Bill of material

A bill of material is the recipe of a product: what one run makes, which raw materials it uses, the fixed costs and the by-products. It must be approved, and not locked, before a production order can use it. It moves no stock.

Accounting Production
4 min read
Updated October 20, 2026

For Production staff Owner or manager

On this page

What it holds
Make a bill of material
Approve and lock
Delete and copy
Common questions

What it holds

Open Bill of Material (menu Production Entries › Bill of Material, usual label). A BOM has a header and three lists:

Part	Fields
Header	Voucher No, Date, Cost center, Product (the finished product) and QTY (what one run of the recipe makes), Warehouse (where the finished product goes), Mechanic / Operator, Machine / Plant, Reference number
Raw material	Each Raw Material with its Warehouse (where it is taken from) and QTY for one run
Fixed cost	A Fixed cost title, a Ledger and the Amount for one run
By-product / Scrap	A By product, its Warehouse and QTY for one run

The quantities are for QTY of the finished product. When you produce a different quantity the journal scales them: a recipe for 100 that you run for 250 takes two and a half times the raw materials.

Worked example: a recipe for 100 cartons, run for 250

A biscuit maker's bill of material has Product Biscuit carton, QTY 100 and Warehouse Finished goods store:

List	Line	For 100 cartons (the BOM)	In a journal producing 250
Raw material	Flour, Raw material store	50 kg	125 kg
Raw material	Sugar, Raw material store	10 kg	25 kg
Raw material	Packing box, Raw material store	100	250
Fixed cost	Labour	2,000	5,000
Fixed cost	Electricity	1,000	2,500

Each line is multiplied by 250 ÷ 100 = 2.5. The fixed costs scale the same way as the raw materials, so write them for one run of the BOM's QTY, not for a day or a month. Saving the BOM moves nothing; the journal of 250 takes the raw materials out only when it is approved (Production journal: record production and approve it).

Make a bill of material

Choose Add
Who
Production manager
Where
Bill of Material > Add
What changes
Voucher No shows NEW: the number is given when you save. No Add button means no numbering series (Set up production).
Fill the header
What changes
Date, Cost center, the finished Product, its QTY and the destination Warehouse are required. Add the Machine / Plant and Mechanic / Operator if you use them: a machine can be added from the form (Machine / Plant, Manufacturer, Machine/Plant number).
Add the raw materials
What changes
On the Raw material tab choose a product, its warehouse and the quantity. Add a line for each.
Add fixed costs and by-products
What changes
On the Fixed cost tab choose the title (or add one with its Ledger) and the amount; on By-product / Scrap add what the run also produces.
Save
What changes
"Bill of material (number) saved successfully." The BOM is Unapproved.

Approve and lock

Approve: where approval is on for the BOM and you are an approver, Approve on its page marks it Approved: "BOM authorisation saved successfully." A new BOM saved by an approver is approved at once where your company's Entry control for production enables it.
Lock / Unlock: a locked BOM cannot be chosen for a new production order. Lock a recipe you have retired ("Do you want to lock BOM?"). Unlock to use it again.

A production order can only use a BOM that is Approved and not Locked (Production order).

Delete and copy

Delete is possible only while the BOM is not approved and not locked; otherwise it is refused. The button is not shown at all when your company has IRD switched on. Copy to new starts a new BOM with the same lines, for a similar recipe.

Common questions

The BOM is not offered on the production order.

It is not approved, or it is locked. Approve it, or unlock it (Production order).

There is no Approve button.

Approval is not switched on for the BOM, or you are not in its approver group (Set up production, Approvals for purchases and vouchers).

I changed the recipe. Do old journals change?

No. A journal keeps the quantities it was made with.