Price per watt, adders where they can see them.
Homeowners line up three solar bids and compare the price per watt. Redline builds yours with the system on one line and the panel upgrade, trenching and battery on their own, so a 100 amp panel doesn't make your per-watt number look high.
From site survey to a saved quote
Survey and size it your way
Walk the roof, shoot the planes, the main panel and the meter, and size the system in whatever design tool you use. Redline doesn't design arrays.
Send the size and the photos
Panel count, wattage, inverter type, roof planes and what you saw in the panel. Up to 6 photos in one message for Redline to read. Attach them to the job too so they stay with it.
Adders on their own lines
Main panel upgrade, trenching for a ground mount, critter guard, a roof repair before install. Each one is a separate line with its own price.
Panels only next to panels plus battery
Put the battery, or a bigger system, in as a second or third option. The homeowner sees what each one adds, side by side.
Save it, email it, follow up
The quote saves on their file. Redline can draft the email with the numbers from your own Gmail, and the pipeline shows how long they've been thinking about it.
A 9.84 kW system with a battery option
That's 9.84 kW. Two drafts for Gail Abernathy:
Option 1: 9.84 kW system at $2.85/W $28,044, main panel upgrade to 200A $2,400, permit and interconnection $650. Total $31,094.
Option 2: everything in option 1 plus battery (13.5 kWh) installed, $12,900. Total $43,994.
Deposit?
Both drafts now carry a 10% deposit: $3,109.40 on option 1, $4,399.40 on option 2. Approve them and they save to her file.
Quotes are drafts you check. Example prices only. Your per-watt rate is remembered once you've used it.
What's on a residential solar quote
| Line | Unit | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| System, installed | per watt (DC) | Panel count and wattage in the description |
| Inverter or microinverters | included or each | Name the type so bids compare cleanly |
| Main panel upgrade | each | An adder, not part of the per-watt price |
| Trenching for a ground mount | per foot | Distance from array to the house |
| Battery | each | Usually its own option |
| Critter guard, roof work | per foot or each | Only when the roof needs it |
| Permit and interconnection | each | Your cost for the paperwork |
Units shown as examples. Use the way you already price.
Why the adders matter
If you fold a $2,400 panel upgrade into the system price, your 9.84 kW bid reads about 24 cents a watt higher than the installer who listed it separately, and the homeowner can't tell why. Putting the system on one line and every adder on its own line lets them compare like with like, and it shows the work you found that the other bids may have missed.
What Redline won't do is the solar math. There's no production estimate, shade report or savings projection. If your design tool makes a proposal PDF, keep sending it. Redline's quote is the priced scope, saved on the customer's file, with the pipeline tracking the follow-up.
Straight answers on solar quotes
Redline does
- Price systems per watt from your size and rate
- List adders like panel upgrades and trenching on their own lines
- Put panels only and panels plus battery side by side
- Read the roof, panel and meter photos you send
- Add a deposit and save the quote on the customer's file
Redline doesn't
- Design arrays or count panels from satellite images
- Estimate production, savings or payback
- Offer financing or compare loan options
- Let the homeowner accept or e-sign online
- Track utility interconnection or PTO
Questions contractors ask
Can I quote per panel instead of per watt?
Yes. Tell Redline "$1,150 per panel installed" and give it the count. You can switch between the two on different jobs, and it remembers both rates.
How does the homeowner sign?
On your own contract. Online approval isn't available in Redline right now. When they sign, move the job to Accepted and invoice the deposit, which needs Solo or above.
What about the battery incentive paperwork?
Redline doesn't fill in rebate or incentive forms. Keep a photo of the paperwork on the job so it's with the rest of the project.
More for solar installers
Quote the next system before you leave the driveway.
Quotes are free on every plan. Solo adds invoices and deposits, with a 7-day trial on the web.
Keep reading
- Solar softwareFollow up on long sales cycles, quote per watt and bill each milestone.
- Solar CRMLead to PTO on one pipeline, with follow-ups and milestone invoices.
- Solar invoicing softwareDeposit, install and PTO payments billed by chat, lender payments logged on the file.
- Quotes and estimatesItemized quotes by chat or from a photo, with a deposit. Options and tax in the composer.