BOM Import

The BOM Import module, located in the Integrations group, is an add-on module that can be installed from the Plugin module. After installing the plugin, a new module is added that allows the user to import files (csv, xlsx, xls), create a mapping, and import the needed parts, products, and BOMs. The mapping can be unique for each folder selected. The import can be run manually or imported automatically on a schedule.

Install

The documentation on this page is for the most recent version of the BOM Import plugin. To get the most recent version, Update Fishbowl.

1. In any Fishbowl Client, open the Plugin module, located in the Integrations group.
2. Select the BOM Import plugin and click Install.
3. Completely close all Fishbowl Clients.
4. Exit the Fishbowl Server by right-clicking the Fishbowl Server tray icon and selecting Exit.
5. After re-opening the Fishbowl Server, the admin user can access the BOM Import module from any Fishbowl Client by opening the Integrations group.
6. To grant access to additional users, assign the BOM Import-View access right to the appropriate groups in the User Group module.

Import

1. Open the Bill of Materials module and click the BOM Import button at the top of the module.
   
   Note: BOMs can also be imported by opening the BOM Import module, located in the Integrations group.
2. Select the folder where the files are located and click the dropdown next to the Fishbowl fields to match them with the fields from the file.
3. If the file is missing values, the default values from the bottom section will be used.
4. Review the import options:
   • Import indented items as stages - This option will treat branches in the structure as stages on imported BOMs. For example, if level 1.2 is followed by 1.2.1, 1.2 will be treated as a stage. This structure of using numbers and periods to represent a tree structure is used in some external applications, such as SolidWorks.
   • Set vendor as default for new parts - With this option enabled, the default vendor for a new part will be set to the vendor specified in the import.
   • Create a product for new parts - With this option enabled, a new product will be created in Fishbowl when importing a new part.
   • Only import parts - When selected, only parts will be imported into Fishbowl. No BOMs will be created.
   • Use filename as BOM number - When selected, the filename will be used as the bill of materials number.
   • Update BOM data - When selected, only existing finished and raw goods data will be updated. Otherwise, the BOM will be overwritten.
   • Delete imported files - When selected, successfully imported files will be deleted.
5. Review the field mapping. After you select a file to import, the fields below will automatically be filled if their column headers exactly match the fields in Fishbowl. If they are different, however, you will be able to use the dropdown menu to select the corresponding headers for the following fields. If no corresponding header for a field exists in the file, you may leave it blank. Required fields are marked with an asterisk:
   • Level* - The field used to identify the relationship of parts in the bill of materials, as well as an identifier for staging each bill of materials, noting its place in the manufacturing process.
   • Number* - The identifying name or number of a part in Fishbowl regardless of it being a parent or child in the bill of materials.
   • Description* - A brief explanation of what the part/BOM item is.
   • Details - A larger field for additional information about the part/BOM item.
   • Revision - The field used to identify iterative modifications for the item/parent bill of materials.
   • Standard Cost - The user-defined cost anticipated for each part/BOM item. Note: True cost will be captured at the time of manufacture.
   • Quantity - The number of units allocated for each bill of materials.
   • UPC - The universal product code used for identifying a part in the bill of materials.
   • UOM - The unit of measure assigned to the part in the bill of materials.
   • Weight - The part’s weight.
   • Width - The part’s width.
   • Height - The part’s height.
   • Length - The part’s length.
   • Vendor - The vendor assigned to the part in the bill of materials.
   • Vendor Number - The vendor’s identifying number for the part, which can differ from the number assigned to it in your Fishbowl account.
   • Vendor Cost - The amount of money the vendor charges you for each unit of the part in the bill of materials.
6. If you click the Create a product for new parts checkbox, it will give you three additional fields to fill that allow you to map headers in the file to the following Fishbowl fields:
   • Number - The identifying name or number of the product.
   • Description - A brief explanation of the product being manufactured and sold.
   • Price - The amount of money you will charge customers for each unit of the product.
7. Check that the following fields are filled with the default values in Fishbowl for each of these terms:
   • UOM - Each part’s unit of measure.
   • Weight UOM - The unit of measure for each part’s mass.
   • Size UOM - The unit of measure for each part’s overall size.
   • Part Type - The type of part in the bill of materials, such as Inventory, Non-Inventory, Service, Labor, Overhead, Miscellaneous, etc.
   • Item Type - The sales order line type of transaction the bill of materials is used for, such as Sale, Drop Ship, or Credit Return.
   • Create Type - The Auto Create setting of the bill of materials, which can be Short Quantity, Always Create, Build To Order, or Order Quantity.
8. Click the Active checkbox in the Schedule section. Click the Run Task button to run the import now, or select a schedule frequency.
   
9. Click the Save button at the top of the module.
10. To map another folder, click the Select Folder button. The mapping for each folder will be saved separately and can be modified by selecting the folder again.