Solar installers
Inventory software for solar installers
Know how many 540 Wp modules are left in the Sitapura godown, which inverters went to which roof, and what the cable on the crew's pickup is worth.
In short
SimpleERP is inventory software for solar installers in India. Panels, inverters, mounting structures and DC cable are counted by godown at weighted average cost; purchase bills add stock, and every rooftop invoice or transfer takes it out.
Illustration of stock on hand by warehouse at average cost, with a low-stock row highlighted and a movement ledger.
An inventory day at Marudhar Solar Energy
The Sitapura godown of Marudhar Solar Energy holds pallets of 540 Wp mono PERC panels, a rack of inverters from two brands, bundles of GI mounting structures and drums of 4 sq mm DC cable. A distributor truck arrives every ten days, and most mornings a pickup leaves for a rooftop with material for one or two systems.
The trouble was never the big items, because panels are counted pallet by pallet. It was the cable, the MC4 connectors, the earthing kits and the lightning arresters that vanished between godown and roof, and the half drum that came back without anyone writing it down.
SimpleERP keeps one figure per product per location, and it moves only when a bill, invoice, transfer or count posts. Nothing is typed over, so the question of where the twelfth panel went has an answer in the movement ledger.
Can the godown, the van and a site store be tracked separately?
Yes. Add each as a warehouse. The Sitapura godown, the crew pickup and a site store at a 50 kW factory job each hold their own count, and a transfer moves material between them at the same average cost.
- Transfer notes print with prepared-by and received-by lines for the crew lead to sign.
- Leftover cable comes back on a transfer from the van to the godown, so the metres are not lost.
- Stock that would go below zero is refused by default, with the product and warehouse named.
Illustration of stock on hand by warehouse at average cost, with a low-stock row highlighted and a movement ledger.
What should a solar installer keep in stock, and in which unit?
Big items are counted in numbers, consumables by the metre or the pair. This is how Marudhar Solar Energy sets up its list; the reorder level is what the owner wants on hand before the next distributor order.
- Products import from a CSV file with opening stock per warehouse.
- Units are your own: add pairs or drums beside the seeded pieces, sets and metres.
| Item | Unit | Where it sits | Reorder level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solar panels, 540 Wp | Nos | Godown | 60 Nos (ten 3 kW systems) |
| String inverters, 3 kW and 5 kW | Nos | Godown | 4 Nos of each rating |
| GI mounting structures | Sets | Godown | 8 sets |
| DC cable, 4 sq mm | Metres | Godown and van | 500 metres |
| MC4 connector pairs | Pairs | Van | 40 pairs |
| Earthing kits and lightning arresters | Sets | Van | 6 sets |
How do you know when to order panels again?
Give a product a reorder level and it lands on the low-stock list as soon as the count falls to it, with the shortfall and the distributor you last bought from. Tick the rows, and SimpleERP drafts one purchase order per distributor for you to check and send.
- The suggested quantity starts at twice the level less what is on hand, and stays editable.
- Purchase bills add stock at the billed cost, so a panel price rise lifts the average from that bill on.
- The movement ledger lists every bill, invoice and transfer that touched an inverter model.
What is the material on a rooftop system really costing?
Each invoice line issues stock at weighted average cost, so the cost of goods sold for a 5 kW system posts the moment the bill is saved. Set it against the invoice value and the margin on panels and inverter is clear before labour.
- Stock valuation by warehouse for the CA at year end.
- Stock counts settle the difference after a physical check, with the adjustment posted to the books.
One system
Where solar stock connects
Stock moves when a distributor bill or a rooftop invoice posts, and its value sits in the same ledger the accountant closes.
Solar installers
Enquiries to quotations, mixed panel and installation invoices, stock by warehouse and AMC billing.
See howGST billing for solar installers
Rooftop quotations priced by kW that become GST invoices for panels, inverters and installation, with instalments tracked to the last rupee.
See howAccounting for solar installers
Customer advances, homeowner balances waiting on subsidy, AMC income and distributor payables in one double-entry ledger for solar EPC firms.
See howPayroll for solar installers
Installation crew salaries from rooftop check-ins, site expense claims, advances recovered over months, and PF and PT on each payslip.
See howInventory
Stock on hand by warehouse at weighted average cost, with a movement ledger and a low-stock list.
See how
Honest limits
What SimpleERP does not do yet
- No batch, lot, serial or expiry tracking, and no barcode scanning
- Weighted average cost only; there is no FIFO
- No automatic reorder suggestions: the reorder level shows what is low, you decide what to buy
- No serial number tracking for panels or inverters, so warranty claims are matched from the invoice description
- No project-wise material costing: stock is issued per invoice, not rolled up per rooftop job
Getting started
Start with inventory
Sign up with your phone
Name, phone number and a password. No card for the seven-day trial, and email is optional.
Tell us about the business
Type your GSTIN and the state fills itself. Accounts, GST rates, units, roles and numbering are seeded for you.
Add products and opening stock
Import panels, inverters, mounting structures and cable from a CSV file with opening quantities for the godown and the van.
Post a bill and an invoice
Stock rises on the purchase bill and falls on the invoice, at weighted average cost, with nothing to count by hand.
FAQ
Questions, answered
Can I count cable in metres and panels in numbers?
Yes. Each product has its own unit: panels and inverters in Nos, cable in metres, mounting structures in sets. Invoices, purchase bills and stock reports all speak in the product's unit, so the crew never converts drums to metres on paper.
A crew took 14 panels for a 7 kW job and used 13. How do I record the spare one?
Invoice the 13 that went on the roof from the van warehouse, then transfer the spare back to the godown. The van shows zero, the godown shows one more, and both moves sit in the ledger with the date and the person who posted them.
How will I know panels are running low?
Set a reorder level on each panel model. When stock falls to it, the product appears on the low-stock list and in the dashboard's needs-attention list. Tick it there and SimpleERP drafts a purchase order to the distributor you last bought from.
Panel prices keep changing. Which cost does the stock use?
Weighted average cost, one figure per product across the business, with quantities kept per warehouse. A bill at ₹13,200 a panel after an older lot at ₹14,000 moves the average between the two, weighted by quantity. FIFO is not available, so the average is what the books and the margin use.
Related
Keep reading
Solar installers
Enquiries to quotations, mixed panel and installation invoices, stock by warehouse and AMC billing.
Read moreGST billing for solar installers
Rooftop quotations priced by kW that become GST invoices for panels, inverters and installation, with instalments tracked to the last rupee.
Read moreAccounting for solar installers
Customer advances, homeowner balances waiting on subsidy, AMC income and distributor payables in one double-entry ledger for solar EPC firms.
Read more
See how inventory works in SimpleERP for solar installers
Seven days free. No card. Your first GST invoice in minutes.