Engineering
Approve, clone and version a BOM
Move a bill of materials from draft to active, change a recipe safely by cloning a new version, and read the BOM detail page.
3 min readLast updated
In this article
Approval is the point where a recipe becomes the one production uses. A draft BOM can be changed freely. An approved BOM is locked, so every work order made from it uses the same definition. To change an approved recipe, you clone it into a new version.
BOM statuses
Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
Draft | Being prepared. You can edit or delete it. It cannot be used by work orders or production plans. |
Active | Approved and in use. It cannot be edited or deleted. |
Obsolete | Replaced by a newer approved version of the same product. |
Only one BOM per product is active at a time. When you approve a new version, the version that was active before becomes obsolete.
Approve a BOM
Open Manufacturing › Engineering › Bills of Materials.
On the draft's row, open the actions menu and select Approve.
Confirm the message Approve this BOM? Approved BOMs cannot be edited.
The status changes to Active. The approver's name and the approval date are recorded on the BOM. You need the BOM approval permission to see Approve.
Change an approved recipe
On the active BOM's row, select Clone.
The system creates a new draft with a new version number and opens it for editing.
Change the components, quantities or by-products, then select Save.
Approve the new draft when it is ready. The old version becomes obsolete.
Work orders that were created from the old version keep their own copy of the materials, so they are not affected.
Edit or delete a draft
On a draft's row, or on its detail page, select Edit BOM or Delete BOM. These actions are greyed out for any other status, with the hint Only draft BOMs can be edited or deleted.
The BOM detail page
Click a row to open its detail page.
The details card shows the item, version, type, base quantity, output unit, yield, effective and expiry dates, who approved it, the number of components and the total cost.
Components lists each Component, its Quantity and Unit, the Component type, Scrap %, whether it is Critical and its Cost.
By-products lists the expected secondary outputs.
The cost shown here uses the components' current cost. It is a guide for planning. The real cost of a batch is known only when its work order is completed.
Common questions
Why can't I pick my BOM on the work order form? The form lists approved BOMs only. When none is approved it tells you how many drafts are waiting, for example No approved BOM yet. 1 draft is awaiting approval in Manufacturing → BOMs before creating a work order.
Why is my product missing from the production plan form? Plans list only products with an approved BOM. Approve the draft first.