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Inventory pricebook management

Updated

Your SolarPlus inventory pricebook is different from other quoting tools you may have used, because each item is associated with:

  • a supplier and pricing (you can specify multiply suppliers and prices for the same item)

  • a category (eg Panel, inverter, DC isolator) which means it can be selected at the appropriate point of the system design, and if applicable, be included in the SLD.

  • electrical specs required for system design (which are stored for each Panel, Inverter and Battery in the SolarPlus Product Library - a storehouse of commonly used solar & storage components and specifications.

  • a datasheet (included in items you import from the SolarPlus Product Library)

and, optionally:

  • a custom warranty period

  • an image

  • installation manual

  • engineering certificate (for mounting)

 

Setting up your inventory

a) Onboarding support

We can help you get started by uploading some inventory items for you. Just fill in this spreadsheet and send it through to support@solarplus.co

 

b) Express inventory price lists

You can import a list of commonly used labour and balance of system items, including lists of common circuit breakers, check out these pre-built inventory lists.

 

c) Add items from the SolarPlus Product Library

  1. Go to Settings > Product Library

  2. Select the category (Inverter/PCE, Module, Battery, etc)

  3. Search for the component

  4. Select each item you want

  5. Click Add component to Inventory

 

Once you have added products you can easily add prices by clicking the pencil edit icon next to each item.

If a panel, inverter/PCE or battery you wish to use does not appear in the list, you can request that it is added by sending a spec sheet to support@solarplus.co

 

 

Un-archiving inventory items

If the item doesn’t appear in your inventory after importing it from the product library, it means that the item is already in your inventory but it may be archived. To unarchive, go to ‘Manage inventory’, toggle the ‘show archived’ button, click the delete button, and select ‘un-archive’.

 

Create your own Custom Items

Any item other than inverters, panels, and batteries, can be created in the inventory. While in the inventory, hit the button ‘Create custom item’. Then follow the steps below:

  • Select a relevant category for the item

  • Set the name of the item

  • Optional: upload a PDF brochure

  • Turn ‘The item is purchased’ ON to count the item towards the cost of goods sold

  • Optional: choose to include the item by default in all quotes (NOTE: when system packages are applied to a quote, the default items will not be included)

  • Optional: add description. This appears only on the Bill of Materials, with the exception of Grid Protection Devices, where the description field can be used to enter the settings of the GPD, which are then included in the Single Line Diagram.

  • Hit ‘Next’

  • Set up the pricing structure

  • Hit 'Create'

 

 

Inventory Settings

Warranty period and warranty docs

For commonly used items such as modules, inverters, and batteries, there is a product warranty term set in the SolarPlus database. If you would like to change the warranty period, you can do this by editing the item in your inventory.

  1. Account Settings > Manage Inventory

  2. In the Inventory Page, search for the panel / inverter / battery in question and click on the small pencil icon adjacent to it

  3. Edit the Item Warranty field.

  4. If required, uploaded the warranty document for your country in the .pdf

image-20240918-043434.png

Adding product datasheets/images/manuals

  1. Go to Admin > Inventory

  2. Search for item you want to edit (for example, search for the model number of an inverter)

  3. Click the edit button (pen icon) in the Actions column

  4. Upload files in the relevant sections (if default files are present, they will appear under the default files heading; when custom files are uploaded, they appear under the attached files heading and override the default files when they are attached to the proposals)

    image-20240918-043944.png

     

 

Item is purchased

When adding and updating an inventory item there is an option to mark the item as "Item is purchased". When checked, this item will be included in the Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) for a quote that it is in. You have the option on the edit quote page to view the profit margin on this COGS basis versus based on the cost price of all items.

If you have an integration with an accounting platform, COGS will be sent as an accounts payable item. In this way, it is included in a Profit and Loss report in the 'Cost of Sales' area.

Upsell Optional Extras

Give your customers the choice to select extra items that they see value in, for example, a monitoring system, car charger, or hot water diverter. Remember to include the cost of installation if applicable.

To setup Upsell Optional Extras:

  1. Start by editing an existing inventory item, or creating a new item.

  2. Select the toggle ‘Upsell optional extra’

  3. Open up a quote to the Edit Quote page

  4. Select ‘Show Itemised on Quote’

  5. Optionally, select ‘Add to Price’ to mark the item as ‘added’ on the quote and included in the price total.

  6. Click Refresh Quote Pricing.

 

 

Quote Add-ons

These are site-specific items that are applied on top of a Custom Price, and offer a handy checklist for extras that should be considered when finalising a quote.

Eg: You have a System Package that includes panels, inverters, balance of system gear and standard labour costs. You want to use the ‘Custom Price’ option to set a fixed price for this package, rather than the total of the individual line items. But you also want your sales reps to be able to easily add common extra items, such as:

  • complex roof surcharges

  • switchboard upgrades

  • travel costs

 

These ‘add-ons’ are setup in the inventory with a check of the ‘Quote Add-on’ option. When this is done:

  1. The sales rep now sees these items listed in a separate table on the Quote Edit view, below the table showing all regular line items. These Quote Add-ons are visible, but by default are NOT applied to the quote.

  2. The sales rep can simply check a box for any of these Quote Add-on items to 'Add to quote'. The list provides a simple checklist of extras they should consider when finalising a quote.

  3. The Quote Add-on are added to the quote and the price added. If ‘Custom price’ has been set, the quote add-ons are added in on top of the custom price so that a new final price is calculated. i.e. the custom price excludes add-ons but the view for the customer will show the 'custom price + the total of all add-ons.

Pricing options

 

Markup

The markup represents how much you increase the wholesale price and is a percentage value by default. You can set markup as a percentage or a dollar value. 

Unit of Measure

Price per watt: You can enter a price per watt up to 3 decimal places. eg. 0.497 cents per watt. The price shown on the quote to a customer however, must not have more than 2 decimal places so the buy price per watt is converted to a sell price per panel, including the mark-up you apply. eg. for a 400 watt panel the price shown will be
0.497 x 15% markup x 400W = $228.62

Therefore the customer will see the number of panels and a price per panel that adds up to the line item total, as they would expect.

Price per panel: The price will be multiplied by the number of panels in the design.

Formula Pricing

Formulas allow you create flexible pricing that adjusts the unit price according to the quantity of items in a design. There a wide range of uses, and the most common applications are for:

  1. Bulk discounts for panels

  2. Tiered install labour pricing.

  3. Balance of System /kW price.

  4. Battery rebate based on battery kWh rating

Check out this Webinar on advanced pricing features: https://solarplus.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/SPHC/pages/1329496112/Recent+Webinars#Wed-October-19th%2C-2022

Operations

Create formulas using regular arithmetic functions (+ - / x ), as well as the following functions, which operate in the same was as excel:

Please use brackets carefully to avoid unexpected results. Information inside brackets will get evaluated first. Do not begin a formula with a single number in brackets.

 

Variables

Possible variables you can use for formula pricing are as follows (label to include in formula is in bold):

  • Number of PV modules/panels: module-qty

  • kW of PV (excluding existing arrays): kilowatt-qty

  • Number of inverters: inverter-qty

  • Number of battery inverters / All-in-ones: battery-system-qty (works for both AC and DC coupled all-in-ones)

  • Number of MPPTs: mppt-qty

  • Number of Micro-inverter branches: micro-branch-qty

  • Total nominal battery capacity - nominal-battery-kwh

  • Total usable (considering DoD) battery capacity - usable-battery-kwh

Example 1: Bulk discount pricing for panels

Your wholesaler gives you a discount for buying panels in bulk, and you want to pass this saving on to the customer.

If the number of panels in a quote > 50, then panel price = $200/panel

If the number of panels in a quote < 50, then panel price = $250/panel

Corresponding Formula

(module-qty * 200) + if (module-qty < 50 , module-qty * 50 , 0 )

 

Example 2: Tiered install labour pricing

The common use case is where this is the cost structure for a contractor installer you use. Or this could be used for a better estimation of profit using your own internal install team.

Example Cost Structure

$80/panel for up to 16 panels

$60/panel for 17 to 30 panels

$40/panel for over 30 panels

+ $200 fixed cost

Corresponding Formula

(MIN (module-qty , 16 ) * 80) + IF(module-qty > 16 , MIN(module-qty - 16 , 16) * 60 , 0) + IF(module-qty > 30 , (module-qty - 30) * 40, 0) + 200
WHERE module-qty is a variable used in the formula that is dynamic and will use the actual panels in the system design, 16 is the tier 1 threshold max. number of panels, 80 is the tier 1 price, etc.

Structure for this formula

(MIN ([variable], [tier-1-threshold]) * [tier-1-price] + IF([variable] > [tier-1-threshold] , MIN([variable] - [tier-1-threshold] , [tier-2-threshold] - [tier-1-threshold]) * [tier-2-price] , 0) + IF([variable] > [tier-2-threshold] , ([variable] - [tier-2-threshold]) * [tier-3-price] , 0) + [fixed-price]

Example 3: Price per kW, with a minimum value

This is useful for Balance of System costs etc.

Example Cost Structure

Charge $50 per kW of PV, but make sure the amount never drops below $500

Corresponding Formula

500 + if (kilowatt-qty > 10, (kilowatt-qty - 10)*50,0)

Example 4: Battery rebate/price based on battery kWh rating

This is useful for calculating the battery price, battery rebate, or any other pricing structure based on the battery kWh rating. The examples below show the rebate sample formula:

Example Cost Structure

Corresponding Formula

BESS 1 calculation - Ausgrid

floor ((usable-battery-kwh * 0.0853 * 1 * 1.04 * 10 * 6 * 15 )) * 2.45

BESS 1 calculation - Endeavour & EE

floor ((usable-battery-kwh * 0.0853 * 1 * 1.05 * 10 * 6 * 15 )) * 2.45

BESS 2 calculation - Ausgrid

floor ((usable-battery-kwh * 1.04 * 11.646)) * 2.45

BESS 2 calculation - Endeavour & EE

floor ((usable-battery-kwh * 1.05 * 11.646)) * 2.45

The value in the brackets is the number of PRCs, and the 2.45 is the $ value of each certificate.

Unit of Measure

Please ensure that the Unit of Measure field is set to “/item” , regardless of how your formula is calculated. The formula contains the unit of measure.

 

Markup and Custom price.

The price mark-up can still be applied on top of the formula to calculate your profit on a percentage basis.

Applying a Custom Price to the quote will override any formula-based pricing.

Help with creating formulas

Use this spreadsheet to create and check your formula before adding it in SolarPlus

Formula creation helper.…

 

 

Margin on Wholesale

This feature enables setting a retail price based on profit margin. For particular jobs it may be desirable to calculate your retail price based on the total cost of doing the job (based on the line items included) and with a gross profit margin that you need to achieve for profitability.

In this case you are over-riding the mark-up values set in the inventory pricebook.

Margin is applied to all items, including Add-ons, and items classified as ‘not purchased’ eg labour.

For accuracy, remember to ensure your wholesale prices are up-to-date in your inventory.

  1. Select Custom Price

  2. Select Margin on Wholesale

  3. Enter % Margin

  4. hit tab

 

Margin Vs Markup

Markup: Tells you how much you bump up the prices of the things you sell.

Margin: Tells you what percentage of income is gross profit.

For more info, please refer to this explainer by Xero.

 

What should I set my Margin at?

This blog by Trade Business Accountants is a good starting place for advice.

 

Subsidies and Rebates

When creating a Subsidy or Rebate (other than STCs and LGCs), please select the category 'SUBSIDY'. This gives you additional options for managing tax, and it sets the item below the other items in a quote.

  1. Enter the description

  2. Enter the amount in dollars (do not make it negative, it will be applied as a discount in a quote

  3. In most cases a subsidy does not have sales tax, so leave 'Apply Sales Tax' unchecked.

  4. If you wish the subsidy to come off the total payable amount (i.e. you are going to claim the rebate on behalf of the customer) enable the toggle 'Subtract from Total Payable'. Otherwise it will be deducted from the Total Payable and a Out of Pocket cost will be applied.

  5. Disable 'This item is purchased' to prevent it being counted towards cost of goods sold

  6. Click Create

 

Mounting Kits

Adding mounting kits to your inventory

Mounting kits can be added from the Product Library.

Optionally filter the list of mounting kits to a specific brand or to an attribute such as panel width, eg. ‘35mm’.

Select one or more kits to add to your library and click the ‘Add to Inventory’ button at the bottom.

Applying cost to the mounting kit items

Each line item in the mounting can be set up to have a cost. This cost can be in different units of measure (per item, per kW, per panel).

Click the “+” button on the bottom to add more items to the kit.

Click the pen icon under the Action column to update the item details including the pricing.

Hit “Save” to update the changes.

 

Price and Bill of Materials calculation

The mounting kit price is calculated based on the pricing set up for each item in the kit. The total kit price is presented on the quote as a single line item. The total price is calculated based on each item’s unit of measure.

The bill of materials table on the install page and the CSV export both list the individual kit items and their quantities. The quantities are calculated based on the total of “quantity” and “spare quantity” set up in the inventory. Again, these quantities are also calculated after considering the unit of measure.

 

Adding mounting to a quote

If using System Packages, it is recommended that a default mounting kit is added to the packages.

When creating a quote, select a mounting kit, eg. Tin or Tile, via the Balance of System (BoS) icon to the bottom right of the top tracker.

When selected, you will be prompted to indicate if this should be applied to all trackers.

 

Mounting calculators

 

Balance of System

There are a few options for setting the price for the Balance of System or accessories / sundries.

  • Price per kW - simple

  • Price per kW - formula

  • Site-by-site estimate

    • Set price to $1 + markup. In the quote, set the quantity according to the complexity of the job. That way your margin is adjusted.

 

Hybrid inverters which are sold as PV only, with a paid firmware upgrade to unlock the battery charger

Eg Fronius Gen24 Standard and Plus series. For each of the Standard and Plus variations, we have created 2 items in the Product Library. The Standard is classed as a string inverter, and the Plus is a hybrid inverter. This enables you to set different pricing for each in your Inventory, and to prevent sales people from selling a cheaper Standard unit with a battery system.

When it comes time to quote the customer for a battery in the future, you can duplicate your initial PV only quote, swap the Gen24 Standard for a Gen24 Plus and mark the PV Modules as pre-existing. Then and add a battery in the design page and the unlock fee in the Pricing page (create a separate inventory item for the unlock fee).

 

 

Updating Inventory Pricing

There are 3 ways to update the inventory pricing in SolarPlus:

  • Manual update per item (recommended for editing only a few items for quick changes and for PDF uploads)

  • Inventory CSV export and import (for bulk price updates)

  • 3-column CSV upload for supplier pricelists (for supplier price updates)

Updating inventory items manually

Admin menu > Manage Inventory.

  1. Click on the small pencil icon adjacent to the component you want to update

  2. In the Edit Inventory Item window, you can update the:

    1. Category

    2. Model Name

    3. Product name

    4. Warranty period

    5. Brochures, manuals, warranty docs and images. Note that inventory items in the 'Mounting' category have an additional document upload for 'Frame Engineer's Certificate'. This document will be added to the System Manual if this component is selected in a system design.

  3. Edit the pricing of a particular component by clicking on the small pencil icon under the ‘Pricing'.

  4. In the Pricing Window, please enter the following details:

    1. Supplier name

    2. Stock Code (SKU)

    3. Buy Price

    4. Unit of measure ( per item, per panel, per kW solar PV, per watt solar PV)

    5. Mark Up value (if applicable and enable the markup percentage toggle if the markup is a percentage of the buy price)

  5. Hit Save.

 

Bulk update of inventory items via .csv

Use this method to bulk update the price of multiple items in the inventory:

  • Go to manage inventory

  • Export inventory CSV (if you use the search field in the inventory before exporting the CSV, the CSV will include the filtered results only)

  • Make the changes as required to the CSV

  • Save the changes

  • Go to manage inventory again and upload the edited CSV

 

Information that can be updated by downloading and then uploading inventory .csv:

  • buy price and mark-up

  • archive status

  • name, category, supplier, stock code, item variation suffix, and quantities

 

Ensure the Inventory category and unit of measure matches theses lists:

 

Information that must not be changed when downloading and then uploading inventory .csv:

  • Add new supplier names (check existing supplier names by clicking on your user name > manage suppliers - the supplier names on CSV need to exactly match)

  • Change Inventory ID or pricing ID

  • Add new line items or create new items (all items that need to be in the inventory, must be present in the inventory before you export it as a CSV file from SolarPlus - do not add new items in the exported CSV)

  • Use inventory category or unit of measure that is not present in the list of acceptable entries above

 

 

Understanding Inventory .csv files

  • Inventory ID - this refers to the actual inventory id

  • Pricing ID - this refers to multiple pricing per supplier

Note: If you don’t have Inventory ID and Pricing ID set, it will be considered as new item addition

  • Name - Name of the item

  • Is kit Item - To denote if a specific item is a Kit

  • Category Name - Item category (Accessory, Inverter, Battery, etc)

  • Supplier Name - Suppliers are determined from User Menu > Manage Suppliers

  • Stock Code - SKUs per Item

  • Item Variation Suffix - commonly we supply this to have an identifier to differentiate item variations

  • Is Default - Upon adding a component to a system, the default pricing will always be set in the quotes

  • Buy Price - the price of an item

  • Unit of measure - to have a basic item measure (per kW, per item, per panel, per watt) multiplier

  • Markup value - markup price for your item

  • Quantity - quantity of item stocked

  • Spare Quantity - quantity of item spared

  • Is Archived - this is true if you want to archive your item, archiving an item will make it not available to all your systems.

Uploading Supplier Pricelists

Check this page for a more detailed description - Uploading Supplier Pricelists

The supplier name and SKUs in the supplier pricelist must match with the inventory SKUs and the supplier name in SolarPlus

 

 

 

 

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