Design Bonus Features

DesignOps

Design Bonus Features

1. Database of Setback Requirements

Looking up necessary code and setback requirements for your project is extremely time-consuming and can lead to design errors. Making sure your software has a database of setback requirements by jurisdiction will help you design projects with accuracy and confidence. As an added layer of certainty, your software should offer a validation report that will alert a designer if any modules violate parameters.

  • Improves design accuracy
  • Reduces change orders

2. AHJ Identification & Integrated Database

There are tens of thousands of Authority Having Jurisdictions (AHJs) nationwide. The requirements can vary from one jurisdiction to another and by the type and complexity of projects. An integrated AHJ database enables design and sales teams to be informed on requirements so that the expectations for the system can be set with the homeowner from the beginning. This makes the process from design to close smoother and faster.

In addition to identifying the AHJ, storing the requirements in an easily referenceable way is critical for designing, selling, and installing systems quickly. This gives your team easy access to track and reference the requirements, keeping your design, permitting, and install teams aligned.

  • Improves accuracy
  • Streamlines processes

3. Firepathways & Setbacks

Fire pathways and setbacks are among the most impactful and least understood aspects of designing and selling a solar project. These pathways allow firefighters to access the roof for fire fighting, smoke ventilation, and emergency rescue operations. Setbacks support proper installation of the system. Having the right tools that provide AHJ, Fire Code year, and roof coverage information will help your designers to easily account for the necessary fire pathways to meet code. This allows your team to move faster by designing accurate, permit-ready systems from the start, while maximizing the system size.

  • Improves design accuracy
  • Streamlines processes
  • Reduces design time

Pro tip: Find a software that includes fire pathways in a downloadable DXF file. This enables efficient post-sale plan set designing and engineering work in a CAD program.

4. On-demand Plan Sets

The solar post-sales landscape is incredibly complex, often leading to delays that hold solar installations back. Some solar software companies offer a plan sets service that will collect solar site information and request permit-ready plan sets for you, all from the same sales and design software. Having a plan set service integrated into your solar software helps you streamline your permitting process, moving your projects forward faster.

  • Streamlines processes
  • Speeds up workflows

5. Permission Settings

If your business has separate processes for your design and sales teams, permission settings could be an important feature to look into. Some solar software solutions allow you to limit the edits that your salespeople can make to solar designs. This can ensure that a site model hasn't been modified by someone who isn’t authorized to do so.

  • Improves design accuracy
  • Decreases change orders

Pro tip: Pair Permission Settings with Permit Ready Designs to make sure your designs stay accurate as you grow your team or department.

6. Partner Management

A partner management tool within solar software enhances efficiency for installers that have a dealer network (and dealers in a network). This tool can ensure that the sold design is the installed one, reducing change orders and accelerating the sale-to-installation process. It lets you minimize risk and organize your dealer pipeline with project visibility and access guardrails that fit your business needs. Such a feature streamlines workflows, unifies pre- and post-sales processes, and boosts efficiency and customer satisfaction by keeping all teams aligned.

  • Improves the dealer experience
  • Decreases change orders
  • Streamline sale-to-install

7. Solar APIs

APIs allow you to sync design assets from your solar software to whatever CRM or customer-facing solution you use. You can also use APIs to sync homeowner consumption profiles between platforms to maintain accuracy of design.

In addition to data syncing APIs, roofing APIs can help you build out comprehensive roof replacement quotes to deliver alongside your solar proposal. Roof summary APIs deliver valuable roof data to sell roof replacements with confidence and ease.

  • Improves design accuracy
  • Streamlines processes
  • Reduces design time

8. On-demand Design Service

Every solar installer understands the seasonal nature of the solar business. Some solar software companies provide on-demand design services to help with peak times. This means you can have an expert design the project, allowing you to scale your capacity to meet increased demand — without having to hire full-time employees you might not need in the slower times. Remember that turnaround times (TAT) differ by vendor, so ask about TAT when scoping out new software.

  • Increases market potential
  • Scales your business

Next up...

Conclusion & Takeaways

Next, let's take a look at the features that make top software solutions stand out from the rest.