How to create your payment options

Summary

This Help Center article provides a comprehensive guide on creating and configuring various payment options in OpenSolar. It covers required and optional fields for each payment type and walks you through finalizing the payment setup for use in your projects.

Table of contents:

Creating a payment option

Creating a Cash payment option

Creating a Loan Payment option

• Required Fields:
• Optional Fields:

Creating a PPA Payment Option

Creating a Regular Payment option

Creating a Lease Payment option

Finalizing the Payment Option

Creating a payment option:

All payment options can be created from:

• Control > Pricing and Payment > Payment Options

To add a new payment option:

• Navigate to the Payment Options window.
• Click + Add Payment Option in the top-right corner.

From the payment creation window, the following fields will be available regardless of the payment type:

• Title: This will be the title that will show in your projects for your team members to pick the payment option as well as in the proposal for your customer to see
• Type: Use this drop-down to pick the type of payment option this will be.
• Auto - Apply: When toggled on, this payment option will be automatically added to any new projects created.
• Description: Any description you want to add to the payment option.
• Payment milestones: This toggle enables you to set up the milestones in which your customer can pay their total system price. When enabled, the following options will become available:
  • Milestone title: This is the title that will be displayed to your customer within the proposal.
  • Milestone Description: An optional short description of what this milestone is for, which will also be displayed in the proposal:
  • Milestone Amount %: The percentage of the total price this milestone will be for
  • Milestone min: The minimum this milestone can be for. This is often used in combination with milestone %. For example, let's say the percentage was 10%, but you do not want this 10% to be less than 1,000. You would stay at the 1,000in the minimum section to ensure the 10% is never below the 1,000 threshold
  • Milestone max: Just like the min, you can also establish a maximum for the milestone. If we use the same 10% example, let's say you never want that 10% to be more than 1,500, you can use the max field to state this information
  • Add additional milestones: This button allows you to add more milestones to your setup. By default, when toggling on the milestone option, two milestones will be added.
• Advanced Settings: The advanced settings section has many functionalities to further customize your payment option. These options include:
  • Utility Rate Override: This means that if a utility is stated here, any time this payment option is added to the project, it will override the stated utility in the energy tab
  • Make Standard System Prices Consistent: By default, in OpenSolar, all system options show one standard price. You can toggle this off to show individual pricing for each payment option
  • Auto-discount excess dealer dee: As established above, by default, OpenSolar shows one standard system price. Because not all pricing amounts to the same, we then show a discount line, which is nothing more than the difference between the most expensive payment option and the one you are looking at. This discount function can be turned off by toggling off this field
  • Supplementary terms & conditions: any terms and conditions that you want to add only when using this payment option.
  • Archive (hide component): Once a payment option has been associated with a project, the system will not allow for it to be deleted to ensure information from the projects is not deleted. Because of this, you have the option to toggle on the "Archive" functionality, which will remove the payment option from the active list but still keep intact the information on the projects this was used on.

Creating a Cash payment option:

To create a Cash payment option, set the type to Cash.

Additional fields:

• Deposit %: Enter the percentage of the total system price that the customer must pay upfront.

• Deposit Minimum and Maximum Deposit: Set a minimum and maximum deposit amount, if applicable.

Creating a Loan Payment option:

To create a Loan payment option, set the type to Loan.

Required Fields:

• Annual Interest Rate (%): Enter the annual interest rate for the loan.
• Loan Term: Enter the loan term in periods. The default unit is months (e.g., a 10-year loan is 120 months, a 20-year loan is 240 months). You can adjust the period length in Advanced Settings.

Optional Fields:

All loans require an Annual Interest Rate and Loan Term. The following parameters are optional and should be configured based on the specific solar loan requirements.

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  • Prepayment Toggle: Enable this if the financing includes a prepayment (e.g., a lump sum payment, often equal to the Investment Tax Credit (ITC), typically due by month 12 or 18). Choose between:

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      • Solar-Style Loan: Starts with a lower monthly payment, which remains unchanged if the prepayment is made on time. If the prepayment is missed, payments increase for the remainder of the loan term.
      • Mortgage-Style Loan: Starts with a higher monthly payment, which decreases if the prepayment is made on time. If the prepayment is missed, payments remain high for the remainder of the loan term.

        • Prepayment Formula: Choose one of the following formulas:

          • Customer-Facing Incentives: Uses all customer-facing incentives (e.g., ITC) to calculate the prepayment amount.
          • Percentage of Loan Amount: Requires a fixed percentage of the loan amount to be prepaid. Enter the Prepayment % in the corresponding field.

        • Prepayment Month: Set the month in which the required prepayment is due (typically month 12 or 18).

Note: For an incentive to be included as a prepayment, the "Use for Loan Paydown" option must be enabled in the incentive settings.

• Promotional Period: Some loans include a promotional period with more favorable terms at the beginning of the loan. You can configure one or more of the following options:
  • No Payment Term: No payments are due, but interest accrues. This term starts from the first loan period and lasts for the specified duration.
  • Interest-Only Term: The borrower pays only the accrued interest, not the loan principal. This term starts either at the first loan period or after the No Payment Term ends.
  • No Interest Term: No interest accrues on the loan balance, though regular payments may still be required. This term always starts at the first loan period and runs for the specified duration. (Note: This term can overlap with a No Payment or Interest-Only Term.)

Note: If the loan requires a prepayment and includes a promotional period, the No Payment and Interest-Only terms must end before the prepayment is due.

• Dealer Fee: If a Dealer Fee is required by the financing company and should be factored into the system pricing, configure the following:
  • % of Loan Amount: Enter the dealer fee as a percentage of the loan amount.
  • Fixed Amount: Enter the dealer fee as a fixed amount per project.

• Down Payment: You can configure a required down payment when this payment option is used.
  • % of System Cost: Enter the percentage of the system cost that will be collected as a down payment (this amount will not be financed).
  • Minimum Amount: Specify a minimum required down payment, if applicable.
  • Maximum Amount: Specify a maximum down payment, if applicable. This can be useful where regulations limit upfront payments (e.g., no more than $1,000 before work is completed).

Creating a PPA Payment option:

To create a PPA payment option, set the type to PPA.

• PPA Rate ($/kWh): Enter the price the Host will pay per kWh for electricity consumed on-site.
• PPA Escalator Annual (%): Enter the annual escalation rate for the PPA electricity price.
• PPA Upfront Payment ($) (Optional): If applicable, enter any upfront payment required from the Host to the System Owner.
• PPA Export Rate ($/kWh): Enter the price the Host is charged for electricity exported to the grid.

Note: The PPA Rate and PPA Export Rate may differ depending on the agreement terms.

• PPA Export Escalator Annual (%): Enter the annual escalation percentage for exported electricity pricing.
• Term (Years): Specify the length of the PPA agreement in years.
• Cap Total (kWh) (Optional): Set a maximum limit on the total kWh the Host can be charged over the lifetime of the PPA.

Creating a Regular Payment option:

To create a Regular Payment option, set the type to Regular Payment.

• Payment Frequency: Select how often the payment will happen (weekly, fortnight, bimonthly, monthly, quarterly or yearly)
• Payment amount: How much the payment will be
• Term: The amount of years the payment options will be fo
• Down Payment: If any upfront payment is required
• Escalator %: Enter the annual escalation rate 

Creating a Lease Payment option:

To create a Lease payment option, set the type to Lease.

• Payment Frequency: Select how often the payment will happen (weekly, fortnight, bimonthly, monthly, quarterly or yearly)
• Term: The amount of months the payment options will be applicable for
• Interest rate % for the lease agreement
• Down payment: Any upfront payment required
• Down payment minimum and maximum: Set a minimum down payment or a maximum if needed
• Brokerage rate (%) and annual escalation (%)
• Payment timing: Set the payment timing to either beginning or end. 

Finalizing the Payment Option

Once all relevant fields have been completed and verified, click Save to finalize the setup and make the payment option available for use in your projects.