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BOMs and spreadsheets

From a contractor's BOM to a quote draft

Bills of materials arrive as spreadsheets with section breaks, subtotals and a part-number column that's half empty. Goodshed reads them the way your counter does and matches every row to your catalog.

Spreadsheets look structured. They rarely are.

Every contractor and every estimating program lays a BOM out differently: the quantity in column A or column F, a manufacturer column that's sometimes blank, section titles like LIGHTING between the rows, subtotals, and units written as C and M. Keying that into the ERP line by line is slow and easy to get wrong.

What arrives

  • Excel (.xlsx) and CSV files, attached or uploaded
  • Estimating-software exports with units in C (hundreds) and M (thousands)
  • BOMs with sections, subtotals and blank part-number cells
  • Workbooks with more than one sheet
  • Material lists pasted into the body of an email

How Goodshed reads a BOM

  1. 01

    Find the item rows

    Headers, section titles, blank rows and subtotals are skipped. Quantity, unit, description and part-number columns are used wherever they are.

  2. 02

    Match each row

    A part number is tried first. When a row has none, the description is read for gauge, amps, poles, trade size, color and the rest, and matched to your catalog.

  3. 03

    Convert the units

    Quantities in C and M are spelled out and converted to the unit your item is sold in, with the conversion noted on the line.

  4. 04

    Draft

    Every row lands on the draft as Resolved, Review or Unresolved, with the reason on each one, ready for your rep.

What it looks like on a draft

Customer wroteGoodshed readOn the draftStatus
WIRE #12 THHN STR BLK · 5 · M#12 THHN stranded black, 5,000 ft2,500 ft reel, quoted as 5,000 FTResolved
4" SQ BOX 2-1/8 DP 1/2-3/4 KO · 604-in square box, 2-1/8 in deep, 1/2 and 3/4 KORACO 232Resolved
LED FLAT PANEL 2X4 4000K · 362x4 LED flat panel, 4000KLumen package not stated: flaggedReview
Rows from an estimating-software export. Illustrative data.

What stays with your team

Your rep checks the flagged rows, sets pricing the way you always have, and approves. The approved draft exports as CSV or Excel with your item numbers, ready to import.

Questions

Which spreadsheet formats does Goodshed read?
Excel (.xlsx) and CSV files, uploaded or attached to an email, and lists pasted into the body of an email.
What if the BOM has no part numbers?
Goodshed reads the description instead (gauge, insulation, amps, poles, trade size, box type, color and more) and matches it to your catalog. Rows it can't settle with confidence go to Review.
Does it handle C and M units from estimating software?
Yes. C means hundreds and M means thousands. Goodshed converts them to the unit your item is sold in and notes the conversion on the line.
Can it follow our own quoting rules?
Yes. Your admins write house rules, such as which reel to quote or which brand is your default, and Goodshed follows them on every request.

The last quote your team retypes by hand.

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