Software · Solar installers

Solar Business Software: What Each Tool Does for an Installer, and the Gap None of Them Fill

Updated October 27, 2026

By Moni Mindich, founder, 20 years in home improvement

Solar business software is not one product. An installer runs a design and proposal tool, a CRM that tracks each project from signed contract through permit, install, inspection and permission to operate, something for crews and service calls, accounting, and a phone that has to be answered while everyone is on a roof. This guide sorts the tools by the job they do and shows where most installers still lose deals.

Quick answer: Most solar installers need four kinds of software: a design and proposal tool (for example Aurora Solar, Solargraf or the free OpenSolar), a CRM and project tracker that follows each job through permitting, interconnection and permission to operate, a field service or O&M tool for crews and service calls, and accounting. The gap none of them fill is answering and booking new inquiries the moment they call.

Hear the AI answer and book a consultation on your own phone, in 1 minute →

Published October 27, 20264 min read

Solar software, sorted by the job it does

Search results for solar business software mix design platforms, CRMs and full ERPs, and most of the roundups are written by vendors ranking their own product first. It is easier to choose when you sort by job.

Job	What the software does	Examples	Who needs it
Design and proposal	Roof model, panel layout, production estimate, financing options and a signed proposal	Aurora Solar, Solargraf, OpenSolar (says it is "100% free of charge" on its site, checked October 27, 2026)	Every installer that sells its own jobs
CRM and project tracking	Lead to contract, then site survey, permit, install, inspection, interconnection and permission to operate as stages	JobNimbus, Scoop Solar, a general CRM set up with solar stages	Anyone with more than a few jobs open at once
Permitting and interconnection	Applications to the utility and the town, status and documents	Utility portals, PowerClerk where your utility uses it	Every installer; the utility often decides the tool
Field service and O&M	Crew schedules, photos, checklists, service tickets and warranty calls	Field service apps, monitoring platforms from your inverter maker	Installers with crews and a growing installed base
Accounting	Invoices, deposits, financing payouts, job costing	QuickBooks, Xero	Everyone
The phone and inbox	Answer and qualify new inquiries, book site surveys, answer customer status questions	A receptionist, a call center, or Unmanually	Everyone, and it is the piece most often missing

What to buy at each size

Owner-operator selling 2 to 5 systems a month: one design and proposal tool, accounting, and a simple CRM with your project stages. The free design tools are worth testing first, since the proposal is what the customer sees.
Installer with crews, 5 to 20 systems a month: add a real project tracker with permit and interconnection stages and document storage, and a field app for site surveys and install photos. This is where jobs stall in the utility queue and customers start calling to ask why.
Multi-crew installer with a service business: add O&M and monitoring alerts tied to service tickets. Your installed base turns into battery add-ons, panel cleaning and warranty work, but only if those calls get answered and booked.

Worked example: what slow lead response costs an installer

Solar inquiries are expensive to generate and easy to lose: a homeowner who fills in three quote forms books with whoever calls back first. The rates below are assumptions except where cited. Home-service businesses answer 52% of calls with a person, 38% of answered calls are leads and 45% of those leads convert on the call (Invoca, July 2026, all home services, not solar only).

Step	Answer 52% of calls	Answer 90% of calls	Basis
Inquiries a month	40	40	Assumption
Reached by a person	20.8	36	52% is Invoca’s home-services average; 90% is the target
Site surveys booked on the call (45%)	9.4	16.2	Invoca, leads that convert on the call
Systems sold (1 in 5 surveys)	1.9	3.2	Assumption
Revenue at $25,000 a system	$46,800	$81,000	Assumption

On these assumptions the gap is about 1.4 systems and $34,200 in monthly revenue, from the same marketing spend. None of the design or CRM tools above close it; they start working after someone has booked the survey. Try your own numbers in the solar quote calculator.

Questions to ask before you sign

Does the proposal tool export the layout and production numbers your permit packet needs, or will someone retype them?
Can the CRM hold your utility's interconnection stages, with dates, so you can answer "where is my system?" without logging into three portals?
Does it connect to your accounting, so financing payouts and deposits match the job?
Who owns the customer and production data if you leave?
Is pricing per user, per project or per proposal? Per-proposal pricing gets expensive in a strong sales month.

Where Unmanually helps

Unmanually is a 24/7 AI Office Manager for solar installers that you run by voice. The AI Office Manager answers new inquiries while your crew is on a roof, asks your qualifying questions (homeowner, roof age, shade, average electric bill), books the site survey and sends the confirmation. It also answers "where is my install?" calls from what you have told it, sends invoices and chases deposits. See Unmanually for solar installers, and how to get solar leads without door knocking.

FAQ

Common questions

What software do solar installers use?

Usually a design and proposal tool, a CRM or project tracker with permitting and interconnection stages, a field service or monitoring tool for crews and service calls, and accounting software.

Is there free solar design software?

Yes. OpenSolar describes its software as 100% free of charge on its website (checked October 27, 2026). Paid tools such as Aurora Solar and Solargraf add features; test the proposal your customers will see before choosing.

What is the best CRM for a solar company?

The one that holds your real project stages: site survey, permit, install, inspection, interconnection and permission to operate, with dates and documents. Solar-specific CRMs have these built in; a general CRM can work if you set the stages up.

Does solar software answer customer calls?

No. Design, CRM and field tools work after a survey is booked. Answering and booking new inquiries needs a person, a call service, or an AI Office Manager such as Unmanually.

Turn the hours this takes into minutes of talking.

Home service businesses answer only about half their calls (Invoca, July 2026), and owners spend about 11 to 16 hours/week on admin. Knowing what to do is the easy part; the money leaks out in the calls you can't take, the quotes nobody chases and the invoices that sit unpaid. Unmanually is a 24/7 AI Office Manager for solar installers that you run by voice from your phone:

Answers your business line 24/7, quotes from your price list and books the consultation on the live call, so the customer doesn't ring the next company on Google.
Sends the quote, follows up until they say yes, then sends the invoice and chases it until it's paid.
Texts confirmations and reminders, keeps your calendar and remembers every price and promise.
Plus a free website for your business, set up for you. On a plan, every form fill gets a call back from your AI Office Manager in about a minute.

Hear it on my phone in 1 minute Free solar quote calculator Get my free website

Sources: Invoca, July 2026 (52% of home-service calls answered by a person, 60M+ calls); admin hours: Time etc / Censuswide 2023 and Amex SME Barometer 2026.

Hear the AI answer and book a job on your own phone

Unmanually is an AI Office Manager that works 24/7 and that you run by voice from your phone. Leave your mobile number and the AI Office Manager calls you right away, the same way it would call back one of your customers. That call is the demo: it answers, books you a 15-minute time with the founder and follows up.

We use your details only to call you and follow up about Unmanually. Unsubscribe any time.