As a solar company grows, it tends to face the same challenge: roof drawings live in one program, yield estimates on another website, proposals in a spreadsheet, customer notes on someone's phone and stock levels in a notebook in the warehouse. At some point the decision is made: "we need solar software". When that decision is made well, it shortens proposal time, reduces errors and puts the whole team on the same information. When it is made poorly, the team uses the new tool for a few weeks and then returns to its previous way of working.
This guide collects twelve questions we recommend asking when you evaluate solar design and proposal software. They are written to measure your company's needs, not to favour a particular product. If you walk into a demo with this list, the conversation follows your agenda rather than the presenter's.
Start by defining what you actually need
Needs differ from company to company. For a firm that only sells engineering services, design and calculation depth matter most. For dealers and installers, proposals, customer follow-up and field organisation matter at least as much as design. Before you start comparing, answer three questions internally:
- Where is time being lost? In site surveys, drawing, formatting proposals or following up with customers?
- Where do errors come from? Wrong panel counts, missing mounting parts, prices quoted at an old exchange rate, forgotten payments?
- How many people will use it? A one-person engineering office and a company with sales, field and warehouse teams have very different needs.
Design and calculations
1. Which data drives the yield estimate?
Ask where the software takes its irradiation data from. A method that uses location-specific monthly data and shows its source makes the number in your proposal much easier to defend. Our PVGIS guide explains how to read this kind of data.
2. How is shading handled?
A calculation that applies a fixed loss percentage is very different from an analysis that models surrounding obstacles with their heights and calculates loss panel by panel. On roofs with chimneys, neighbouring buildings or trees, that difference decides whether the yield figure in your proposal holds up. See our shade analysis article for details.
3. Can you design both rooftop and ground-mount projects?
Even if you only do rooftops today, a ground-mount enquiry will eventually come in. Ground-mount design brings its own needs: sloped terrain, inter-row shading and a mounting bill of materials. Ask whether the software handles both scenarios properly.
4. Are stringing and inverter compatibility checked?
Checks such as modules per string, MPPT limits and open-circuit voltage in cold weather are error-prone when done by hand. When inverter selection and stringing happen on the design screen, drawing and electrical design stay in sync. Our stringing and MPPT article provides an introduction.
5. Are off-grid, hybrid and solar irrigation calculations included?
Grid-tied systems may be most of the work, but cabins, construction sites, farms and irrigation projects are regular business for many installers. Ask whether battery bank sizing and pump sizing happen in the same program, and how the result reaches the proposal.
Sales and proposals
6. How is the proposal document built?
Can the sections (cover, yield analysis, financial analysis, bill of materials, terms) be arranged for your company? Are per-line margin, discount approval limits, exchange rates and card commissions reflected correctly? Compare the software's output with the ten-point list in our proposal guide.
7. How does the customer see and approve the proposal?
Sending a PDF may be enough, but letting the customer open the proposal from a link and approve it, with the decision reaching you instantly, removes a lot of follow-up work. Seeing every proposal's status (pending, approved, rejected) in one list matters too.
8. Do customer and project tracking live in the same place?
You can run a separate CRM alongside a design tool, but then customer information is entered twice. Ask whether the lead, survey, proposal, contract, payments and project stages sit on the same customer record. We cover this in detail in our CRM for solar companies article.
Field work and operations
9. Can surveys and the work schedule be used in the field?
A survey form that can be filled in on a phone or tablet, photos saved in order and survey results flowing straight into the proposal all simplify the work of field teams. A clash warning that stops a crew being booked on two jobs on the same day solves a very common problem.
10. Is inventory fed by proposals and by the field?
Deducting the materials of an approved proposal from stock, taking back materials returned from site and warning on low stock connect the warehouse to the sales process. See our inventory management guide for more.
Team, security and continuity
11. How do roles, permissions and data security work?
If you need restrictions such as sales reps not seeing warehouse costs, or a trainee not being able to send proposals, ask whether permissions are enforced on the server rather than just hidden in the interface. Find out whether your data is stored together with other companies' data, how personal data is protected and whether you can export your data.
12. How do the trial, onboarding and support work?
Ask whether there is a free trial, whether your price list, panel catalogue and proposal template are set up for you during onboarding, and who you contact for support and how. Running one real project from start to finish during the trial tells you far more than any presentation.
A simple scoring table
You can score candidate tools with a simple table like the one below. Adjust the weights to your priorities.
| Area | What to ask | Weight (example) |
|---|---|---|
| Design and calculations | Yield data, shading, rooftop/ground-mount, stringing, off-grid and irrigation | 30% |
| Proposals | Sections, margin and discount, exchange rates, online approval | 25% |
| Customer and project tracking | One record from lead to handover, payment tracking | 20% |
| Field and inventory | Mobile survey, work schedule, stock deduction | 15% |
| Team and security | Roles, permissions, data separation, trial and support | 10% |
How PVAGE answers these questions
PVAGE is browser-based solar software that brings site surveys, 3D rooftop and ground-mount design, panel-level shade analysis, PVGIS-based yield estimates, off-grid and solar irrigation sizing, proposals and contracts, customer and project tracking, work scheduling and warehouse management together on one dataset. The interface is in Turkish with the general sections also in English, and proposals and pro formas can be produced fully in English. The mounting calculation is a pre-suitability check and does not replace an approved structural engineering project.
Once you have filled in the list with your own needs, you can try PVAGE free for 7 days with no credit card required. See the 3D roof design page for the design side, or the features page for all modules.