BOM Generator
Where: Estimation → BOM Generator (also under Company → BOM Generator for admins and purchase managers).
A Bill of Materials is a shopping list for whatever you're building. Hand the AI a drawing or a description and it writes that list — every part, quantity and cost — in seconds. Or build one deterministically from a spec form, free of AI credits.
📷 Screenshot spot — capture this screen and save it as static/img/screenshots/estimation-bom-generator.png, then replace this whole box with the single line:
Before you build: scope & tier
At the top of the Build a BOM card, set:
- Catalog scope — which products to match against (the public catalog and/or specific private catalogs).
- Budget tier — Low / Mid / Premium. Each tier matches genuinely different brands, not just different prices. Configure which brands count as which tier under Brand Tiers in the Photo Analyzer.
Three ways to build
| Tab | How it works | AI credits |
|---|---|---|
| Spec Form | Pick a panel template (Distribution Board, MCC, APFC, Lighting, Control, VFD, AMF), fill incomer/feeders/busbar/enclosure — the list is derived from the template. | Free |
| Describe | Type e.g. "630A LT distribution panel, 8 outgoing 63A MCCB feeders, IP54 floor-mounted, copper busbar, Schneider make" → Generate with AI. | Metered |
| Upload Drawing | Drop an SLD or panel layout drawing (JPG/PNG/WebP) → AI Generate — Claude reads the drawing's components. | Metered |
Use the single-line diagram or layout drawing here. A photo of a finished panel belongs in the Photo Analyzer.
Unmatched components become ₹0 placeholder lines — flagged, never silently dropped. An amber banner reminds you: "N items have no unit cost. The total below is understated — set prices before printing or quoting."
Pricing: Charges & Margin
Open a BOM and edit the Charges & Margin block: Labour, Fabrication, Wiring, Testing and Margin % on top of the (read-only) material cost. Grand Total = (material + charges) × (1 + margin%) — and these values flow straight into any quotation created from the BOM.
You can also let the AI suggest additional items for the chosen panel type (review the draft, then Add all), or use Auto Costing for a full traced estimate.
Approve, version, quote
- Approve marks the BOM ready for quotation & production — approved/locked BOMs are no longer editable in place.
- New Version clones it (v2, v3…) when a design changes.
- Create Quotation — pick a customer and a draft quotation is built from the BOM: material lines plus labour/fabrication/wiring/testing/margin lines, at 18% tax. You're routed to your quotations view with the new quote ready to review.
- Download BOM PDF exports the BOM as a landscape A4 PDF; the Print menu prints/emails via your templates.
Tips
- The Spec Form is free — use it whenever the panel fits a standard template, and save credits for the odd ones.
- Pick the budget tier before generating — it decides which products get pinned.
- Fix ₹0 lines before quoting; the missing-price guard will warn you at print/email time anyway.
- Every BOM you create also appears as a reusable design under Panel Templates.