Solar
Solar sales, design, install and payment in one pipeline
Solar companies run every deal through a CRM, a design tool, install scheduling and a commission spreadsheet, and the reps only trust the spreadsheet.
I build one pipeline from sale to install to payment, with commissions calculated in it, usually as a Consolidate build at $20,000.
What this usually looks like
Leads and deals in Salesforce, HubSpot or Airtable, designs in Aurora or OpenSolar, proposals in a separate tool, install scheduling in a shared calendar, and payments through a financing partner's portal.
Commissions for setters, closers and team leads are worked out by hand in Excel, every pay period. Reps text the office to ask where their deal is.
When a deal changes after the sale, someone updates four systems, and pay disputes follow.
Why it got this way
Solar sales orgs grow fast, and tools get added to keep up. Commission plans change by the quarter, and no off-the-shelf tool models them the way your company pays.
The field reps and the back office need different screens on the same data. Most stacks give each side its own tool, and the data drifts apart.
The fix, three ways
Connect, $5,000
keep the tools, fix the plumbing
If your tools are fine and deals just need to flow between them, Connect at $5,000 links the CRM, design and scheduling for one workflow. It is the wrong choice if commissions are the problem, because those need real logic.
Consolidate, $20,000
one app for the daily work, keep what still earns its place
This is the usual fix, and it is what I built for BigDog Solar. For $20,000, you get a mobile app for reps, a web portal for the back office, commissions calculated in the system, and integrations to the tools that stay.
Replace, $75,000 to $100,000
rebuild the part of the big platform you actually use
If you pay for a large solar platform and your teams use part of it, Replace at $75,000 to $100,000 rebuilds that part as software you own.
What it looks like when it's done
Spark is used by 150+ reps in the field and 15 admins in the office, with effective-dated commissions for setters, closers and team leads. Spark replaced four tools and a payroll done by hand in Excel. It saves BigDog Solar 20+ hours a week of manual work and roughly $60,000 a year, and billing issues now live in 1 system instead of 3.
Read more: Spark for BigDog Solar.
When you should not do this
If you have a handful of reps and a simple pay plan, the tools you have are probably enough.
If nobody in leadership can give me two hours a week to make decisions about pay rules and process, the build will stall on exactly those questions.
Questions about this
Can custom software calculate solar sales commissions?
Yes. Spark calculates effective-dated commissions for setters, closers and team leads, so a rate change applies from the right day. That replaced a payroll worked out by hand in Excel for every rep at BigDog Solar.
Do reps need a mobile app?
If they sell in the field, yes. Spark gives 150+ reps a mobile app for their deals and pay, and the 15 back-office admins a web portal on the same system. One record, two views.
What did Spark replace?
Four tools, including Airtable, plus the Excel payroll. Payments moved off a legacy system into NetSuite, and Spark still connects to NetSuite and Trello. BigDog saves roughly $60,000 a year and 20+ hours a week of manual work.