# Import a BOM

Drop a spreadsheet on the register, review exactly what will change, then commit.

Retyping a 400-row BOM into any system is an afternoon gone and a typo waiting for a reviewer to find. Import the spreadsheet instead: the register reads it, shows you exactly what will change, and touches nothing until you say so.

![Confirming the sheet, the header row, and what each column holds before anything imports](https://submittalkit.com/static/images/help/import-a-bom-mapping.webp)

## Drop the file

In the Equipment tab, open **Add** and choose **Import BOM**. Drop a CSV or XLSX and pick where it lands: the project root or any group. Importing runs in the background; a banner keeps your place, and you can **Continue**, **Stop**, or **Discard** at any time. Stopping imports nothing and leaves your register unchanged.

## The importer reads your workbook

Most files skip straight to review. The importer looks at every sheet and reads the rows underneath each heading before deciding, so a leftovers tab loses to the live parts table, and a column that simply counts 1, 2, 3 is never taken for a part number. Headings are matched by whole words: "Manufacture", "Part #", and "PartNumber" are all understood, and a column like "Finished Water QMS" is never mistaken for a quantity.

When the file is ambiguous, a short mapping screen asks in order: which sheet your equipment is on (the best guess is marked "looks right"), which row has your column names, and what each column holds. Rows a part is already filed under in your Parts Library match the part you have, even when the spreadsheet spells the manufacturer differently.

## Review, then import

Nothing has changed yet at this screen. Choose how the file applies:

1. **Replace, start fresh.** The target location becomes exactly this list. The screen states how many existing entries would be deleted, and calls out any that carry uploaded files or configuration strings.
2. **Sync, add and update only.** Adds what is new, updates what changed, never deletes. You see the counts up front: added, updated, untouched, and removed (rows with quantity 0 remove the matching entry).

Expand the row list if you want the full receipt, use **Back to columns** to fix a mapping, **Start over** to discard, or commit with the import button. A pending import expires on its own if you walk away.

## Round trips and exports

**Export BOM** at the bottom of the register downloads the whole tree as XLSX; every entry page has the same export for just its subtree. Your own export imports cleanly into another project, so a proven register can seed the next job.

> Re-import the vendor's updated BOM with **Sync** to fold in revisions without disturbing entries the file doesn't mention.

---
Submittal Kit · Equipment Register · Updated 2026-08-15
Canonical: https://submittalkit.com/help/import-a-bom