Stop wrestling with Excel sheets and legacy PLM software. OnlineBOM is the modern Bill of Materials management tool built for engineering teams, startups, and small manufacturers who need speed, clarity, and control. The best OpenBOM alternative for teams that want simplicity without sacrificing power.
Learn
Everything you need to know about BOM management in engineering and manufacturing.
A Bill of Materials (BOM) is a comprehensive list of all raw materials, components, sub-assemblies, and parts required to manufacture a product. It acts as the single source of truth for engineering teams, procurement departments, and manufacturing operations — defining exactly what goes into building each product.
In engineering, a BOM is typically structured as a multi-level BOM (also called an indented BOM or hierarchical BOM), where parent assemblies contain child components, which may themselves contain sub-components. This tree structure represents the complete product hierarchy and is essential for accurate cost rollups, procurement planning, and manufacturing execution.
The most common types include the Engineering Bill of Materials (EBOM), which captures the product as designed by engineering; the Manufacturing Bill of Materials (MBOM), which reflects how the product is actually assembled on the shop floor; and the Service BOM, used for spare parts and field maintenance. OnlineBOM focuses on EBOM management — the foundation that feeds all downstream BOMs and processes.
Most startups and small manufacturers start with Excel spreadsheets for BOM tracking. While spreadsheets work initially, they quickly break down as products grow in complexity: version conflicts multiply, cost rollups become error-prone, change tracking disappears, and collaboration becomes impossible. Enterprise PLM systems solve these problems but are expensive, complex, and designed for Fortune 500 companies.
OnlineBOM bridges this gap — providing professional-grade BOM management software that's simple enough for a 3-person startup but powerful enough for a 50-person engineering team. With features like BOM versioning, release workflows, Excel import/export, PDF reports, and role-based access control, OnlineBOM replaces spreadsheets without the complexity of traditional PLM.
Compare
See how OnlineBOM compares to Excel spreadsheets, enterprise PLM systems, and other BOM tools like OpenBOM.
| Feature | Excel Spreadsheets | Enterprise PLM | OnlineBOM |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multi-level BOM Trees | Manual / Error-prone | ✓ | ✓ Unlimited depth |
| BOM Version Control | File copies | ✓ | ✓ Built-in versioning |
| Cost Rollup | Manual formulas | ✓ | ✓ Automatic |
| Release Workflow | ✗ | ✓ Complex | ✓ Simple 3-stage |
| Team Collaboration | File sharing | ✓ | ✓ Real-time |
| Excel & PDF Export | Native | ✓ | ✓ One-click export |
| Setup Time | Minutes | Weeks / Months | Minutes |
| Price | Included | $$$ / seat / month | Early Access |
How It Works
Get from spreadsheet chaos to organized Bill of Materials in under an hour. No training, no consultants, no setup fees.
Import parts from Excel or create them manually. Add custom fields, categories, drawings, and supplier info — all in one place.
Drag-and-drop components into a visual tree. Version your BOMs, compare changes, and track cost rollups automatically.
Export to Excel or PDF, run release workflows with approval gates, and keep a full audit trail of every change.
Features
Built by engineers, for engineers. Every feature exists because someone needed it.
Centralized database for all parts with categories, types, and status lifecycle.
Configurable prefix, digits, and separator for auto-generated part numbers.
Every change creates a revision snapshot. Never lose track of what changed and when.
Attach engineering drawings with file upload to S3 — view and download anytime.
Link substitute parts for procurement flexibility and supply chain resilience.
Add Text, Number, Date, Boolean, Dropdown, or URL fields — tailored to your workflow.
Bulk import parts from Excel templates. Export your entire parts database in one click.
Instantly see every BOM that uses a specific part — critical for change impact analysis.
Build parent-child hierarchies with unlimited nesting depth. Visualize your entire product.
V1, V2, V3… — create new versions without losing history. Clone from existing versions.
Rearrange components visually. Move parts between parent assemblies effortlessly.
Duplicate an entire BOM with one click — perfect for product variants.
Toggle between indented tree view and flat summary with summed quantities.
Compare any two versions side-by-side to see what was added, removed, or changed.
Automatic cost calculations rolled up from child parts through the entire BOM hierarchy.
Add item numbers and reference designators (R1, C3) for assembly documentation.
Draft → Under Review → Released. Lock versions, request approvals, and track release status.
Admin, Engineer, Procurement, Viewer — each role sees and does exactly what they should.
Invite team members via email with assigned roles. One-click onboarding.
Discuss parts and BOMs with threaded comments. Keep context where it belongs.
Get notified when parts are modified, BOMs are released, or someone replies to your comment.
Every create, update, delete, and status change is logged with user, timestamp, and diff.
Export BOMs with full hierarchy indentation — ready for manufacturing or procurement.
Export unique parts with summed quantities across the entire BOM — ideal for purchasing.
Generate professional, print-ready BOM reports with company branding and full details.
Download ready-made Excel templates with column headers — fill in and import.
Each company gets its own isolated workspace. Switch between companies seamlessly.
Track orphaned parts, missing data, and overall data quality at a glance.
Search across parts, BOMs, and descriptions from anywhere in the application.
All files stored in AWS S3 with presigned URLs — secure, fast, and reliable.
What Teams Say
“We moved from a 47-tab Excel monster to OnlineBOM in a weekend. Our engineers finally stopped fighting over file versions.”
“The release workflow alone saved us from shipping wrong BOMs to our manufacturer twice a month. Worth every minute of setup.”
“Simple enough for our 3-person team, but powerful enough that we haven't outgrown it at 25 team members.”
Early Access
We're onboarding founding teams one at a time. Tell us about your use case and we'll get you set up personally.
Full feature set · Priority support
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