Anyone drawing an installation already holds every detail needed for the bill of materials: every breaker, every RCD, every socket and every light point is on the diagram. Yet that list is often retyped by hand into a spreadsheet — and that is where the two start drifting apart.
The problem with a separate list
A manual list is correct on the day you make it. Two circuit changes later it is not, and nobody knows which version is authoritative. At ordering time you discover two breakers are missing, or that the bathroom RCD never made it onto the list at all.
What a derived list gives you
The list follows every change in the diagram automatically.
Quantities per material type, without counting.
A basis for your quotation or purchase order.
One source of truth: the diagram.
What stays your job
Brands, prices and margins remain your call — software has no opinion there. What disappears is the dull counting and the mistakes that come with it. You start from a correct base list and complete it to suit your customer and your supplier.
Related reading
How Voltuno helps
Your diagram already contains the list; maintaining it twice is wasted time. With Voltuno you draw a correct single-line diagram, position diagram and matching bill of materials in minutes, straight from your browser. The software is built around AREI requirements, so you work faster and walk into the inspection with a clear, complete file.
Please note: this article is a general explanation and not legal advice. Always consult the official, consolidated AREI text (FPS Economy) for the exact obligations and article references.
