How to Bulk Import Bill of Materials?

Each manufactured variant must have a Bill of Materials (BOM). If you have several manufactured variants that you need to create BOM for, it may be quicker to bulk import them. CSV into QuickBooks Commerce.

 

Things to take note 📝

There are some prerequisites for using the Bill of Materials Importer.

• .CSV template has all the mandatory columns
• End manufactured product (i.e., finished product) SKUs are not repeated
• components (i.e.raw materials) SKUs are not repeated within the same BOM
• Input values for the ‘Cost per item’ and ‘Quantity’ column has to be numerical
• SKUs must exist in your inventory
• End manufactured product SKUs must belong to a Manufacturable type and not a Purchasable type

 

Bill of Materials Importer

From your main navigation bar on the left, click on the Manufacturing tab and navigate the Bill of Materials tab. On the top right of the screen, select ‘Import Bill of Materials’ from the Bulk Manage dropdown menu.

You will be redirected to a new screen called the Bill of Materials Importer.

 

Generating your BOMs in a .CSV file

Step 1 of 5

Click on the ‘Generate CSV template’ button, then transform it into a ‘Download CSV template. Click on it again, and your download should begin.

The downloaded file will be auto-saved under the name ‘Bill of Materials Template’.

 

Step 2 of 5

BOM components such as manufactured and purchased variants must already exist in your inventory before they can be used in building your Bill of Materials.

Fill out the BOM details (see below for an explanation of each header) in your Bill of Materials template.

Here’s an example of how your template should look:

Jump ahead to Step 2 on the screen (shown above) and click on ‘Generate/Download SKU Cheatsheet,’ which will allow you to quickly refer to a full list of SKUs in your QuickBooks Commerce inventory. Then, copy and paste the SKU codes from the cheatsheet into your BOMs template.

Below is an example of how your cheatsheet – 'Bills of Materials Cheatsheet' would look:

 

Step 3 of 5

 Now, you are ready to start importing your BOMs. Upload the updated .CSV file and click ‘Continue’.

The import process begins:

 

Step 4 of 5

Next, you will be asked to confirm that your information is accurate. Proceed to click on the ‘This is Correct’ button.

However, if there are any errors in your template, you will see a screen (as shown below). Some typical errors include the SKUs not existing or BOMs already existing for a finished product.

Click on ‘Download Spreadsheet with Errors’, which will have a column explaining the errors that occurred.

*Columns and rows were hidden to illustrate this example. Always leave all columns intact in the CSV. file.

Next, amend all the flagged errors accordingly and click on ‘re-upload the corrected spreadsheet’ to continue the import process.

 

Step 5 of 5

Finally, a summary page will load, displaying the successful completion of importing BOMs. 🎉

 

Understanding the BOMs template format

Once you have downloaded the template, you need to fill out some required fields whilst others are optional. 

The table below gives an extensive overview of what is column header means.

Column #	Column Name	What is it for?	Info about:
A (required)	Manufactured Variant SKU	SKU of the manufactured variant to be produced (e.g., finished product)	End manufactured product
B (required)	BOM Reference Number	A unique serial number to identify the BOM	BOM information
C (optional)	Default Stock Location	The location where this product is usually stored once the production is completed	End manufactured product
D (optional)	Default Assignee Name	The person who usually manages the production for this product	BOM information
E (required)	Yield Quantity	Quantity produced at the end of production from the components	End manufactured product
F (required)	Type	The type for the line item that goes into the production of the product. ‘Component’ for variants that exist in your inventory or ‘Other Costs’ for all other costs that might be incurred during the production of the product. E.g., Assemble Cost, Packaging Cost, Electric Overhead, etc.	–
G (required only for the SKU)	Component variant SKU	List all the components by SKUs. You may also include all other costs that are involved in producing the manufactured variants. E.g., Assemble Cost, Packaging Cost, Electric Overhead, etc. But since they do not have SKUs, leave these cells blank.	The material used in production
H (required)	Item Name	List the name of all the components. For component SKUs, use the same name as the variant name. However, for the free form components, use the names that make sense in your bill of materials. Some examples are Assembly Cost, Packaging Cost, Electric Overhead, Water Cost, etc.	The material used in production
I (required)	Quantity	The total quantity consumed (including wastage) of each material used in production.	The material used in production
J (required - only for SKUs. Not required for the freeform component)	Wastage Quantity	The quantity that is usually wasted for each material. Leave blank for 'Other Costs' (e.g., Assembly Cost)	The material used in production
K (required - for other costs)	Cost per Item	The additional cost incurred from activities such as assembling or packaging that you would like to include as part of the total cost goes into the production of the manufactured product.	The cost incurred in manufacturing
L (optional)	Ledger Account Code	The chart of accounts will be credited by the free form component costs (e.g., assembly costs). Ledger accounts are only for the free form components costs (e.g., assembly costs). These do not have SKUs.	The material used in production
M (optional)	Notes	Instructions or Memo that you may want to include for the Bills of Materials such as 'Handle with care.'	BOM information