We've been busy! The first weeks of 2026 brought a number of improvements, many of which came directly from user requests. Here's a detailed look at what changed and why.
If you've ever needed to swap out a component across multiple BOMs, you know the drill: open each project, find the entry, change the part, repeat. It's tedious, error-prone, and gets worse the more projects you have.
There is now a "Replace part in projects" feature. From the part info screen, you can search for a replacement part and select which projects to update. All selected BOM entries are updated in a single operation. This is useful when a part goes end-of-life, when you find a better alternative, or when you standardize on a specific component across your product line.
Related to replacing parts: you can now convert any regular part into a meta-part. Previously, if you wanted to make your part a meta-part, you had to create a new meta-part from scratch. Now you can take an existing part with stock history, BOM references, and everything else, and convert it in place. The original part becomes the first member part, and you can add more.
This matters because parts decisions evolve. You might start with a specific MPN and later realize you need approved alternates. Converting to a meta-part lets you do this without disrupting your existing projects or losing any history.
Builds have received a lot of attention in this release.
When you perform a build, you're consuming components and producing a sub-assembly. But what does that sub-assembly cost? Until now, you had to figure that out yourself.
PartsBox now calculates the cost of the produced sub-assembly based on the components consumed in the build. If you use lot control, the cost is exact — it's calculated from the actual lot costs of the parts that went into the build. If you don't use lot control, the cost is estimated from available pricing data. Either way, the suggested cost is shown when adding produced stock, so you don't have to do the math.
After performing a build, you often need to manage the resulting sub-assembly lots: check quantities, update custom fields, or adjust details. Previously, this meant navigating away from the build to the sub-assembly part's stock view.
Builds now display the resulting sub-assembly lots directly. You can see what was produced and manage those lots without leaving the build view. This keeps related information together and saves a surprising number of clicks when you're running production.
Build attrition accounts for manufacturing waste — if you're building 100 units and your attrition is set to 2%, you'll consume parts for 102 units. But not every build has the same waste profile, and sometimes you want to do a small test build with no attrition at all.
You can now disable attrition for entire builds or on a per-entry basis. This gives you the flexibility to handle different scenarios: a prototype run where waste isn't a concern, a build where one specific component has no attrition (connectors that are placed by hand, for example), or a production run where everything uses the default attrition settings.
Builds now support custom fields and attachments, just like parts, lots, and other objects in PartsBox. You can track build-specific information (operator, equipment used, environmental conditions) in custom fields, and attach relevant files (work instructions, inspection reports, certificates).
Build stage comments are now also available as configurable table columns, making it easy to see progress notes at a glance in the builds table.
Custom fields have become one of the most used features in PartsBox. Two improvements make them significantly more practical.
When importing a BOM, you can now include custom field columns. This means your BOM data, including any custom fields you've defined (RoHS status, tolerance class, internal part numbers, or anything else), flows directly into PartsBox without manual entry. Map your CSV columns to custom fields during import, and the data is there.
Managing custom fields used to be a per-part operation. If you needed to rename a custom field (say, from "Internal PN" to "Internal Part Number"), you had to do it everywhere. Now you can rename or delete a custom field across multiple parts at once. This is particularly useful when cleaning up data or standardizing field names across your organization.
For users tracking costs at the lot level, the lots table now includes cost columns. You can now see, sort, and filter by lot costs directly in the table without opening individual lots. Combined with table configuration presets, this makes cost analysis much faster.
When importing a BOM, PartsBox now prefers meta-parts when matching entries to parts with the same name. This is the right behavior in most cases: if you have a meta-part called "R-10k-0402" with several approved alternates, and your BOM has a line for "R-10k-0402", it should match the meta-part rather than one specific alternate. This is especially important if a meta-part was created by converting it from a part with an MPN.
You can now assign a default storage location to any part. When adding stock for that part, the storage location is pre-filled. This is a small convenience that adds up quickly when you're receiving parts — especially if most of your parts have a designated spot on the shelf.
Local offers (quotes from vendors, custom pricing agreements) can now have file attachments. Attach the original quote PDF, an invoice, or any other supporting document directly to the offer. This keeps procurement documentation together with the pricing data it refers to.
You can now modify order quantities directly in purchase lists. Previously, if you wanted to adjust a quantity (to meet a minimum order quantity, take advantage of a price break, or round up), you had to do it elsewhere. Now you can edit quantities right where you're planning your purchase.
ID Anything codes are now searchable in all tables throughout PartsBox. Whether you're in the parts table, lots table, stock history, or anywhere else, you can type an ID Anything code into the search box and find what you're looking for. This matters because ID Anything codes are increasingly used as the primary way to identify and locate items — on labels, in BOM imports, and when scanning barcodes.
For those of you automating workflows with the PartsBox API: there are new endpoints for uploading file attachments and updating attachment data. This means you can now programmatically attach datasheets, certificates, inspection reports, or any other files to parts and other objects in your database.
Image thumbnails now expand into larger previews on hover. A small improvement, but useful when you're scanning through a parts table and want to quickly check what a component looks like without opening the full part view.
PartsBox is an online app that lets you take control of your electronic parts inventory, BOM pricing, and small-scale production. It keeps track of where components are stored, what the current stock levels are, and which components are used in which projects/BOMs.