consumables such as wire, gas and finish, each with a quantity, a unit and a cost.
What is the difference between a single-level and a multi-level BOM?
A single-level BOM stops at the parts that go straight into the product, so a sub-assembly shows up as one line. A multi-level BOM, also called an indented BOM, opens that line up and shows what sits underneath, level by level. Our guide to what a bill of materials is walks through both types.
Should a BOM be per unit or per batch?
Per unit, nearly always: one bench, one cabinet, one bottle. Quantities written for one scale cleanly to an order of any size. The exception is something you cook or mix in bulk, like sauce made by the gallon, which gets its own BOM for one gallon and feeds the bottle as a line.
Do labor and overhead go on a BOM?
No, the BOM holds material only. Labor goes on the routing as setup and run minutes at each station, priced at that station’s hourly rate, so set the rate high enough to carry your overhead. That’s how TrackFinch’s quoting software for manufacturing prices a job: material with scrap, plus routing time, then your % on top of that cost.
What is the difference between an EBOM and an MBOM?
An engineering BOM (EBOM) is what the design calls for, part by part, as drawn. A manufacturing BOM (MBOM) is what the floor actually uses to build it, including consumables, scrap and how parts are staged, and a small shop usually needs only that one.
Is there a free BOM template?
Yes, and you don’t need to sign up for anything to use it. Grab our free bill of materials template and fill it in for one product before you touch the rest.
Your first BOM, and the answer to “can we build it?”
Free for the whole team, every module. Put the bench in, or your own product, and see how many you can build from the shelf.
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