Attain Digital × Eco2NW
OpenSolar — Setup, Process & Automation
How to stand OpenSolar up from scratch, how a proposal runs from lead to signed sale, and the two ways to run it: fully manual, or API-automated.
1First-time setup checklist
Everything a company must configure in OpenSolar before a closer can create proposals. Done once (mostly in the Control zone, admin only). Tick each item as you complete it — your progress is saved on this device.
A · Account & company
Create account + organisation; set region/units (UK, £, kWh).
Company profile — name, logo, address, phone, website, licence/registration numbers.
Accreditations & trust content — MCS, RECC/HIES, insurance, warranties, reviews (shown on proposals).
Team & roles — invite users, set permissions (closer / designer / admin). Create a machine user if using the API.
B · Design & hardware · Control → Design & Hardware
Component database — select the panels / inverters / batteries / mounting you install; add custom components; set defaults.
Component pricing — cost, labour and price for each piece of hardware.
Design defaults — default panel, orientation, system size, imagery provider (Nearmap/Google), shading.
C · Pricing & payments · Control → Pricing & Payment
Cost schemes — your true costs (per kW/panel, adders by storeys, roof type, slope) so you see margin.
Price schemes — markups/margins, fixed costs, VAT (0% domestic), location-based schemes.
Adders — custom cost/price adders per system (scaffold, EV charger, etc.).
Payment options — cash price, deposit, milestones, branded invoices.
Finance — connect lenders and set the finance options shown on proposals.
D · Proposals & contracts
Proposal template — branding, layout, about-us, case studies, testimonials, savings/ROI presentation.
Energy & tariffs — tariffs, export/SEG rates, grants/incentives → drives the savings figures.
E-signature & contract — set up the contract document + in-proposal e-sign (DocuSign).
Email/sending — send-from settings and the shareable proposal link.
E · Workflow & integrations
Project stages/workflow — pipeline stages, tasks, actions.
Integrations — CRM (GoHighLevel), lead sources, hardware distributor (e.g. Segen), accounting.
API (for automation) — enable API Access in Control → Connect, set up + fund the Wallet, generate a token / machine user.
F · Test
Run one test project end-to-end (design → price → proposal → e-sign) before a closer goes live.
2What OpenSolar does — lead to completion
OpenSolar isn't just a proposal tool — it covers the whole journey. The stages it helps with:
- Lead capture / import — AI self-serve estimate, web form, CRM, API, or manual entry.
- Project + contact — create the project and customer record.
- Energy & tariff — enter usage + tariff → savings & ROI modelling.
- Design — 3D design on satellite imagery with shading analysis.
- Pricing — auto-calculated from your cost + price schemes, plus adders → live margin.
- Proposal — interactive, branded, multi-option (cash + finance), online + PDF.
- E-signature — in-proposal contract signing (DocuSign).
- Payments — deposits, milestones, branded invoices, automated reminders.
- Hardware ordering — auto bill of materials → order through the distributor catalogue (trade pricing).
- Project management / CRM — stages, tasks, scheduling, documents, permitting.
- Completion & handover — install sign-off, then reviews & referrals.
- Reporting — pipeline, conversion and margin analytics.
3Path A — Manual
Manual One person drives everything inside the OpenSolar UI. Simplest to start, but every step is hands-on and the CRM is updated by hand.
Lead comes inFacebook / WhatsApp / website — sitting in your CRM
↓
Create project + add contactType the address & customer details into OpenSolar
↓
Enter energy usage + tariffDrives sizing & savings
↓
Design the roofLay out panels on satellite imagery, handle shading
↓
Price auto-calculatesFrom your cost + price schemes & adders
↓
Build & send proposalInteractive link, 3 options — email/WhatsApp
↓
Follow up & discussWhatsApp / Zoom — handle objections
↓
Customer e-signs + pays depositIn the proposal (DocuSign + payment)
↓
Order hardware → schedule install → completeOps takes over; you update the CRM by hand at each step
4Path B — API-Automated
Automated The CRM (GoHighLevel) and OpenSolar talk to each other. Leads flow in automatically, events flow back, and the pipeline advances itself. The closer mainly designs and closes — no re-typing, no manual status updates.
Your CRM · GoHighLevel
New lead createdFB ad / WhatsApp / web form
Pipeline auto-advancesQuote Provided → Signed → Won, from OpenSolar events
Ordering / ops triggeredOn "signed" status
OpenSolar
Project + contact + usage createdvia API, pre-filled — no typing
Design the roofhuman step (or SDK) — see note
Proposal generated & sentlink returned to CRM
Viewed · e-signed · paidcaptured in OpenSolar
↑ API creates & pushes · webhooks sync events back ↓
Where the API does the work
| Step | Manual | Automated (API) |
|---|
| Create project & contact | Type into OpenSolar | POST /projects — auto from a new CRM lead |
| Energy usage | Enter by hand | Pushed via API from the lead/quote |
| Pricing | Schemes auto-calc | Schemes auto-calc + adders pushed via API |
| Design the roof | Human in design studio | Human / SDK — not done by the standard API |
| Proposal + link | Build & send manually | Generated; shareable link read back via API |
| Viewed / signed / paid | Check manually | Webhooks → CRM updates automatically |
| Pipeline / status | Update CRM by hand | Auto-advances from synced events |
| Hardware ordering | Manual BOM + order | Triggered off the synced "signed" status |
The one honest limit: the roof design (laying panels on the roof) is the step the standard API can't do for you — it needs the OpenSolar design studio (a human) or the paid SDK. So even "fully automated", a person still designs each roof; everything around it (data in, proposal out, events back, CRM updates, ordering) is automated.
Which to use: start Manual to get proposals flowing and learn the tool. Layer in the API once volume climbs (~20 leads/day) — connect GoHighLevel so leads auto-create projects and the pipeline updates itself, leaving the closer to design + close. That's exactly what the Proposal Tracker is built to plug into.