Project Hardware - Bill of Materials (Review Quote stage)

Table of Contents

• Introduction

• Do Changes Made in the Review Quote Stage Affect the Design Page or Proposal?

• What Source Options Are Available?

• Can I add a new item to the BOM without affecting my Design Page or Proposal? 

• How Do I Save My BOM Changes?

• I’ve Made Changes to My Design, But the BOM in the Hardware Tab Isn’t Updating

Introduction

Once you’ve completed your system design and the customer has accepted the proposal, the next step is hardware procurement. The Review Quote stage in the Hardware tab helps you transition smoothly by pulling system data from the Design page and allowing you to build and manage your Bill of Materials (BOM) specifically for purchasing and inventory planning.

Do Changes Made in the Review Quote Stage Affect the Design Page or Proposal?

No. Any selections or adjustments made within the Hardware tab do not impact your Design page or the proposal provided to the customer.

The Hardware tab is intentionally designed as a safe space to:

• Explore alternative purchasing sources

• Compare pricing and availability

• Adjust sourcing decisions without altering the design logic or customer-facing pricing.

This allows your procurement process to remain flexible and responsive, even after the system design has been finalised.

What Source Options Are Available?

When configuring your BOM in the Hardware tab, you can assign a price source to each component. These sources determine how the system interprets the ordering path for that item.

Here are the available source types and their explanation:

• Distributor – Available only if:

  • Your organisation is based in Australia, the United Kingdom, or the United States

  • At least one distributor is enabled

  • The selected distributor offers the component

• Exclude from Order

  • Default selection when a component uses Manual Pricing in the Design tab

  • This option signals the system to exclude the item from procurement

• Stock on Hand

  • Use this if you already have the item available in your inventory

  • Indicates that no order will be placed for this component via OpenSolar

• Order from a 3rd Party

  • Select this if you intend to procure the item from a non-OpenSolar partner distributor

  • Helps clarify that ordering will be handled externally, not through the platform

Can I add a new item to the BOM without affecting my Design Page or Proposal? 

Yes, you can. Adding a new item to the Bill of Materials (BOM) will not affect your Design Page or customer Proposal.

To add an item:

• Click the “Add Item” button located at the bottom-left corner of the BOM.

• You can search for a component using its OpenSolar component code.

• If you don’t have the code handy, click the “Browse” button instead. From there, you can:

  • Select a category of components

  • Use the component selector to find and add the item you need

If you accidentally select the wrong component, simply hover over the item and click the delete icon to remove it.

How Do I Save My BOM Changes?

There are two ways to save updates made to your Bill of Materials (BOM):

1. Click the “Save BOM” button

   • It is located at the bottom-right corner of the BOM table. This immediately saves any edits you've made.

2. Proceed to Checkout

   • Selecting the “Proceed to Checkout” button will also save your current BOM configuration as part of the ordering process.

It's recommended to use the “Save BOM” button frequently during editing to avoid losing changes.

I’ve Made Changes to My Design, But the BOM in the Hardware Tab Isn’t Updating

This usually occurs when the BOM has previously been saved in the Hardware tab. Once saved, the BOM becomes independent from your Design tab and won’t auto-update with changes made to the system design.

To refresh the BOM with your latest Design configuration:

1. Click the “Sync from Design” button in the Hardware tab located at the top right corner of the table.

2. Wait for the sync to complete.

3. Once updated, don’t forget to save the BOM again to retain the synced changes.