The short version
- • A bill of materials lists each material and quantity in a batch, plus how many units the batch makes.
- • Use the units you actually measure in, and record your real yield — not your best batch.
- • Version your BOMs when a formula changes, so old costs and new costs don’t get mixed up.
What a bill of materials is
A bill of materials (BOM) is the list of everything that goes into making a product: each material, the quantity per batch, and the number of units the batch makes. In soap, candles, bath and body and food, it’s usually called a recipe or formula. Same thing.
What goes in a good one
- Each ingredient or component — wax, fragrance, wick, jar, lid, label.
- Quantity per batch, in the unit you measure in (ounces, grams, pounds, pieces).
- Yield — how many sellable units a batch makes.
- Packaging that ships with the product.
- Labor — the hands-on time a batch takes.
- Version — a number or date, so you know which formula a batch used.
A simple example
| Material | Per batch | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Soy wax | 20 | lb |
| Fragrance oil | 12 | fl oz |
| Wicks | 100 | each |
| 8 oz jars with lids | 100 | each |
| Labels | 100 | each |
| Yield | 100 made · about 92 sellable | candles |
Units of measure
You buy fragrance by the pound and use it by the ounce; you buy jars by the case and use them one at a time. A BOM should use the unit you measure in at the bench, and your inventory needs to know how that converts from the unit you buy in. Mixing them up is one of the most common costing errors.
Single-level and multi-level BOMs
A single-level BOM lists raw materials only. A multi-level BOM includes things you make yourself — a gift set built from finished bars of soap and a dish, or a candle that uses a fragrance blend you mix in-house. Each level gets its own recipe, and the parent’s cost rolls up from its children.
Versions: when the formula changes
Change a fragrance load or switch wax suppliers and the cost changes too. Save it as a new version rather than editing the old one, so you can see what the change did to your cost and which batches used which formula.
How a BOM drives everything else
- Costing — material quantities × what you paid gives the batch’s material cost.
- Purchasing — planned batches × BOM tells you what to order.
- Production — completing a batch uses up exactly the BOM’s materials.
- Inventory — finished goods go in, materials come out, and stock stays right.
Recipes in GodKey MFG
GodKey MFG recipes hold ingredients, quantities, yield and versions, and a recipe can use finished goods as ingredients for gift sets and kits. Each recipe shows what a batch should cost at today’s prices — and if an ingredient has no cost yet, it says so and names it instead of showing a number that’s too low. See recipes and product costing.
Questions
What is a bill of materials?
A list of every material and quantity that goes into one batch of a product, plus how many units the batch makes. Makers often call it a recipe or formula.
What is the difference between a BOM and a recipe?
Nothing important — “recipe” and “formula” are what soap, candle, cosmetics and food makers usually call a bill of materials.
What is a multi-level bill of materials?
One where a component is something you make yourself, like finished soap bars inside a gift set. The parent’s cost rolls up from each level.
Do I need software for a bill of materials?
A spreadsheet works for a few products. Software helps once BOMs need to stay connected to live material prices, inventory and production — so costs update themselves.