Free offline bill of materials (BOM) software
Timeline Factory Manager is a free offline desktop app by Timeline Digital for Windows and Mac. Give each product a bill of materials, and work orders reserve and use the right stock, on one computer.
Version 1.0.0 · Free · Works offline
Timeline Factory Manager is a free offline desktop app for Windows and Mac, made by Timeline Digital, that keeps a bill of materials for each product and uses it in work orders and stock, on one computer. The Timeline Factory Manager page covers the whole app and the features page lists all 15 screens.
Who this is for
- A workshop whose products are made straight from bought materials, such as a steel gate or a piece of furniture.
- An owner who keeps recipes or cutting lists in a spreadsheet and wants stock to follow them.
- An office that wants to know the material cost of one unit of each product.
- A site where the internet is unreliable, so the records must work offline.
Not a fit if
- Your products are built from sub-assemblies that have their own bills of materials.
- You need routings, operations or labour time on the bill of materials.
- You must keep versions or revisions of each bill of materials.
Key facts
- App
- Timeline Factory Manager, version 1.0.0, published by Timeline Digital
- Price
- Free. No account and no sign-up.
- Runs on
- Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit), or macOS 12 or newer, Apple silicon (M1 or later)
- Internet
- Not needed. The app sends nothing over the internet.
- BOM type
- Single-level: raw materials and the quantity of each needed to make one unit
- Cost shown
- Material cost per unit. No labour or overhead.
- Used by
- Work orders, the shortage check, the Job card and the Material issue slip
- Users
- One computer, one user
How do you add a product and its bill of materials?
Add your raw materials first, then add the product on the Products screen. In the bill of materials, add a line for each material and type the quantity needed for one unit. When you save, the app works out the material cost per unit. You do this once for each product.
Add the raw materials first
On Raw materials, add each material with its name, code, unit and unit cost. You can also import them from a CSV file. The bill of materials picks from this list.
Add the product
On Products, add a product with its name, code, unit, sale price and notes. You can enter opening stock if you already have some made.
List the materials for one unit
In the bill of materials, add a line for each raw material and type the quantity needed to make one unit. The guide gives the example of 6 m of steel tube and 0.2 litre of paint per gate.
Save and check the material cost
Save the product. The product page shows the bill of materials, the material cost per unit, the stock, the quantity in production, the quantity on customer orders and the stock history.
How is material cost per unit worked out?
The app works out material cost per unit from the bill of materials and the unit cost of each material. You enter one unit cost on each raw material and the quantity per unit on the bill of materials. The result is shown on the product. It is a material cost only, with no labour or overhead.
The same figure is used in the Stock value report, which shows finished goods at material cost and at sale price. Each material has one unit cost, so there is no average or FIFO costing. The stock screens and the Stock value report are described on the free manufacturing inventory software page.
What does the bill of materials do after you save it?
It tells the app what every work order of that product needs. Starting a work order reserves those materials, or names each one that is short. The Job card and Material issue slip list them for the shop floor. Completing the work order takes the materials used out of stock.
Reserving materials at Start
When you start a work order, the app reserves the materials from the bill of materials for the quantity on the work order. Reserved stock is no longer available to other work orders.
The shortage check
If there is not enough available stock for any material, starting is refused and each short material is named, so you know what to buy.
The Job card and Material issue slip
Both printed documents list the materials for the work order with the quantity required. The Job card also shows the quantity per unit.
See what the shop floor gets: a sample job card (PDF) and a sample material issue slip (PDF).
Material use on completion
When you complete the work order, the materials used are taken out of stock for everything made and everything rejected. The good units are added to finished goods.
Starting, recording production and completing are covered step by step on the free work order software page. For how this compares with planning software, see the free MRP software page.
How much material does a work order need?
The quantity on the work order multiplied by the quantity per unit on the bill of materials. Using the guide's gate, with 6 m of steel tube and 0.2 litre of paint per gate, a work order for 25 gates reserves 150 m of tube and 5 litres of paint when it starts.
- Steel tube
- Quantity per unit: 6 m
- Reserved to start 25 gates: 25 x 6 = 150 m
- Used if 25 are good and 1 is rejected: 26 x 6 = 156 m
- Paint
- Quantity per unit: 0.2 litre
- Reserved to start 25 gates: 25 x 0.2 = 5 litres
- Used if 25 are good and 1 is rejected: 26 x 0.2 = 5.2 litres
The last column shows why rejects matter. Materials are taken out of stock for everything made and everything rejected, so 25 good gates and 1 rejected gate use the materials for 26. Only the 25 good gates go into finished goods. The table is arithmetic on the guide's example. In the app, the work order page lists each material with its quantity per unit and the quantity required.
Can you import products and materials from Excel?
Yes, as CSV files. Click Import CSV on the Products list or the Raw materials list and choose a spreadsheet saved as CSV. A preview shows which columns were recognised and which rows have problems. Nothing is saved until you confirm.
CSV import covers products, raw materials and customers only. It brings in the product list and the raw material list, and opening stock can be included for new records. The user guide does not list bill of materials lines as part of the import, so plan to enter the materials for each product on the product form.
Save a template gives you a file with the right headings. A row whose code matches an existing record updates it, and empty cells leave existing values alone.
What do the bill of materials terms mean?
- Bill of materials (BOM)
- The list of raw materials, and the quantity of each, needed to make one unit of a product.
- Quantity per unit
- How much of one material goes into one unit of the product, in the unit of that material: metres, litres, pieces and so on.
- Material cost per unit
- What the materials in one unit cost. The app works it out from the bill of materials and the unit cost of each material.
- Single-level BOM
- A bill of materials that lists only bought raw materials. Every line is something you buy. This is what the app supports.
- Multi-level BOM
- A bill of materials where a line can be a sub-assembly that has its own bill of materials. The free edition does not support this.
How do I set up a bill of materials? Watch it.
Three of the 27 free video lessons cover adding a product with its bill of materials, importing from a spreadsheet, and starting a work order so the materials are reserved. Click a lesson to play it here.
Lesson 8: Add a product and its bill of materials (1:15)
Product details and the materials needed to make one unit.
Lesson 24: Import from a spreadsheet (1:20)
Bring in products, materials and customers from a CSV file.
Lesson 16: Start a work order (1:19)
Reserve materials and see exactly what is short.
All 27 lessons with written steps · Watch the playlist on YouTube
Written steps for every lesson are on the how to use Timeline Factory Manager page.
What does the free edition not do?
Bills of materials are single-level. There are no sub-assemblies, no routings or operations, no versions or revisions, and no labour or overhead in the cost. Read this before you download.
- Single-level only
- A bill of materials lists raw materials. A product cannot be a line in another product, so there are no sub-assemblies.
- No routings or operations
- The bill of materials holds materials and quantities. It has no operations, work centres, machines or times.
- No versions or revisions
- There is no version or revision history for a bill of materials and no approval step.
- No labour or overhead in cost
- Material cost per unit is the only cost shown. There is no job costing, labour costing or profit margin, and each material has one unit cost.
The full list from the user guide
- Several users, logins or permissions
- Use on more than one computer, or shared data over a network or the internet
- Online or browser access, a mobile app, or cloud backup
- Machine and shift planning, scheduling or capacity planning
- Job costing, labour costing or profit margins (material cost from the bill of materials is shown)
- Quality checks, batch or lot numbers, serial numbers or traceability
- Barcode or QR code scanning, label printing
- Several sites or warehouses, or stock locations
- Links to accounting software, invoicing, quotations, statements or payments
- Sending email from inside the app
- Multi-level bills of materials (sub-assemblies), routings and operations
- Languages other than English
These are available as custom work from Timeline Digital, starting with a free pilot. Tell us how your products are built, or read about manufacturing ERP software and custom software development.
Where your product data is kept
Your factory data is kept in one data file on your own computer. The app works fully offline, has no account or sign-up, sends nothing over the internet and collects no usage data. It only opens your browser or email program when you click a Timeline Digital link.
Custom version
Need Timeline Factory Manager across several sites, or built around how you work?
The free edition is an offline desktop app for a single site. When you need it across several sites, in the cloud, connected to your other systems or shaped around your own workflow, we build a custom version for you. The pilot is always free. We start with your most important modules, so you can judge the work before you commit.
How do you download and install it?
Download the Windows installer or the Mac disk image below and install it like any desktop app. A short setup of three steps asks for your company name, your country and formats, and whether to start empty or explore with sample data.
Windows
Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit). The file is Timeline-Factory-Manager-1.0.0-windows-setup.exe, about 111 MB. The installer is not code-signed, so Windows shows "Windows protected your PC". Click More info, then Run anyway. No administrator password is needed.
Mac
macOS 12 or newer, Apple silicon (M1 or later). The file is Timeline-Factory-Manager-1.0.0-mac-arm64.dmg, about 123 MB. Open it and drag the app to Applications. The app is not signed or notarized, so macOS warns the first time you open it.
Version 1.0.0 · Free · Works offline
Full install steps are on the free manufacturing software for Windows page and the free manufacturing software for Mac page.
Bill of materials software questions
Is there free bill of materials software that works offline?
Yes. Timeline Factory Manager is a free offline desktop app by Timeline Digital for Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit) and Apple silicon Macs with macOS 12 or newer. Each product has a bill of materials, and work orders use it to reserve and use stock. It runs on one computer with no account. Both downloads are on the Timeline Factory Manager page.
What is a bill of materials?
A bill of materials, or BOM, is the list of raw materials and the quantity of each needed to make one unit of a product. In Timeline Factory Manager you enter it on the product, for example 6 m of steel tube and 0.2 litre of paint per gate, and the app uses it for every work order of that product.
Does it support multi-level BOMs or sub-assemblies?
No. Timeline Factory Manager supports single-level bills of materials only: each line is a raw material. Multi-level bills of materials with sub-assemblies, routings and operations are not in the free edition. Timeline Digital builds these as custom work, starting with a free pilot.
Does the BOM cost include labour or overhead?
No. Timeline Factory Manager shows material cost per unit, worked out from the bill of materials and the unit cost of each material. It does not add labour, machine time or overhead, and it has no job costing or profit margins. Each material has one unit cost, with no average or FIFO costing.
Can I import bills of materials from Excel?
CSV import in Timeline Factory Manager covers products, raw materials and customers only. You can import the product list and the raw material list from a spreadsheet saved as CSV, with opening stock. The user guide does not list bill of materials lines as part of the import, so plan to enter the materials for each product on the product form. See lesson 24.
What happens to stock when a work order starts?
Timeline Factory Manager reserves the materials from the bill of materials. If available stock is not enough, starting is refused and each short material is named. Materials leave stock when the work order is completed. The steps are on the free work order software page.
Are rejected units counted in material use?
Yes. When a work order is completed, Timeline Factory Manager takes the materials used out of stock for everything made and everything rejected, using the quantities in the bill of materials. Only the good units are added to finished goods. The Material use report shows what was used and its cost.
Can I keep versions or revisions of a BOM?
No. Timeline Factory Manager has no version or revision history for a bill of materials. If your factory needs revision control, approvals or engineering change records, that is custom work that Timeline Digital can build around your process, starting with a free pilot.
Download the free bill of materials software
Install the app, explore the sample data, then add your materials and your first product with its bill of materials. If you need sub-assemblies, routings or full job costing, that is custom work: tell us how your factory works and we will say what we would pilot.
Version 1.0.0 · Free · Works offline
About this page
Published by Timeline Digital, the maker of Timeline Factory Manager. Every feature described here was checked against the user guide for version 1.0.0 on . The screenshots show made-up companies from the app's test and sample data, "Acme Metalworks Ltd" and "Hartwell Furniture Works". They are not real customers.
Author
Usama Asif
CEO and CTO, Timeline Digital.
More about Timeline Factory Manager
Timeline Factory Manager
The product page: all 15 screens, screenshots and system requirements.
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The Windows installer and the install steps.
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The Apple silicon disk image and how to open it the first time.
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27 short video lessons, about 34 minutes in total.
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Every screen, printed document and report.
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Start, record production, complete, and print the job card.
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Raw materials, finished goods, reorder levels and stock value.
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The basic material side: reserve, shortage check and low stock.
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Daily production, rejects and the production report.
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The whole flow from sales order to delivery note.
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