Bill of Materials Examples: Real Costed BOMs for Small-Batch Manufacturers
Real bill of materials examples with full costings: soap, candles, hot sauce, and single-level vs multi-level BOM tables, plus a free template to download.
Here’s a question a lot of product businesses don’t ask until it’s too late: what does it actually cost to make your product?
Not a rough guess. Not “materials plus a bit for my time.” The real number, with every ingredient, every component and every minute of labour added up correctly.
A bill of materials is how you get that number. It’s the foundation of honest pricing, and without one you’re setting prices in the dark.
This article shows fully costed BOM examples across several product types, then walks through single-level versus multi-level structures so you can see how the shape changes as products get more complex. If you want the underlying concepts first, start with our guide to what a bill of materials is and how to build one.
What a BOM looks like
A bill of materials is a document listing every raw material and component needed to make a single batch of your product.
Think of it as a recipe for your manufacturing process. It records exactly what goes in, how much of each input, what each costs, and how long the run takes.
For a small operation a BOM does something specific and valuable: it replaces guesswork with numbers. Once every input and its cost sit in one place, pricing stops feeling like a gamble.
The parts of a BOM
The structure is simpler than the name suggests: a list of materials, with quantities, costs and notes.
The four essentials
Almost every BOM includes these four things:
- The name of the raw material, plus a SKU if you have one
- The quantity required
- The unit cost
- The labour cost
Production notes
You can store production notes alongside each BOM, which helps when you’re documenting a process for someone else on the team, or for a version of yourself who has forgotten the exact method.
Units of measurement
Quantity and unit cost should both use whatever unit fits your process.
Products assembled from distinct parts usually work in “each.” Products needing measured ingredients run in ounces, grams or millilitres. Consistency is what matters. If a recipe mixes grams and millilitres, with oils by weight and water by volume, our grams to mL converter will standardise them before those quantities reach your BOM.
A single line item for lye in a 100-bar soap batch looks like this:
| SKU | Material | Unit Cost | Quantity | Total Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 674-122 | Lye | $0.05/oz | 400 oz | $20.00 |
Labour and costings
Your BOM should carry the assembly labour cost too.
Labour time isn’t usually part of your cost of goods sold or inventory valuation, but including it gives a truer picture of total cost per unit, and that’s the figure you need to set a price you can live with. The full production cost is often called COGM, or cost of goods manufactured, which sits slightly apart from COGS.
Packaging
Strictly, packaging isn’t part of the product, so it doesn’t always appear in a standard BOM. For a small operation, where boxes, bottles and labels represent a real cost per unit, adding them as separate line items makes sense for pricing. Be consistent about it: include packaging in some BOMs and not others and your cost comparisons stop meaning anything.
Bill of materials examples
Now the practical part.
A simple three-part BOM
Start here if BOMs are new to you. This generic example shows the basic structure for a product built from three parts.
Product: Widget
| SKU | Material | Unit Cost | Quantity | Total Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Part A | $2.00 | 1 | $2.00 |
| B | Part B | $3.00 | 2 | $6.00 |
| C | Part C | $4.00 | 1 | $4.00 |
| Labour | $15.00 | 1 | $15.00 | |
| Total | $27.00 |
Every material is listed, quantities and costs are explicit, labour is included. Scaling that pattern up to a real product is mostly a matter of adding rows.
Soap production BOM example
Soap suits BOMs well because ingredient quantities matter enormously, lye calculations above all. A BOM keeps batches consistent and stops you forgetting a cost when you set the price.
A typical cold process soap BOM for a 100-bar batch:
Product: Cold Process Soap (100 bars)
| SKU | Material | Unit Cost | Qty (oz) | Total Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP-01 | Olive Oil | $0.08/oz | 800 | $64.00 |
| SP-02 | Coconut Oil | $0.06/oz | 400 | $24.00 |
| SP-03 | Lye (Sodium Hydroxide) | $0.05/oz | 200 | $10.00 |
| SP-04 | Distilled Water | $0.01/oz | 280 | $2.80 |
| SP-05 | Fragrance Oil | $0.40/oz | 48 | $19.20 |
| SP-06 | Colorant / Mica | $0.20/oz | 12 | $2.40 |
| Moulds (amortised) | $1.50 | |||
| Labour (mix, pour, cut) | $18/hr | 1.5 hrs | $27.00 | |
| Total for 100 bars | $150.90 | |||
| Cost per bar | $1.51 |
Knowing the cost per bar is what lets you price deliberately. A 3x to 4x markup on materials is a common target, and it only works if the cost per bar is a real number rather than an estimate.
Candle production BOM example
Candle BOMs cover wax, fragrance, wicks and containers. The awkward variable is fragrance load, the amount of fragrance oil per pound of wax, which shifts with wax type and scent strength. Get it wrong in the BOM and your costs are off before a single unit sells.
Product: Soy Candle in Tin (batch of 24)
| SKU | Material | Unit Cost | Qty | Total Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN-01 | Soy Wax Flakes | $0.08/oz | 384 oz | $30.72 |
| CN-02 | Fragrance Oil | $0.35/oz | 38 oz | $13.30 |
| CN-03 | Cotton Wicks (pre-tabbed) | $0.12 each | 24 | $2.88 |
| CN-04 | 8oz Tin Containers | $1.20 each | 24 | $28.80 |
| CN-05 | Candle Dye Chips | $0.05/chip | 8 | $0.40 |
| CN-06 | Warning Labels | $0.08 each | 24 | $1.92 |
| Labour (pour, label, QC) | $18/hr | 1 hr | $18.00 | |
| Total for 24 candles | $96.02 | |||
| Cost per candle | $4.00 |
That $4.00 is your floor. Retail somewhere in the $18 to $24 range leaves a healthy margin, and this table is what lets you say so with certainty rather than hope.
Food production BOM example
Food production adds two wrinkles: ingredient weights that shift with yield, and packaging that often costs more than the contents. Both belong in the BOM.
Product: Hot Sauce, 150ml bottles (batch of 48)
| SKU | Material | Unit Cost | Qty | Total Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HS-01 | Fresh Chillies | $6.50/kg | 4.2 kg | $27.30 |
| HS-02 | White Vinegar | $1.80/L | 3.6 L | $6.48 |
| HS-03 | Garlic | $8.00/kg | 0.5 kg | $4.00 |
| HS-04 | Sea Salt | $2.40/kg | 0.25 kg | $0.60 |
| HS-05 | 150ml Glass Bottles | $0.62 each | 48 | $29.76 |
| HS-06 | Tamper-evident Caps | $0.11 each | 48 | $5.28 |
| HS-07 | Printed Labels | $0.14 each | 48 | $6.72 |
| HS-08 | Shrink Bands | $0.04 each | 48 | $1.92 |
| Labour (cook, fill, label, QC) | $22/hr | 2.5 hrs | $55.00 | |
| Total for 48 bottles | $137.06 | |||
| Cost per bottle | $2.86 |
Notice what the table exposes: packaging and bottling run to $43.68, which is more than the $38.38 of actual sauce ingredients. That relationship is invisible until somebody writes it down, and it’s usually the first thing worth renegotiating with a supplier.
Single-level BOM example: a bicycle
Now a single-level BOM for something more mechanical.
Single-level means no sub-assemblies. Every component is a raw material bought directly from a supplier.
Product: Bicycle
| SKU | Material | Unit Cost | Quantity | Total Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FR-01 | Frame | $75.00 | 1 | $75.00 |
| WH-06 | Wheel | $25.00 | 2 | $50.00 |
| ST-11 | Seat | $30.00 | 1 | $30.00 |
| PD-04 | Pedal | $12.00 | 2 | $24.00 |
| Labour | $20.00 | |||
| Total | $199.00 |
Multi-level BOM example
A multi-level BOM covers the case where some components are manufactured in-house rather than bought in.
Sub-assemblies are partially assembled products: built from several raw materials, then used as a component in something higher up. A bicycle wheel is the classic illustration, made from a rim, spokes, tube and tyre, then fitted to the finished bicycle.
In a multi-level BOM those sub-assemblies appear as their own manufactured component, each with a BOM beneath it, so labour and materials get counted at every stage.
Bicycle (multi-level)
| SKU | Material | Unit Cost | Quantity | Total Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FR-01 | Frame | $75.00 | 1 | $75.00 |
| WH-06 | Wheel (sub-assembly) | $44.50 | 2 | $89.00 |
| ST-11 | Seat | $30.00 | 1 | $30.00 |
| PD-04 | Pedal | $12.00 | 2 | $24.00 |
| Labour | $20.00 | |||
| Total | $238.00 |
Sub-assembly: WH-06 Wheel
| SKU | Material | Unit Cost | Quantity | Total Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TR-01 | Tyre | $15.00 | 1 | $15.00 |
| TB-22 | Tube | $0.50 | 1 | $0.50 |
| RIM-11 | Rim | $12.00 | 1 | $12.00 |
| SP-04 | Spokes | $0.25 | 48 | $12.00 |
| Labour | $5.00 | |||
| Total | $44.50 |
The wheel is manufactured separately and feeds into the bicycle BOM, which is what lets you see labour and materials at both stages. That matters most when a hidden component cost is substantial: here the wheel sub-assembly adds $39 per bicycle over the single-level version.
Our guide to multi-level bills of materials goes deeper on structure and the Excel patterns that hold up as levels multiply.
Download a free BOM template
Free BOM template
Not ready for software yet? Start here:
- Free BOM spreadsheet template (Excel / Numbers), with the essential fields already laid out. Better than a blank sheet, though still manual.
Free, no sign-up needed.
Where spreadsheets hit a wall
Spreadsheets cope fine with a handful of products. As the range grows, and the materials list with it, a few predictable problems arrive.
Errors propagate. One bad formula or a typo in a shared sheet throws off costs on every product using that material, and you might not catch it until tax time.
Updates are tedious. A supplier raises a price and you have to find every BOM using that material by hand. Miss one and your cost data is silently wrong.
Nothing connects to real stock. A spreadsheet BOM has no idea what’s on the shelf. It can’t warn you that fragrance oil will run out mid-batch, or tell you whether next week’s orders are coverable.
At that point purpose-built bill of materials software earns its keep, and recipe costing software goes further by tracking material costs, calculating COGM per product, and keeping both in sync as prices move.
Why BOMs matter at small scale
BOMs aren’t a big-business thing. At small scale the stakes are arguably higher, because margins are tighter and there’s less buffer for error.
Costs and margins become knowable. You can’t price correctly without knowing COGM. A BOM puts that figure in front of you to the cent, and makes the calculation repeatable, so checking whether a price rise has eaten your margin doesn’t mean starting over.
Inventory gets more accurate. With a BOM you can measure predicted material usage against what’s on hand, which means fewer stockouts and better reorder timing. Pair it with a reorder point formula and restocking triggers itself.
Production planning gets realistic. Knowing exactly what each product consumes lets you schedule runs without last-minute material scrambles. Our guide to production planning and scheduling covers the mechanics.
Supplier conversations get shorter. A BOM is a shareable list of what you need, which cuts down on misunderstandings.
Cost reductions become visible. Seeing every line item makes it easier to spot waste, or a substitute that works without hurting quality.
Quality control gets a reference point. A complete BOM states what should have gone into the product, which is where troubleshooting starts when something comes out wrong.
How manufacturing software helps
Manufacturing software, which covers both ERP and MRP tools, takes the manual work out of BOM management.
Stocksmith builds single-level and multi-level BOMs, which it calls recipes, tracks raw material and finished product stock in real time, and calculates COGM and COGS as you go. Change a material price and every BOM using it updates. No hunting through spreadsheets.
Selling across Shopify, Amazon or wholesale channels, it pulls orders in automatically, so inventory stays current without manual entry. Start a free 14-day trial.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a bill of materials look like?
A BOM is a table with one row per material and columns for SKU, material name, unit cost, quantity used and total cost, with a labour line and a batch total at the bottom. A soap BOM would list oils, lye, fragrance, colorants and moulds with quantities per 100-bar batch. Total the column, divide by units produced, and you have cost of goods manufactured per unit.
What is the difference between a single-level and multi-level bill of materials?
A single-level BOM lists every component as a direct raw material, with nothing assembled beforehand. A multi-level BOM includes sub-assemblies: components manufactured from raw materials before going into the finished product. Multi-level structures are normal once you make components in-house, such as a base formulation split across several finished products. They capture labour and material cost at every stage rather than only at final assembly.
Should I include packaging in my bill of materials?
Strictly, packaging isn't part of the product, so a standard BOM doesn't always include it. At small scale, where bottles, boxes and labels carry a meaningful cost per unit, adding them as separate line items makes sense for pricing. The hot sauce example above shows why: packaging came to $43.68 against $38.38 of ingredients. Consistency is what matters, since including packaging in some BOMs and not others makes cost comparisons unreliable.
How do I calculate cost per unit from a bill of materials?
Total every material cost in the batch, add labour, then divide by units produced. A 100-bar soap batch costing $150.90 in materials and labour gives a cost per bar of $1.51. That's your COGM floor, the minimum to recover before any margin. Stocksmith calculates it as you build recipes and log production runs, so the figure moves when material prices do.
What's the difference between a bill of materials and a recipe?
In manufacturing they describe the same thing: a structured list of what goes into a product, with quantities and costs. "Bill of materials" is the standard term in manufacturing and engineering. "Recipe" is the word food producers, soap formulators and cosmetic chemists reach for naturally. Stocksmith uses "recipe" because most customers find it more intuitive, and the underlying data structure is a manufacturing BOM.
Stop keeping BOMs in spreadsheets
Every example above started as somebody’s rough notes. The difference between notes and a BOM is that a BOM connects to your stock and your costs, so it answers questions instead of just recording them.
Stocksmith builds your BOMs, keeps material costs current, and syncs inventory as you manufacture. Start a free 14-day trial.
