Solar EPC Project Management for ERPNext

Key Features

`Site Survey` DocType capturing roof or ground type, tilt, azimuth, usable area, shading loss factor, structure notes and geotagged photo attachments via the native File API

`Solar System Design` with module and inverter selection, string/MPPT configuration and DC:AC ratio, validated server-side against inverter input limits

One-click generation of an ERPNext `BOM` and `Sales Order` from an approved design — modules, inverters, mounting structure, cabling, protection and labour lines

`hooks.py` `doc_events` on `Sales Order.on_submit` that create a linked `Solar Project` and expand an installation `Task` tree (civil, structure, module mounting, DC/AC wiring, earthing, testing, commissioning)

Procurement kept native: `Material Request` to `Purchase Order` to `Purchase Receipt` against the project, with site issue by `Stock Entry` and consumption visible per project

Serial-number tracking for modules and inverters from receipt through site dispatch to the commissioned asset record

`Subsidy Application` DocType with a Frappe `Workflow` (Draft, Submitted, Query Raised, Sanctioned, Disbursed) and deadline fields chased by a daily scheduler job

`Net Metering Application` tracking utility reference, application and approval dates, meter serial, inspection outcome and issued certificate attachments

Installation scheduling with crew assignment, dependency-aware task dates and `Timesheet` capture so labour cost lands on the project P&L

Commissioning checklist DocType with pass/fail line items, test readings (insulation resistance, string Voc/Isc, earth resistance) and customer sign-off attachment

`O&M Contract` with covered-asset child table, SLA response and resolution targets, billing frequency and expiry, plus scheduled preventive `Maintenance Visit` generation

O&M ticketing linked to the site and contract, with SLA due-by computed on insert and breaches flagged by a scheduler event

Whitelisted REST methods for a field or mobile client — fetch assigned tasks, post survey readings, upload commissioning photos — alongside standard `/api/resource` access for BI and monitoring-platform integrations

Role profiles and permission levels for Survey Engineer, Design Engineer, Project Manager, Procurement, Site Supervisor and O&M Technician, with User Permissions scoping technicians by territory

Dashboard and Query Report set: pipeline kW by stage, project margin against estimate, overdue subsidy and net-metering applications, and O&M SLA compliance

Built to order, done for you

No DIY setup — a working app, built, installed and supported by ECOSIRE.

You order

Start with a one-time build price. We scope it with you at kickoff.

We build & install

ECOSIRE builds, configures and installs it on your ERPNext.

Go live + support

You go live in about 2–4 weeks, with a post-launch support window.

About this Product

A solar EPC business does not lose money on the panels — it loses money in the gaps. The survey engineer's numbers live in a spreadsheet, the design kW never quite matches what procurement ordered, the crew arrives before the inverter clears customs, and six months later nobody can find the signed net-metering application when the utility asks for it. ERPNext already gives you a strong spine for this — Project, Task, BOM, Material Request, Purchase Order, Stock Entry, Timesheet, Sales Invoice and Maintenance Schedule are all real, mature DocTypes. What ERPNext core does not have is any concept of a roof, a shading factor, a string layout, a subsidy milestone, a net-metering approval, or a commissioning test reading. So EPC teams bolt a parallel spreadsheet universe onto a perfectly good ERP, and the two drift apart within a quarter.

We build a proper Frappe app — its own repository, its own module, installed with bench get-app and bench --site <site> install-app — that adds the solar-specific layer and then wires it into the ERPNext documents you already use. New DocTypes cover the domain: Site Survey (roof or ground type, tilt, azimuth, usable area, shading loss factor, structure and cable-run notes, geotagged photos through the native File attachment system), Solar System Design (DC/AC capacity, module and inverter selection, string configuration, estimated annual yield), Solar Project (a linked extension of the ERPNext Project, carrying scheme type, sanction reference, connection voltage and commissioning date), Subsidy Application and Net Metering Application each with their own Frappe Workflow, and O&M Contract with a child table of covered assets and SLA response targets. An approved Solar System Design submits into a real ERPNext BOM and Sales Order, so procurement, stock, costing and accounting stay entirely native — no shadow inventory.

The automation lives where Frappe expects it. hooks.py doc_events fire on Sales Order.on_submit to create the Solar Project and expand an installation task tree from a configurable Project Template, and on Stock Entry.on_submit to record serial-numbered module and inverter dispatch against the site. scheduler_events (daily and cron entries) chase approaching subsidy deadlines, flag O&M Contract records nearing expiry, and open preventive Maintenance Visit documents at the visit frequency you configure. Client scripts handle field-facing arithmetic — live kW roll-up as modules are selected, string-count validation against inverter MPPT limits — while server-side validate logic enforces the rules that must not be bypassed by a REST call. Role profiles separate Survey Engineer, Design Engineer, Project Manager, Procurement, Site Supervisor and O&M Technician, with permission levels and User Permissions scoping technicians to their own territory. Everything is reachable over the Frappe REST API (/api/resource/Site Survey, /api/resource/Solar Project) plus a small set of @frappe.whitelist() methods for what a mobile crew client or an inverter-monitoring integration actually needs — pulling a task list, posting survey readings, pushing generation figures — so nobody has to hand-write SQL against the site database.

Delivery is build-to-order, and we are direct about what that means: this is not a Frappe Cloud Marketplace app you install this afternoon. It starts with a short scoping call, after which we write the DocType, workflow and integration specification against your real process — your subsidy scheme, your utility's document set, your commissioning checklist — and you sign off on that before a line of code is written. Typical delivery is two to four weeks from confirmed scope. We build against Frappe/ERPNext v15 and v16, deploy to a staging site for UAT with your own survey and project data, then install on production with a documented rollback plan. You receive the full source repository, so the app is yours to run, fork or extend regardless of what happens to any vendor relationship.

What you get

Complete installable Frappe app source code, built and tested against your Frappe/ERPNext version (v15 or v16)

Installation on your bench (`bench get-app` and `install-app`), plus configuration of workflows, role profiles, permissions, naming series and project templates

Technical documentation: DocType and field reference, workflow state diagrams, hooks and scheduler event map, and REST/whitelisted-method API notes

End-user guide covering the survey to design to project to commissioning to O&M flow, plus a live training session for your team with a recording

UAT on a staging site seeded with your own survey and project data, with a written test script and a documented rollback plan before production install

Post-go-live support window for defect fixes and configuration adjustments, with an agreed response commitment

Handover of the private git repository (or push into yours), including branch and tag history plus upgrade notes

Deployment runbook: site backup procedure, migration steps for future releases, and a checklist for your next ERPNext version upgrade

Who this is for

Managing Director, rooftop and C&I solar EPC

Runs anywhere from twenty to a few hundred installations a year and cannot see, on any given day, which projects are stuck on subsidy paperwork, which crews are idle, and which jobs are actually profitable after material and labour. Wants one system instead of ERPNext plus four spreadsheets.

Projects Head / EPC Operations Manager

Owns delivery from signed order to commissioning. Needs a repeatable installation task template, dependency-aware scheduling across simultaneous sites, confirmation that inverters have physically arrived before a crew is dispatched, and a commissioning checklist that cannot be closed without test readings.

Design and Pre-Sales Engineer

Turns survey data into a system design and a costed proposal. Wants the design's module and inverter selection to become the BOM automatically, string configuration validated against inverter MPPT limits, and no re-keying of quantities into a quotation spreadsheet.

O&M / Service Manager

Carries maintenance contracts across a growing installed base. Needs preventive visits generated on schedule, breakdown tickets tied to the correct contract and SLA, renewals flagged before they lapse, and a defensible visit record for warranty and performance claims.

How Solar EPC Project Management for ERPNext Compares

Criterion	ECOSIRE	Custom Build	Competitor	ERPNext Native
Fit to your actual EPC process	Specified against your survey forms, subsidy scheme and commissioning checklist before coding starts	Same potential fit, but spec quality depends entirely on the developer you hire	Generic solar or project template; your process bends to the app	No solar concepts at all — roof, string, subsidy and net metering do not exist
Time to a working system	2-4 weeks from confirmed scope, with staging UAT included	Typically 2-4 months in-house, longer if the developer is learning Frappe	Installs in a day, then weeks of workarounds for what it does not cover	Live immediately, but the solar workflow stays in spreadsheets
Integration with ERPNext stock and accounting	Native — designs generate real BOMs and Sales Orders; procurement and costing stay in ERPNext	Often becomes a parallel data model that drifts from stock and the GL	Varies widely; many keep quantities outside `Stock Entry` entirely	Fully native, but nothing links a system design to a BOM automatically
Subsidy and net-metering document tracking	Dedicated DocTypes with workflow states, scheduler-driven deadline chasing and attachment trails	Buildable, but usually the first feature cut when budget tightens	Rarely covered — it is region-specific, so generic apps skip it	Absent; teams track it in shared folders and email threads
O&M after commissioning	Contracts with covered assets, SLA targets, scheduled preventive visits and breakdown tickets	Frequently deferred to phase two and never built	Sometimes a basic AMC list with no SLA measurement	`Maintenance Schedule` and `Maintenance Visit` exist but carry no solar asset context
Source code and vendor lock-in	Full repository handed over; fork, extend or maintain it without us	You own it, assuming the developer documented and handed it over properly	Often licence-keyed or obfuscated; extension waits on the vendor roadmap	Open source, but there is nothing solar-specific to own
Version upgrades	Built for v15/v16 with upgrade notes; compatibility passes quotable per release	Upgrade risk sits with whoever wrote it, and rises when that person moves on	You wait for the vendor to certify the new version	Upgrades cleanly — your spreadsheets are unaffected because they were never integrated
Ongoing cost profile	One build engagement plus an optional maintenance arrangement; no per-user app fee	Salary or retainer for as long as the code needs maintaining	Recurring subscription regardless of how much of it you use	No extra software cost, paid for instead in coordination errors and rework

Frequently Asked Questions about Solar EPC Project Management for ERPNext

How long does delivery take?

This is a build-to-order application, not an instant download. Typical delivery is 2-4 weeks from confirmed scope — that is, from the point where you have signed off on the DocType, workflow and integration specification we write after the scoping call. Broader scope (multi-company, a custom utility portal connector, inverter-monitoring integration, a mobile field app) is quoted and scheduled separately, and we give you a realistic date before you commit.

Which Frappe and ERPNext versions are supported?

We build and test against Frappe/ERPNext v15 and v16. Tell us your exact version at scoping and we target that branch; the delivered app ships with version compatibility notes and upgrade guidance. If you are still on v14 we will say so plainly and quote the upgrade path rather than pretend a v14 build is a good idea.

What happens with support and updates after go-live?

You get a post-go-live support window for defect fixes and configuration adjustments, with an agreed response commitment written into the engagement. After that window, ongoing support and enhancements run under a separate maintenance arrangement — or you take it in-house, because you hold the full source repository. When you upgrade ERPNext we can quote a compatibility pass against the new version; nothing in the app is obfuscated or licence-locked to us.

Does this replace ERPNext's project, inventory or accounting modules?

No, deliberately. Procurement, stock, costing, invoicing and accounting stay entirely native ERPNext. The app adds the solar-specific layer — survey, design, subsidy, net metering, commissioning, O&M — and links it into standard `Project`, `BOM`, `Sales Order`, `Stock Entry` and `Maintenance Visit` documents through `hooks.py` doc events. Your accountant sees ordinary ERPNext accounting, not a parallel system.

Can it connect to our inverter monitoring platform or a field mobile app?

Yes. Everything is exposed through the standard Frappe REST API (`/api/resource/...`) with token or API-key authentication, and we add `@frappe.whitelist()` methods for the specific operations a field crew or monitoring integration needs — pulling assigned tasks, posting survey readings, pushing generation figures against a commissioned site. Building the mobile client itself, or a bespoke connector to a named monitoring vendor, is scoped and quoted as additional work.

Our subsidy scheme and utility paperwork are country-specific. Will it fit?

That is exactly why this is build-to-order rather than a generic marketplace app. During scoping we map your actual scheme milestones, document set, approval authorities and deadlines into the `Subsidy Application` and `Net Metering Application` workflows and their state transitions. Multi-country or multi-scheme operation is handled by configuring separate workflow definitions and document checklists, not by hard-coding one regulator's rules.

How do you avoid breaking our live ERPNext site?

The app installs as a separate Frappe app with its own DocTypes and custom fields — it does not patch ERPNext core. Before production install we deploy to a staging site restored from your data, run UAT against a written test script with your team, and agree a rollback plan (site backup plus a `bench uninstall-app` path) before touching production. The install window and the backup are confirmed with you in writing first.