Getting started with QuoteCloud

Rolling out QuoteCloud in a solar business

Your sizing spreadsheet rebuilt as a block, your price book loaded, payments connected and your consultants trained.

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A QuoteCloud rollout for a solar retailer imports the sizing spreadsheet into a Spreadsheet block and connects its cells to the price table, loads panels, inverters, batteries and chargers into the product catalogue by CSV, connects Stripe or PayPal, sets approval rules on Business, and trains consultants. One template conversion is free during the trial.

The cover of a fictional solar retailer's proposal template, Tallowwood Solar & Storage, behind a rollout checklist titled "Tallowwood's rollout, sample plan, four weeks". Its items tick off one by one: sizing workbook imported from .xlsx into a Spreadsheet block (week 1); cells connected to price lines' descriptions and unit prices, with the total brought back to the sheet (week 1); price book of panels, inverters, batteries and chargers loaded by CSV (week 2); Stripe connected for a 15% deposit on signing (week 2); a discount approval rule and locked terms on the Business plan (week 3); consultants trained, first proposals signed on tablets (week 4).

Six workstreams from spreadsheet to first signed proposal

A sample plan for a fictional retailer with eight consultants. Timings are planning, not a promise: yours depend on your sheet, your price book and your team.

  1. Phase 1, Week 1

    Import the sizing workbook

    You bring
    The Excel calculator your consultants use today, and a few recent jobs to test it against.
    QuoteCloud gives you
    Import of the .xlsx into a Spreadsheet block: tabs, formulas and formats, with normal functions such as SUM, IF, ROUNDUP and XLOOKUP.
    Done when
    The block gives the same panels, inverter and battery as your Excel file for those recent jobs.

    Spreadsheet block: Essentials and up

    Sizing calculators

  2. Phase 2, Week 1

    Connect cells to the price table

    You bring
    Which lines the sheet should price: panels, racking, inverter, installation, battery sizes.
    QuoteCloud gives you
    Any cell connected to a price line's description and unit price, and the price table total brought back into a cell for your payback estimate.
    Done when
    Change a bill in the sheet and the connected lines and the payback estimate follow.

  3. Phase 3, Week 2

    Load the price book

    You bring
    Panels, inverters, batteries, chargers and extras as a CSV, with costs.
    QuoteCloud gives you
    Product catalogue import by CSV; costs and margins kept from the household; drawn or your own product images on lines.
    Done when
    Every product a consultant may add is in the catalogue at today's price.

    Product catalogue: Essentials and up

  4. Phase 4, Week 2

    Connect payments

    You bring
    A Stripe or PayPal account and your deposit rule.
    QuoteCloud gives you
    A deposit as a percentage or fixed amount, or full payment, taken as the household signs.
    Done when
    A proposal signed by your own team has had its deposit paid.

    Payments: Essentials and up

    Deposits and installs

  5. Phase 5, Week 3

    Set rules, roles and locked wording

    You bring
    Your discount limits, who approves, and your consumer and cooling-off wording.
    QuoteCloud gives you
    Approval rules on total value or discount percentage, locked company blocks (both Business), custom roles and teams.
    Done when
    A discount over your limit waits for a manager before it can be sent.

  6. Phase 6, Week 4

    Train consultants and go live

    You bring
    Your consultants, their tablets and a practice household.
    QuoteCloud gives you
    A 45-minute training session on paid plans, plus onboarding services if you want more help.
    Done when
    Each consultant has sized, priced and signed a practice proposal on a tablet.
    In-home sales

Spreadsheet formulas, assumptions and rates stay yours: QuoteCloud runs the sheet you set up and fetches no tariffs, weather or rebate data.

Your Excel calculator, imported and connected

Tallowwood's sizing workbook came in as an .xlsx: the Sizing and Prices tabs, the ROUNDUP and XLOOKUP formulas, the number formats. Sienna checked it against three recent jobs, then connected rows 10 to 12: each one sets a price line's description and unit price. The price table total comes back into B13, and the payback estimate in B16 reads it.

Click the cells and tabs to see the formulas. Quantities stay on the price lines as usual: the system lines are qty-1 lines whose description and price come from the sheet. Then the finished sheet goes into the company template, with the parts consultants shouldn't change kept as you set them (content locking, Business; ask us how best to lock formulas while leaving the bill inputs open).

  • .xlsx import: tabs, formulas, formats
  • Cells → price lines' descriptions and unit prices
  • Price table total → a cell
  • Assumptions and estimates labelled

Spreadsheet block and price tables: Essentials and up

Solar templates
Tallowwood Solar & StorageSolar & battery proposal TS-2614 Sample · fictional business

Imported from Tallowwood's workbook

Tallowwood sizing v7.xlsx · importedSpreadsheet block
D10 =B6*Prices!C2

Sizing

RowABCD
1 What Value Unit Basis
2 Daily use 22.0 kWh / day Typed from the bills
3 Evening & night share 40% From the homeowner
4 Peak sun hours 4.2 h / day Installer's assumption
5 System performance 80% Installer's assumption
6 Panels 15 panels Rounded up
7 Hybrid inverter 5 kW Panels up to 133% of inverter
8 Battery modules 2 × 5 kWh Covers evening use
9 Price line Description → price line Unit price →
10 Panels 15 × 440 W panels · Norrow N440 (6.6 kW) $2,580
11 Inverter Pellam PH-5 · 5 kW hybrid inverter $2,350
12 Battery Quolla battery, 2 × 5 kWh modules (10 kWh) $8,130
13 Price table total Price table$14,575.00 Inc tax · from the price table
14 Value of a kWh used $0.34 Installer's assumption
15 Saving a year $2,730 Estimate
16 Payback 5.3 years Estimate

Prices

RowABC
1 Item Size Unit price, ex tax
2 Norrow N440 panel 440 $172
3 Rail & clamp kit, per panel $36
4 Pellam PH-5 · 5 kW hybrid inverter 5 $2,350
5 Pellam PH-8 · 8 kW hybrid inverter 8 $3,150
6 Pellam PH-10 · 10 kW hybrid inverter 10 $3,690
7 Quolla QB-5 battery module 5 $3,150
8 Quolla backup gateway $1,150
9 Battery installation & commissioning $680
  • Typed in
  • Installer's assumption
  • Estimate
  • Connected to the price table

Help with the parts that take time

You can do all of it yourself. If you'd rather not, this is the help on offer.

  • One free template conversion

    During the trial on Essentials, Business and Enterprise: send your proposal and sizing spreadsheet.

  • A 45-minute training session

    Included on paid plans: walk your consultants through sizing, choices and signing.

  • Onboarding services

    Guided set-up of templates, users and settings for a team rollout.

    Onboarding services

  • Professional services

    More template conversions and set-up work, such as rebuilding a complex calculator.

    Professional services

What the rollout changes for a solar sales team

The value is in setting things up once. After that, every consultant works from the same sheet, prices and wording.

The jobBeforeAfter the rollout
The calculator An Excel file on each laptop, with versions drifting apart. One Spreadsheet block in the company template: the version you set is the one consultants use.
Building the quote Sheet results retyped into a quote, line by line. Connected cells set the lines' descriptions and unit prices.
Supply prices Updated in five places, missed in two. One prices tab and one product catalogue to update.
Discounts Agreed by phone, or not at all. Over your limit, a proposal waits for approval (Business).
Terms Old wording living on in old quotes. Your terms in a locked company block (Business).
A new consultant Weeks learning someone else's spreadsheet. The same template and sheet as everyone else from day one.

Prices in the sheet, products in the catalogue

The rates your formulas read live on the sheet's Rates tab, so a new battery price is one cell to change in the template. Products a consultant adds by hand, such as a second charger, a bird-proofing kit or a switchboard upgrade, go into the product catalogue, imported by CSV with costs and margins kept from the household.

Click the tabs to see how the Rates tab feeds the System tab's connected lines.

  • A Rates tab your formulas read
  • Product catalogue CSV import
  • Costs and margins hidden from the client

Price tables and product catalogue: Essentials and up

Product catalogue
Tallowwood Solar & StorageSolar & battery proposal TS-2614 Sample · fictional business

The Rates tab in the template

Penhaligon · sizingSpreadsheet block
A1

Usage

RowABCDE
1 Quarter kWh used Days Cost at your rates kWh / day
2 Jan–Mar 1,880 90 $738.20 20.9
3 Apr–Jun 1,720 91 $684.90 18.9
4 Jul–Sep 2,160 92 $835.60 23.5
5 Oct–Dec 2,270 92 $873.00 24.7
6 Year 8,030 365 $3,131.70 22.0
7
8 Evening & night share 40% From the homeowner
9 Evening & night kWh / day 8.8
10 Highest quarter, kWh / day 24.7
11 Usage rate ($/kWh) 0.34 Typed from the bill
12 Feed-in rate ($/kWh) 0.05 Typed from the bill
13 Supply charge ($/day) 1.10 Typed from the bill

System

RowABCD
1 What Value Unit Basis
2 Average daily use 22.0 kWh / day From the bills
3 Peak sun hours 4.2 h / day Installer's assumption
4 System performance 80% Installer's assumption
5 Panel size 440 W Rates tab
6 Target system size 6.55 kW Estimate
7 Panels 15 panels Rounded up
8 Array size 6.60 kW
9 Hybrid inverter 5 kW Panels up to 133% of inverter
10 Evening & night use 8.8 kWh / day From Usage
11 Battery modules 2 × 5 kWh Covers evening use
12 Battery size 10 kWh
13 Generation, a year 8,094 kWh Estimate
14 Used as it's made 4,818 kWh / yr Estimate
15 Stored, used at night 3,212 kWh / yr Estimate
16 Saving, solar only $1,802 a year Estimate
17 Saving, with the battery $2,733 a year Estimate
18 Price line Description → price line Unit price →
19 Panels 15 × 440 W panels · Norrow N440 (6.6 kW) $2,580
20 Racking Rail & clamp kit for 15 panels $540
21 Inverter Pellam PH-5 · 5 kW hybrid inverter $2,350
22 Installation Installation, 15 panels & inverter $1,470
23 Battery (fits evening use) Quolla battery, 2 × 5 kWh modules (10 kWh) $8,130
24 Battery (one more module) Quolla battery, 3 × 5 kWh modules (15 kWh) $11,280

Payback

RowABC
1 What Value Basis
2 Price table total Price table$14,575.00 Inc tax · linked from the price table
3 Solar-only price $5,632.00 Inc tax
4 Battery price $8,943.00 Inc tax
5 Saving used $2,733 Estimate
6 Simple payback 5.3 years Estimate
7 Our estimate, not a guarantee: your savings depend on your usage, the weather and your tariffs. An EV charger, if ticked, is in the total.

Rates

RowABC
1 Item Size Unit price, ex tax
2 Norrow N440 panel 440 $172
3 Rail & clamp kit, per panel $36
4 Installation, per panel $98
5 Pellam PH-5 · 5 kW hybrid inverter 5 $2,350
6 Pellam PH-8 · 8 kW hybrid inverter 8 $3,150
7 Pellam PH-10 · 10 kW hybrid inverter 10 $3,690
8 Quolla QB-5 battery module 5 $3,150
9 Usable share of each module 90%
10 Quolla backup gateway $1,150
11 Battery installation & commissioning $680
12 Isolators, cabling & switchboard work $640
13 Monitoring kit & app set-up $180
14 Rebate / incentive (installer's figure) −$2,640
15 Pellam EVC-7 · 7 kW EV charger, installed $1,690

Start the rollout with your own spreadsheet

Free for 14 days, no credit card required. Send us your sizing workbook and proposal; one template conversion is free during the trial.

Start free 14-day trial Book a demo

Rules that hold when you're not in the room

Set approval rules once and they apply to every consultant. Tallowwood's rule sends any proposal over $40,000 to Marguerite before it can be sent; a discount over the limit does the same. Oskar's 49.3 kW winery proposal waits In Review until she approves it.

Your terms, warranty wording and cooling-off clauses go in as locked company blocks from your content library: consultants can use them, not edit them.

  • Triggers: total value or discount %
  • Approvers you choose
  • Locked company blocks

Approval workflow and content locking: Business plan

Commercial solar proposals
Tallowwood Solar & StorageCommercial solar proposal TS-C-0418 Sample · fictional business

Document workflow

In Review

Triggered when Total value greater than $40,000

  • Marguerite LamDirectorWaiting

Proposals over $40,000 need a director's approval before they're sent

  1. Oskar Lindgren sent the proposal for approval
  2. Waiting on Marguerite Lam

Approval workflow · Business plan

Rollout questions

How long does a QuoteCloud rollout take for a solar retailer?

Our sample plan runs over four weeks: import and connect the sizing sheet, load the price book, connect payments, set rules and locked wording, then train consultants. That's planning, not a promise. A simple sheet and a short price book move faster; a complex calculator with many products takes longer.

Can we import our existing Excel sizing calculator?

Yes. The Spreadsheet block imports .xlsx files with their tabs, formulas and formats, and supports normal functions such as SUM, IF, ROUNDUP and XLOOKUP. Check the imported sheet against a few recent jobs before you connect its cells to the price table, and rebuild anything that doesn't come across.

How do the sheet's results get onto the price lines?

You connect them: any cell can be connected to a price line's description and unit price, and a price table total can be brought back into a cell. Quantities stay on the price line as usual, so a system line is a qty-1 line whose description and price come from the sheet.

Can website enquiries fill in the sizing sheet?

Yes, through Zapier. A zap can create the proposal from your template and write the enquiry's answers, such as bills and evening share, into the sheet's input cells, so the sheet recalculates and the connected price lines follow. Writing cells through the API isn't documented, and no automation ticks options or chooses blocks.

Can we stop consultants changing the formulas?

Keep the master sheet in your company template so every proposal starts from it. On the Business plan, locked company blocks from your content library can be used but not edited. Talk to us about the best way to lock a sheet's formulas and rates while leaving the bill inputs open for consultants.

Which plan does a solar retailer need?

The Spreadsheet block, price tables, the product catalogue, payments on signing, Zapier, Make and the API start on Essentials. Approval workflows, Gantt programmes, content locking, the Forms block and native Xero, QuickBooks and CRM integrations are on Business. Compare plans on the pricing page.

What help is available for the rollout?

One template conversion is free during the trial on Essentials, Business and Enterprise, and paid plans include a 45-minute training session. Onboarding services, professional services for more conversions or a complex calculator, and premium support are available on top.

More questions from solar installers

Everything a solar business sends

From the sizing sheet to the signed install.

Set it up once, and every consultant sells the same way

Free for 14 days. No credit card required.

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