Defining a Solution

You can define one or more solutions within a single project. This feature allows you to create multiple customer proposals, enabling easy presentation of two or more options for your end customer.

A solution has:

• Its own dedicated set of screens

• A single set of services (any combination of one PV system, one energy storage system, one or more energy efficiency measures, and one or more general services)

• A total solution price (which is either generated from a list of product cost items, or a single price input per service - your choice)

• A detailed energy and financial analysis

• Its own set of sales documents (proposal, contract, forms, etc.)

• Its own incentive filing(s)

To navigate the screens in a Solution, use the chevron shaped buttons at the right of the Solution selector.

Adding Solutions

The project must have a complete "Qualify Lead" milestone before you can create a solution. Once that milestone is completed, you can add a solution:

• If this is the first solution, click the Add a Solution link in the project navigation header
• If the project already has one or more solutions, click Add New Solution in the Solution Selector dropdown

When you add a new solution, you can choose to create a solution from scratch, or you can create a solution from a pre-defined solution template that your company has defined. SolarNexus automatically names the solutions using an alphabetical naming convention.

Creating a Solution from Scratch

On clicking to add a solution, you will see the popup dialog shown below. To create a solution from scratch, select either the [generic solution - gross pricing] option or [generic solution - cost item pricing] option from the Based On dropdown, depending on whether you want to use the gross pricing or cost item pricing method for the solution.

The Services screen for the new solution will initially be empty. The next step is to add one or more services to the solution. See the Adding Services to a Solution help article for details.

Add a Solution from Template

To create a solution from an existing template, simply select the desired template from the Based On drop down. The description and solution scope for the selected template are shown to help you choose the correct template.

When you use a solution template, the new solution is populated with one or more services based on the service offerings defined in the template. If the solution template is set to use cost item pricing, then the cost item groups associated with the template's service offerings are added to the solution and will appear on the Price screen. If the solution template is set to use gross pricing (i.e. a single total price entered for each service), the Price screen will show the default gross price for each service included in the template.

After creating a solution from a template, you will typically do the following to customize the solution:

• Optionally edit the added services to customize them for the specific project. For example, for PV systems, you will need to layout the modules, and for EE measures, you might need to update the expected efficiency savings for this particular customer.
• Optionally add additional services like when creating a solution from scratch.
• Edit pricing as necessary, either adjusting the total price for each service (in the case of gross pricing) or adjusting cost item variations / quantities (in the case of cost item pricing).

Solution Description

If you check Auto Set Description when creating a solution, the solution description will automatically be set from a combination of the PV module name/quantity, inverter name/quantity and battery name/quantity (if any). If you update the PV or storage equipment, the description will change accordingly.

You can optionally enter your own description for a solution by unchecking Auto Set Description and entering your solution in the box provided.

The description can be output into a document using the "solution_description" variable. 

Copying a Solution

You can easily create a variation of an existing solution by cloning the existing solution and then editing/adding/removing services. To clone a solution, click the copy icon in the upper right corner of the existing solution's header. 

Editing a Solution

You can edit the solution description and other properties like Projected Close Date, Close Probability and Solution Image by clicking the edit icon in the upper right corner of the solution header.

Pricing the Solution

Following definition of the services included in your solution, you need to define its Price. To access the screen for Pricing your solution, click on the Price tab.