This article explains how to configure pricing within OpenSolar, including Pricing Schemes, Costing Schemes, Adders, and Hardware Pricing. It also explains how these settings work together at the project level to calculate your customer's price while tracking your organization's costs and profit margins.

Overview

OpenSolar allows you to build your pricing from several different sources:

• Pricing Schemes – Base selling price (Price per Watt, Fixed Price, and Markup)
• Costing Schemes – Internal costs used for margin calculations or when doing markup
• Adders Library – Additional charges such as permits or upgrades to the system
• Hardware Pricing – Price adjustments assigned directly to modules, batteries, inverters, and other equipment

Each pricing source serves a different purpose and can be combined to create a flexible pricing structure.

Pricing vs Cost

Before configuring your pricing, it is important to understand the difference between Price and Cost.

Price

Price is the amount your customer pays.

Price can be entered in the following places:

• Price per Watt pricing scheme
• Fixed pricing scheme
• Hardware Price Adjustments
• Adders

These values determine the proposal price shown to the customer.

Cost

Cost represents your internal expenses.

Cost can be entered in the following places:

• Equipment costs
• Adders
• Cost Scheme

When price per watt, price per watt by size or fixed price is used, costs do not change the customer's price.

Cost is only involved in the price of the system when markup is being used. 

Creating a Pricing Scheme

Pricing Schemes define the base selling price for your projects.

Step 1: Navigate to:

1. Control → Pricing & Payment → Pricing
2. Select Add Pricing Scheme.
3. Enter the Pricing Scheme Name

Choose a name that clearly identifies when the pricing scheme should be used.

Step 2: Select a Pricing Formula

OpenSolar provides several pricing formulas.

• Price per Watt: Calculates the selling price based on the installed system size.
• Price per Watt by Size: Allows different price-per-watt values depending on the overall system size. This is useful when larger systems receive discounted pricing.
• Fixed Price: Uses one fixed amount regardless of system size.

Tax Settings

Choose whether your pricing:

• Includes Tax - The entered price already contains tax.
• Excludes Tax - Tax is added on top of your pricing.

Creating a Costing Scheme

Costing Schemes are mostly useful if you are doing a markup pricing scheme. You can also add it for price per watt if you want the system to calculate margin. 

Navigate to:

Control → Pricing & Payment → Costing

Select Add Costing Scheme.

Creating Adders

Adders allow you to charge for additional work or services.

Navigate to:

Control → Pricing & Payment → Adders Library

Select Add Adder.

Select an Adder Type

You can create:

• Price only
• Cost only
• Price and Cost

If you want OpenSolar to calculate your margin on an adder, select Price and Cost.

Select a Pricing Formula

Adders support multiple calculation methods including:

• Fixed Amount
• Price Per Watt
• Per Panel
• Percentage of Price

Choose the option that best matches your pricing model.

Price Treatment

Specify how the adder should behave for finance calculations.

Available options include:

• Solar
• Roofing
• Non-Solar

This becomes important when dealer fees are applied.

Dealer Fee Options

Choose whether dealer fees should:

• Apply to the adder
• Not apply to the adder

Customer Visibility

If desired, enable the option to display the adder on customer proposals.

Adding Pricing to Hardware

Pricing can also be assigned directly to hardware components.

Navigate to:

Control → Design & Hardware

Open the hardware item you wish to edit.

Examples include:

• Modules
• Batteries
• Inverters

Price vs Markup flow:

Applying Pricing to a Project

Once pricing has been configured, open your project.

Select Your Hardware

Choose the hardware models you configured pricing for.

If multiple pricing sources are available, select the appropriate pricing source for the equipment.

Select the Pricing Scheme

Navigate to the Pricing section.

Choose your Pricing Scheme.

Select a Costing Scheme

If you are tracking margins, select your Costing Scheme.

If you do not wish to track internal costs, this field may be left blank.

Add Project Adders

Select the + button under Adders.

Choose any applicable adders.

Video Walkthrough:

How to add price:

How to set up Markup:

Best Practices

• Use Pricing Schemes for your base system pricing.
• Use Hardware Pricing for equipment-specific pricing adjustments.
• Use Adders for optional services or installation work.
• Use Costing Schemes if you want to track margin (price per watt, fixed price or price per watt by size) or if you are using markup
• Keep battery pricing in one location to avoid accidentally charging twice.
• Create separate Pricing Schemes for different markets or sales strategies.

Troubleshooting

My hardware price isn't appearing.

Verify that:

• Pricing has been added to the hardware component in the control.
• If you just added the pricing in the control, recalculate the design
• The correct battery has been selected.

Battery pricing is appearing twice

Verify that you do not have price added for the battery in the pricing scheme and hardware setup. 

Additional Resources

For more information, see:

• Creating Costing Schemes
• Using the Adders Library

• Configuring Hardware