Estimation & BOM — Overview

The Estimation module turns "the customer wants a panel" into a priced parts list: manage drawings, generate Bills of Materials (by hand, from a spec, from a description, or from a drawing with AI), cost them, and push them into quotations.

Who can use Estimation

Estimation Engineer and Company Admin (with the Estimation module on). The BOM Generator and Drawing Manager are also shared with other roles — Purchase Managers get BOMs and drawings; Sales Executives get the Drawing Manager.

The estimation flow

Drawing Manager                    BOM Generator
(upload SLD/layout/CAD)   ──▶   Spec Form / Describe / Upload Drawing
                                        │  AI matches every component
                                        ▼  to a real catalog product
                                   DRAFT BOM (₹0 placeholders flagged)
                                        │  set charges & margin
                                        │  Approve
                                        ▼
                              Create Quotation ──▶ Sales takes over
                                        │
                                        └──▶ linked to Sales Order → production planning

The screens at a glance

Screen	What it's for
Estimation Dashboard	Pending/approved drawings, BOM counts, approval status. Estimators land here at login.
BOM Generator	Build BOMs three ways, price them, approve them, quote them.
Drawing Manager	The shared drawing library — upload, version, approve, send to AI.
Panel Templates	Your BOMs as reusable panel designs.
Auto Costing	Turn any BOM into a defensible selling price with a full calculation trace.
Quotation Drafts	Every draft quotation awaiting review — confirm, print or email.

Related AI tools estimators use daily: the Photo Analyzer (photo of a built panel → components) and the Panel Design Studio (draw/trace/measure → BOM).