Add a product and its parts list

The Add a product flow creates a product, its first revision and its parts list in one go. You do not need to learn the data model first. You can change anything later.

Start the flow

Use either of these:

• Open Parts & BOMs and select Add a product.
• Select Add product on the “Set up your workspace” checklist.

Both open /products/new. Nothing is saved until the last step.

The four steps

1. Name it. Enter a product name. You can also set a short code, used on labels (leave it empty to use the suggestion), and the unit it is counted in: Each, Sets or Kits.
2. What goes into it. List the parts. For each part, enter a name and how many go into one product. Then say how you track it.
3. Import (optional). Paste or upload a CSV parts list instead of typing every part. Skip this step if you listed the parts by hand.
4. Finish. Review the product and its parts, then select Create product.

How you track each part

For each part, choose one of three options. The choice sets the part’s kind:

You choose	You mean	Part kind
By quantity	You count how many you have, like screws or capacitors.	RAW
By serial number	Each one is unique and traceable, like radios or sensors.	COMPONENT
We build it	Something you put together yourselves first.	ASSEMBLY

Parts you track by quantity are stocked in bulk, by lot. Parts you track by serial number are received one serial at a time. A part you build is built with its own build order.

Import a parts list from a CSV

On step 3, either paste the text into the Parts list box or select Upload a CSV file. The CSV can be at most 5 MiB.

• The first row holds the column headings. BuildTrace matches them case-insensitively and suggests which heading is which. You can change the match with the drop-downs.
• Only the Part name column is required. These are optional: Quantity, Part number, Manufacturer part # and How it is tracked.
• Headings such as name, qty, part number, mpn and tracking are matched for you.

Select Preview to read the file. BuildTrace shows each line as New or “Already in your parts”, along with any warnings.

The import follows these rules:

• A blank or invalid quantity becomes 1, with a warning.
• A row with a blank name is skipped, with a warning.
• The part code comes from the Part number first, then the Manufacturer part #, then the name.
• A line is marked as matched when a part with that code already exists. Otherwise it is new.

Select Use these parts to copy the preview into your parts list and go to the last step. The previewed parts are added to any you typed by hand.

Create the product

On the last step, review the list. Turn on Lock for production if the product is final and ready to build. Leave it off to keep editing freely.

Select Create product. BuildTrace then does all of this in one transaction, so a failure leaves nothing half-made:

• creates the product part, as an assembly;
• creates its v1 revision;
• creates a single-level BOM with your parts as the lines.

Parts you track by quantity or by serial number are released when they are created. If you turned on Lock for production, the product’s v1 revision is released too. A released revision cannot be edited. See Parts and revisions.

When it is done, select Open product to see it in Parts & BOMs, or Add another.

Do the same from a script

You can run the same steps through the API. Call previewProductImport to check a CSV, then commitProductImport to create the product. Both need the parts:write scope. Send the csv field as raw text or as base64. Use a service-account token. You create service accounts in Settings.

Next

Create your first build order.