AN-049 Build guides · roundup
Bill of Materials Software, Compared (From Spreadsheets to PLM)
Bill of materials software for hardware startups, compared by stage: spreadsheets, CAD and EDA tools, part search, cloud PLM, MRP and enterprise PLM.
by the HardwareMap editors4 min read
Contents
Bill of materials software ranges from a free spreadsheet to enterprise PLM, and the right tool depends on how many people touch the BOM and who builds the product. This roundup sorts the options by stage, with what each one does and where it stops. It builds on our bill of materials example, whose CSV template imports into most of the tools below. No affiliate links.
How to choose bill of materials software
Four questions sort the field faster than a feature matrix.
- How many people edit the BOM? One engineer can keep a spreadsheet clean. Three cannot.
- Who builds the product? If a contract manufacturer buys and builds, you need control of the engineering BOM, not inventory. If you build in-house, you need MRP.
- Do you need change orders with approvals? Regulated products (medical, aerospace) usually do from day one.
- What CAD and EDA tools do you use? Integration with the tools your team already runs is worth more than any feature on a comparison page.
Spreadsheets and CAD or EDA exports
Every BOM starts here. Your design tools generate the raw list, and a spreadsheet adds sourcing and cost.
- KiCad is free and open source. Its schematic editor exports a BOM from symbol fields, so putting the manufacturer part number in a field on every symbol pays off later.
- Altium Designer has ActiveBOM, which ties each component to supply chain data and ranks part choices by availability, price and lifecycle state, with configurable BOM checks (ActiveBOM docs).
- SOLIDWORKS inserts BOM tables into drawings from the assembly, in top-level, parts-only or indented form, and exports them.
- Onshape builds a BOM table inside the assembly, in the browser, with no files to sync.
The weakness is the merge. Electronics and mechanical BOMs come from different tools and meet in a sheet, by hand.
Part search and sourcing tools
Before paying for any BOM software, use a free part search tool to price the list. Octopart, run by Altium, has a free BOM tool: upload a spreadsheet, and it matches each line to pricing, stock and lifecycle data from distributors, flagging active, not recommended for new designs, and end-of-life parts (Altium on the Octopart BOM tool). It does not manage revisions or changes. It tells you what your BOM costs and what is about to go obsolete.
Cloud bill of materials software and PLM for small teams
This is where most hardware startups land between pilot and production.
- OpenBOM is BOM-first: part catalog, multilevel BOMs, CAD add-ins, inventory and purchasing, with a REST API on every plan. It publishes prices: the Team plan lists at $30 per seat per month billed yearly, $55 monthlyest, with unlimited read-only users.
- Duro sells PLM aimed at hardware teams, with BOM and change management, CAD integrations including SOLIDWORKS, Onshape and Altium 365, and an API-first design. Pricing is by quote.
- Arena, a PTC business, is cloud PLM with an attached quality management system. It is common in medical device and electronics companies that need BOM, change and quality records in one place.
- Propel runs PLM, QMS and product information management on the Salesforce platform. A natural fit if your company already lives in Salesforce.
- Autodesk Fusion Manage is Autodesk's cloud PLM, with BOM, change, supplier and quality workflows. It pairs with Autodesk Fusion for teams already designing there.
Before signing, run a trial with your real BOM, not the demo data. Import the CSV, push one engineering change through to release, and export the result in the format your contract manufacturer asks for. If any of those three steps needs a support ticket, the tool will cost more in time than it saves.
What you are buying at this tier is change control: an engineering change order that updates the BOM, notifies the contract manufacturer and keeps history. That is what keeps the engineering BOM and the factory's manufacturing BOM in step.
Inventory and MRP software with bills of materials
If you hold stock and build in-house, MRP software uses the BOM to plan purchases and track what each build consumes.
- Katana is cloud inventory and manufacturing software with multilevel BOMs and manufacturing orders. It lists a free plan for up to 30 SKUs and a Core plan from $299 per monthest.
- MRPeasy is cloud MRP for small manufacturers, with multilevel, phantom and configurable BOMs tied to purchasing and production planning.
- Odoo Manufacturing models a BOM with components, operations bound to work centers, and by-products (Odoo docs). It is part of a wider open-source ERP.
Using a contract manufacturer? It runs this layer in its own ERP. See choosing a contract manufacturer for what data it will ask you for.
Enterprise PLM
Siemens Teamcenter and PTC Windchill run BOMs, CAD data and change for large manufacturers, including linked engineering and manufacturing BOMs. They are built for many products, many plants and heavy compliance. For a seed-stage team, the rollout time is the real cost. Revisit when your hardware startup costs include a team whose job is the BOM.
Continue with Bill of Materials Management: Process, Versions, and the Mistakes That Cost Builds.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best bill of materials software for a startup?
The one that matches your stage. Before a contract manufacturer is involved, a spreadsheet plus your CAD or EDA tool's BOM export is enough. Once several people edit the BOM and you need change orders with approvals, a cloud PLM built for small teams pays for itself. Enterprise PLM is rarely worth it before a company has several products in production.
Can I manage a BOM in Excel or Google Sheets?
Yes, for one product and a small team. Use one row per line, a level column, internal part numbers, manufacturer part numbers and a cost column tied to a quantity break. Add a revision field and a change log tab. Spreadsheets fail at concurrent edits, approvals and keeping several revisions live, which is when to move to dedicated software.
What is the difference between BOM software and PLM?
BOM software manages the parts list: items, structure, quantities, sources and cost. PLM, product lifecycle management, wraps that in change control, document and CAD file management, approvals, quality records and supplier collaboration. Most PLM tools include BOM management, and several BOM tools have grown into PLM. The difference is mostly how much process you need around the list.
Do I need inventory management software with bill of materials support?
Only if you hold stock and build in-house. MRP and inventory tools use the BOM to compute what to buy and what a build consumes. If a contract manufacturer buys parts and builds for you, it runs that in its own ERP, and you mainly need an engineering BOM you control. Many startups add MRP when they start kitting or assembling themselves.
Does SolidWorks have a bill of materials feature?
Yes. SOLIDWORKS can insert a BOM table into a drawing, generated from the assembly, and the table can show top-level parts only, parts only, or an indented structure. Those tables export to a spreadsheet. It is a useful starting point for a mechanical BOM, but it does not handle sourcing, cost or change control on its own.
HardwareMap lists the startups that outgrew their spreadsheets and shipped. Building one? Submit it and get a part number.
Building one?
Submit it to the index and get a part number. Every entry is reviewed by hand.