# BOM Preflight for a Control System Submittal

Find incomplete catalog numbers, wrong literature, duplicate rows and scope gaps before they disappear into a polished controls submittal.

Say the BOM lists FR10, the quote lists FR10-24DC-2CO, and the datasheet covers the 120 VAC model. Which relay are you actually submitting?

That mismatch can come back as a request for clarification, or survive until the panel shop tries to order the part. BOM preflight is the short pass between the working list and the package: make every in-scope row answer four questions. What is it? Where does it go? How many are there? Which document supports the selection?

You can do that with an export from your design software, an estimator's spreadsheet or a supplier's equipment list. You do not need a perfectly formatted spreadsheet. You need to find the rows that still need an answer before they disappear into a polished package.

## Start with the source, not a cleaned-up copy

Keep the original BOM unchanged. Put a date on the working copy and record where it came from: estimate, panel drawings, vendor quote, equipment schedule or another source. When a row is wrong, that trail takes you back to the record that needs fixing. Otherwise the cleanup creates a fourth version of the truth and leaves the first three untouched.

Do not combine duplicate-looking rows yet. Do not fill blank option codes from memory. Do not translate a vendor's nickname into an orderable part because it looks familiar. Mark what needs an answer and send it to the person who can give one.

## Decide what this package actually covers

A purchasing BOM and a submittal equipment list do different jobs. The purchasing list may carry wire duct, labels, ferrules, spare parts and equipment supplied by others. The review package may still need interface information for an excluded item while needing no product data for a box of screws.

Give each row a scope answer instead of deleting the awkward ones:

- Included in this submittal.
- Supplied by others; interface information retained.
- Installation consumable; not submitted unless the project requires it.
- Spare or future item; handled under the project's stated procedure.
- Unresolved; project manager or engineer to decide.

The project's submittal procedures and technical sections decide the final list. The [control system submittal package guide](/learn/control-system-submittal-package) covers the rest of the package around it.

## A family name is not a part number

Start with manufacturer and full orderable code. Compare them with the quote, drawing, selection sheet or other record that made the choice. Keep the suffixes. Voltage, enclosure, communications, contact arrangement and firmware or license options tend to live in the characters people drop first.

A manufacturer alias is one problem: “AB,” “A-B” and “Allen-Bradley,” for example, may be three names for one confirmed maker. A missing voltage or protocol is another problem entirely. Normalize the alias if you have confirmed it. Send the technical selection back to the person responsible for making it. A plausible suffix is still a guess.

Then trace the quantity, unit and equipment reference. Twelve terminals and twelve terminal assemblies are not the same line. Two identical rows may be a duplicate export, or they may be the same part used in two panels. You can reuse one document for a shared part without erasing the tags that show where every unit goes.

## Six rows, six different problems

This fictional six-row BOM uses invented manufacturers and part numbers.

| Source row | BOM entry | Finding | Next action |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 12 | CP01 / PLC01; Northfield NC24E; 1 each | Full code matches the quote and drawing; datasheet covers NC24E | Keep the datasheet with the PLC row |
| 13 | CP01 / RLY01; Fieldline FR10; 2 each | BOM stops at the family; quote includes the 24 VDC and contact options | Whoever picked the relay confirms the code and updates the BOM |
| 14 | CP02 / TS01; Signalworks ST200B; 1 each | Attached sheet covers ST200A, not ST200B | Get the datasheet for ST200B |
| 15 | CP02 / TB01 to TB12; Terminex TT4; 12 each | A second export row repeats the panel and tags | Compare it with the panel drawing; remove it only if it is a duplicate |
| 16 | CP03 / VFD01; Motionlake ML5; 1 each | Product sheet is present; required operating manual is not | Ask the supplier for the manual and record when it is due |
| 17 | EXT01 sensor; supplied by others | The sensor is outside supply scope, but its interface information may belong in the package | Ask the PM who is submitting the sensor information |

These rows do not share one fix. Row 14 needs literature. Row 13 needs the person who picked the relay. Row 15 needs the panel drawing. Row 17 needs a scope decision. Calling all four “missing data” would make the list shorter and the work harder.

Use plain statuses such as **Ready**, **Waiting on part number**, **Waiting on document** and **Scope question**. Give every open row one owner and one next action. If the project allows a partial submission, identify what is excluded and follow its procedure.

## The PDF has to prove the row

Open the document instead of relying on the filename.

Find the model, ordering table or option description that supports the complete code. Record the useful page when a family datasheet covers dozens of variants. If the document stops at ST200A and the BOM says ST200B, get the correct literature or written clarification from the supplier or manufacturer. Highlighting the nearest-looking model only makes the mismatch easier to find.

Once the document supports the selection, use [catalog number highlighting](/learn/catalog-number-highlighting) to make that proof easy for the reviewer to follow.

Keep the document title, revision or issue date when available, source and useful page with the part record. For undated literature, record when and where you obtained it. Newer is not automatically better. A current brochure may have dropped the older model you are furnishing, while an old sheet may describe a product that is no longer available. Use the document that applies to the selected part.

Product data and operating instructions also do different jobs. The approval datasheet may not contain the manual needed at turnover. Record the later O&M need now so you are not chasing the manual at turnover. The [control panel O&M guide](/learn/build-a-control-panel-om-manual) explains that handoff.

## Give every loose end an owner

Keep the review sheet small. A useful row carries:

- Source row and equipment tag or group.
- Manufacturer, complete catalog number, configuration, quantity and unit.
- Supply scope and required document types.
- Document title, revision, source and useful page.
- Open issue, owner, next action and due date.

That is enough to answer the project-manager questions: what is blocking the package, who has it, and when does it need chasing? Add a field only when the project gives you a reason.

## Review the matches before you import

Once the rows have identities and scope, map the BOM into the equipment register. Review the proposed part matches, quantities and equipment references before committing the import, especially for rows changed during preflight. An import cannot supply a missing option code, decide whether two rows are duplicates or answer who owns an excluded item.

## Read the compiled package like a reviewer

Open the PDF before it goes out. Follow a few equipment tags from the BOM to the contents and into the product data. Make sure repeated parts did not become repeated literature, and make sure shared literature did not erase equipment references. Use the bookmarks and table of contents instead of admiring them from page one. Then read the drawings and other uploads for conflicts; a clean BOM cannot rescue a one-line that still shows the old selection.

The package is ready to issue when:

- Every in-scope row names an identifiable selection and equipment reference.
- Quantities and units agree with the source records.
- The included documents support the selected configurations.
- Open questions are resolved or routed through the project's procedure.
- Someone has reviewed the compiled output, not only the spreadsheet.

## How Submittal Kit handles this

Retyping a BOM creates work and gives typos somewhere comfortable to hide. Submittal Kit accepts CSV and Excel BOMs in the format you already have, asks for column mapping when the layout is ambiguous, and shows proposed part matches, quantities and equipment references before anything changes. You confirm manufacturer aliases and choose whether to sync or replace the target list. Once the register is ready, compile the selected equipment into one bookmarked package and review the PDF before issue. See [Import a BOM](/help/import-a-bom) and [submittal packages](/features/submittal-packages).

*Disclosure: I build [Submittal Kit](/). The four questions at the top still matter if your preflight lives in a spreadsheet.*

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Submittal Kit · Field Guides · Updated 2026-10-18
Canonical: https://submittalkit.com/learn/bom-preflight-control-system-submittal