Project Design – Supplier Preference Settings

Table of Contents

• Introduction

• What are Supplier Preference Settings?

• Who is this setting for?

  • Australia

  • United Kingdom

  • United States

• How to use Supplier Preference Settings?

• Limitations

Introduction

Supplier Preference Settings let you control which hardware cost source OpenSolar should prioritise when selecting hardware during design. This is especially useful if you want OpenSolar to default to supplier hardware cost (where available) instead of always using your organisation’s Manual Cost.

You can find this setting via Control > Design & Hardware > Supplier Preferences (https://app.opensolar.com/home/hardware_supplier_preferences)

What are Supplier Preference Settings?

By default, the Design Component Selector uses your organisation’s Manual Cost (configured in Control > Design & Hardware) to price components.

Supplier Preference Settings allow you to define a preferred cost order (priority list), so OpenSolar can automatically apply your chosen supplier source first—before falling back to Manual Cost where needed.

This helps you:

• Default to the supplier hardware cost instead of the manual organisation cost

• Use the latest hardware cost and stock availability from connected suppliers (where available)

• Reduce manual source selection during design

Who is this setting for?

This setting is available for organisations in regions where Shop hardware is supported.

Currently supported locations:

• Australia (availability may vary depending on connected suppliers)

• United Kingdom

• United States (availability may vary depending on connected suppliers)

Note: The list of suppliers shown in Supplier Preferences depends on your organisation’s location and which supplier integrations are enabled or connected.

Australia

• You’ll see Solar Outlet only if it is enabled for your organisation.

• If Solar Outlet is not enabled, it won’t appear in the list.

United Kingdom

• You’ll see supplier preference settings available in Control.

• You can reorder suppliers that are available to your organisation.

United States

• You’ll see Sunrgy available in the supplier preference settings in Control.

How to use Supplier Preference Settings?

When you open Supplier Preferences, you’ll see:

• Manual Cost at the top (default priority)

• Supplier sources below it in alphabetical order (based on your region and enabled integrations)

To update your preferred order:

1. Drag and drop each source to rearrange the priority list

2. Place your preferred supplier(s) above Manual Cost if you want OpenSolar to default to supplier hardware cost first

3. Review the preview table on the right-hand side to confirm the order looks correct

What changes after I update my preferences?

Once you’ve saved your Supplier Preference Settings, OpenSolar will use your configured priority order when determining the default cost source during design.

This affects the order of source options shown across key areas within the project, including:

• Design Component Selector

• RHS BOM

• Customise Hardware Cost (COGS Override modal)

• Hardware BOM table (in the project’s Shop tab)

Example: What happens when selecting a component?

If you set a supplier source (e.g. Solar Outlet / City Plumbing) above Manual Cost:

• When you click Select in the Component Selector without selecting a source chip, OpenSolar will automatically apply the highest-priority source set in the table.

• If the component is not available from that supplier, OpenSolar will try the next option in your preference list.

• If no suppliers are available for that component, OpenSolar will fall back to Manual Cost (even if the cost is 0).

This means you no longer need to select a source every time—OpenSolar automatically chooses based on your preferences and applies it across automated design rules, such as mounting and BOS.

Limitations

Supplier Preference Settings currently apply only at the organisation level.

• ✅ Applies to the whole organisation

• ❌ Cannot be customised per component