What is Cost Buildup?

Cost buildup is a feature that allows sales representatives and managers to create quotes by assigning costs to specific components of the designed system. For instructions on how to construct a quote using cost buildup, see How do I create a quote using cost buildup?

Cost buildup line items can include equipment and other project costs. They range from solar equipment to fees, and from general base costs to labor. A margin can be applied directly to individual costs or on the total project.  

Account administrators have the ability to set default project-level costs (base costs, labor, and margin) as well as solar equipment costs. On the quote page, you will see all costs represented by a single $/W value that will appear in the Install Cost input field by default (highlighted below). 

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Equipment costs & defaults

Upon account creation, your organization is set up with default costs on modules, inverters, and project base costs of $1.00/W, $0.20/W, and $2.00/W, respectively. These can be changed at any time by any account administrator. Solar equipment costs can be updated by clicking the gear icon in the upper right corner of the page, then selecting Project Phase.

Under the Solar Modules, Inverters, Storage, and Energy Efficiency tabs, you can set the default costs. Setting a default cost for a piece of equipment sets that default cost for all in that category. This is done by editing the input field in the top left (highlighted below).  

While the default module cost sets the default cost for all modules, you can override the cost of a specific module by clicking the edit button (pencil icon) in that module's row (highlighted below).

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If you click to edit an individual module cost, the Edit Information window will appear. This will allow you to set a different default cost ($/W or $) and margin for that module. Click Submit to save any changes.

Project costs (Adders)

The account administrator can also set Project Costs to both create custom line items and set project cost controls. Under the Adders tab, there is an New Adder button that allows users to create and store common line items to be used in non-Everbright financing projects ONLY (highlighted below).

Clicking the New Adder button opens the New Adder window, allowing you to create a specific line item. “Name”, “Cost Category”, “Project Technology”, “Unit”, and “Cost” fields are required. Reminder: custom adders cannot be used in EverBright financing projects.

EverBright-approved adders (indicated by the checkmark in the “EverBright Approved” column) can have their default costs set by using the Edit “pencil icon” option next to the adder. You will only be allowed to input the “unit” and “cost” for that adder (all other fields are grayed out and not editable). Note: non-EverBright-approved adders used for non-EverBright financing projects can be fully edited.

You can easily revert back to the EverBright-set default Units and Amounts by clicking the Reset Cost “backward arrow” icon next to the edit button.

Project cost controls

While in the Project Phase window, there is also a Details tab (to the right of Adders). Clicking this tab reveals a variety of defaults and constraints that can be set and applied to all jobs. Account administrators can set the project level margin, base costs, and project labor while also applying a constraint of a minimum margin (displayed below).

These defaults can also be set on a market basis if you operate in multiple markets with implications on project costs. In order to set these defaults, select Edit on the Project Cost Controls section and select Add Project Costs for Market button (highlighted below).

You can create Market Templates directly in this module. For more information on how to set up Market Templates reference: How do I create and edit Market Templates?.

Assuming you have a market template set up, it will show as an option on your Project Cost Controls edit window. If you have multiple markets, you can use the dropdown to select the market in which you'd like to apply these new costs. (highlighted below)

Finally, insert the Cost Controls you'd like to apply for this market and hit Save on the top right. If you want to remove your Market specific Project Cost Controls, enter the Edit mode and click the remove (trashcan) icon next to the controls you'd like to delete in question and hit Save.  

Related articles

You might also want to check out these related topics:

• Cost Buildup Frequently Asked Questions