The right solar software in India is the one that gets PM Surya Ghar subsidy, DCR, GST and DISCOM paperwork right for your jobs, works on a phone at site, and lets you share proposals on WhatsApp. This buyer's guide breaks the market into seven categories, lists what each must do for Indian rooftops, and gives you a vendor checklist and a 30-day rollout plan.
We don't rank or name products. Features change every quarter, but the questions you should ask stay the same.
The seven types of rooftop solar software
Most "solar software" covers one or more of these jobs. Decide which ones hurt most before you book any demo.
1. Solar design and shading
Traces the roof on satellite imagery, marks obstructions (water tank, staircase room, parapet, neighbouring building, tree), places modules, estimates shading losses and yearly generation, and sizes strings for the inverter. Good solar design software for India should handle elevated structures, flat RCC roofs with mixed obstructions, and patchy satellite imagery in smaller towns.
2. Proposal and quotation
Turns the design into a price, subsidy, net cost, savings, payback and EMI, then produces a document the customer can read. Solar proposal software should follow the same structure as a good rooftop solar quotation format: itemised materials, GST shown separately, the subsidy on its own line, warranties and exclusions.
3. CRM and lead management
Captures enquiries from your website, marketplaces, ads and walk-ins, removes duplicate mobile numbers, assigns leads to reps and schedules follow-ups. A solar CRM built for India should treat WhatsApp as the main channel, not an add-on.
4. Project and installation management
Solar EPC software tracks each job from site survey to handover: material issue, crew scheduling, installation checklists, earthing and string test results, photos and customer sign-off. The key question is whether a site supervisor can actually use the solar installer app on a basic Android phone with weak signal.
5. PM Surya Ghar and net-metering paperwork
Tracks each subsidy application through the national portal and DISCOM stages and prepares the documents: net-metering application, agreements, work completion report, DCR declaration and inspection photos. This is where many small EPCs lose the most time.
6. O&M and monitoring
Pulls generation data from inverter platforms, compares actual output with what the proposal promised, raises alerts, and schedules the maintenance visits you have committed to. Residential systems under PM Surya Ghar carry a five-year comprehensive maintenance obligation, so you need a way to track it.
7. Accounting and GST invoicing
Raises proformas and tax invoices, records milestone payments from the customer, the bank loan and the subsidy, and exports to your accountant's system. It must understand how GST works for solar supply-and-install contracts.
What solar software in India must handle that generic tools miss
Many tools are built for other markets and adapted for India later. Test these areas with your own data, not the vendor's demo project.
PM Surya Ghar CFA logic
The central subsidy is ₹30,000 per kW for the first 2 kW and ₹18,000 for the third kW, capped at ₹78,000 per household. Special-category states and UTs get higher rates, capped at ₹85,800. RWAs and group housing societies get ₹18,000 per kW for common facilities. The tool should apply the right slab, stop at the cap, and let you add any state top-up separately. Read our PM Surya Ghar subsidy guide for the full rules.
Example test: quote a 2.5 kW home system in a general-category state. The correct CFA is ₹30,000 × 2 + ₹18,000 × 0.5 = ₹69,000. For a 5 kW home it should show ₹78,000, not ₹1,20,000 or more.
DCR and ALMM compliance
Subsidised residential systems must use DCR modules, meaning Indian-made modules with Indian-made cells. Under MNRE's ALMM rules, List-II for cells now also covers net-metered projects, with a limited window up to 31 December 2026 for projects that meet MNRE's conditions (as of September 2026). Your software should flag a non-DCR module on a subsidy job before the quote goes out, and store DCR certificates and serial numbers against each project. MNRE has also stopped accepting repeated module serial numbers, so check for duplicate serials too.
GST at 5% with the 70:30 split
Since 22 September 2025, solar power generating systems attract 5% GST. When goods are supplied with installation, 70% of the contract value is treated as goods at 5% and 30% as services at 18%.
Example: on a taxable value of ₹2,00,000, GST is (₹1,40,000 × 5%) + (₹60,000 × 18%) = ₹7,000 + ₹10,800 = ₹17,800, which is 8.9%. Check that the software gets this right, and that it switches between CGST + SGST and IGST based on where the supply takes place.
If your aggregate turnover has crossed ₹5 crore in any year since 2017-18, B2B invoices must be e-invoices. Your invoicing tool should export in the format the invoice registration portal accepts.
DISCOM tariffs and net metering
Savings are only as good as the tariff behind them. Residential tariffs are slab-based, change with each SERC tariff order, and differ by DISCOM. Net-metering rules for settlement periods and surplus units also vary by state. Ask whether you can edit tariffs yourself when a new order comes out, and whether the savings calculation uses real slabs or one flat rate per unit.
WhatsApp, regional languages and mobile use
- WhatsApp sharing: the proposal should open as a mobile page from a WhatsApp link, not only as a heavy PDF attachment.
- Regional languages: a homeowner in Surat or Coimbatore is more likely to read the numbers carefully in Gujarati or Tamil. Check both the app and the customer-facing documents.
- Offline on site: rooftops, basements and industrial sheds often have no signal. Survey forms and photos should save offline and sync later.
- Indian formats: ₹ with lakh-style grouping (₹1,23,456), INR pricing and billing, Indian date formats, and GSTIN, PAN and IFSC fields that are checked when entered.
Vendor evaluation checklist
Use this table to compare shortlisted tools side by side. Score each one 0 to 2 and weight the rows that matter most in your business.
| Criterion | Why it matters | Question to ask the vendor |
|---|---|---|
| Subsidy calculation | A wrong CFA figure on a quote damages trust and margins | "Show me 2.5 kW, 3 kW and 5 kW quotes. Where do I set special-category rates or a state top-up?" |
| DCR / ALMM checks | Non-DCR modules make a job ineligible for CFA | "What happens if I pick a non-DCR module on a subsidy job?" |
| GST handling | A wrong split means wrong invoices and GST returns | "Show the 70:30 split on a quote and an invoice. Can you do IGST and e-invoice export?" |
| Tariff accuracy | Savings and payback depend on the slab tariff | "Which DISCOMs are loaded, when were they last updated, and can I edit them?" |
| Design accuracy | Overpromised generation leads to complaints later | "How is shading calculated, and what weather data source do you use for yield?" |
| WhatsApp and tracking | Most Indian customers decide on their phone | "Can I share a link, and see when the customer opened it?" |
| Languages | Customers trust numbers they can read | "Which languages cover the app and the customer documents?" |
| Offline field use | Site data is lost when forms need signal | "Show me a survey done in airplane mode, then synced." |
| Subsidy paperwork | Rejections delay cash flow by weeks or months | "Which forms and photo packs do you generate, and for which DISCOMs?" |
| Data export | You must be able to leave without losing history | "Can I export all leads, projects, documents and invoices myself, in CSV or Excel?" |
| Support | Problems happen on site, often outside office hours | "What are support hours, which languages, and is there a WhatsApp support number?" |
| Total cost | Per-user fees grow fast as you hire | "What will I pay in year one and year two at double my current team size?" |
All-in-one vs best-of-breed
An all-in-one platform covers most of the seven categories in one system. The customer's name, sanctioned load, system size and module serials are entered once and flow from design to quote to project to invoice. That removes a common cause of subsidy rejections: details that differ between documents. The trade-off is that some modules may be thinner than a specialist tool.
A best-of-breed setup uses a separate tool for each job, such as a dedicated design tool, a general CRM and your existing accounting software. You get depth where you need it, but you also get more logins, more subscriptions, and someone copying data between systems unless the tools integrate well.
A practical rule for rooftop EPCs:
- Mostly residential and small commercial jobs with a lean office team: start all-in-one.
- Large C&I projects with dedicated design engineers: a specialist design tool plus a project and CRM system may suit you better.
- Already happy with your accounting software: keep it, and choose tools that export cleanly to it.
PitchSun, which is currently in early access, takes the all-in-one route for Indian EPCs, covering design, subsidy-aware proposals, the PM Surya Ghar project pipeline and GST invoicing. Judge it against the same checklist as any other option.
Pricing models and what they really cost
Solar software in India is usually priced in one of these ways:
- Per user per month: predictable, but cost rises with every sales rep and site supervisor you add. Check whether field staff or view-only users are charged at full rate.
- Per project or per design: you pay for what you use, which suits seasonal businesses. It can get expensive at high volume, and it can push the team to skip the tool on small jobs.
- Tiered plans: a flat monthly fee up to a limit on users, projects or features. Read what sits in the higher tiers, because subsidy paperwork or integrations are often kept there.
- Free with hardware: some software comes bundled when you buy modules, inverters or kits from a particular supplier. It costs nothing upfront, but it can tie your equipment choices to one supplier and may limit your data access if you switch.
To compare fairly, work out the cost per closed project: the total yearly software cost, including setup and add-ons, divided by the number of projects you expect to close that year. Set that against the hours it saves per project.
Data ownership and export
Your leads, customer documents and project history are business assets. They also contain personal data such as Aadhaar copies, bank details and addresses. Before you commit, check that:
- The contract says you own your data and can export it at any time, not only when you cancel.
- You can export leads, projects, invoices and documents in standard formats (CSV, Excel, PDF, ZIP) without raising a support ticket.
- Access is role-based, so a channel partner or new sales rep cannot download your whole customer list.
- The vendor can tell you where data is stored and how long it is kept after you leave.
India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and its Rules, notified in November 2025, are being phased in with the last set of provisions due in May 2027. Ask each vendor how its product will support your consent and data-handling duties.
A 30-day rollout plan
Most software rollouts fail because nobody uses the tool, not because of missing features. Go in stages.
- Days 1–7: Set up and clean data. Add your company details, GSTIN, logo, price list, preferred DCR modules and inverters, and your DISCOM tariffs. Import only live leads and open projects. Leave old dead leads behind.
- Days 8–14: Pilot with one team. Pick one sales rep and one site supervisor. Run every new lead, survey and quote through the tool, and keep a shared note of problems. Cross-check subsidy, GST and savings against your old spreadsheet on every quote.
- Days 15–21: Add projects and paperwork. Move open PM Surya Ghar jobs into the project tracker with their current stage. Generate net-metering and handover documents from the tool for at least two jobs, and compare them with what your DISCOM accepted before.
- Days 22–30: Roll out to everyone and set rules. Train the full team in short sessions, in their language. Make one rule clear: if it isn't in the system, it didn't happen. Review a simple dashboard every week: leads followed up, quotes sent, projects stuck by stage, and payments due.
Bottom line
Don't choose rooftop solar software from a feature list. Pick the tool that gets Indian rules right on your own jobs, lets you take your data with you, and that your team is still using at the end of the first 30 days.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best solar software for installers in India?
There is no single best tool for every installer. The right choice calculates the PM Surya Ghar subsidy correctly, checks DCR and ALMM compliance, applies the 70:30 GST split, uses your DISCOM's tariff, shares proposals on WhatsApp and works on a phone at site. Shortlist two or three options and test each one on your own recent jobs.
Do small rooftop solar installers need software?
A team doing a few jobs a month can manage with spreadsheets and WhatsApp. Once you have several sales reps, many projects stuck at different DISCOM stages, or subsidy claims getting rejected over paperwork, a proposal tool and a project tracker usually pay for themselves in saved time and fewer errors.
Should I buy an all-in-one solar software or separate tools?
All-in-one software avoids retyping data between design, quote, project and invoice, which suits most small and mid-sized EPCs. Separate best-of-breed tools make sense when one area, such as detailed C&I design or accounting, needs more depth than a combined tool offers. Either way, make sure you can export your data.
What GST rate should solar software use on a rooftop quotation?
As of September 2026, solar power generating systems are taxed at 5% GST. When supplied with installation, 70% of the value is treated as goods at 5% and 30% as services at 18%, an effective rate of about 8.9%. Software should apply this split automatically and show it clearly on the quote and invoice.
Can solar software file my PM Surya Ghar subsidy application?
No private software can submit on the national portal for you. Good software prepares everything the portal and DISCOM ask for, such as consistent customer names, DCR certificates, serial numbers, geo-tagged photos and net-metering forms, so your team can upload it correctly the first time.
Sources
- MNRE — PM Surya Ghar National Portal for Rooftop Solar (CFA amounts, scheme details)
- MNRE — Operational Guidelines, CFA to Residential Consumers under PM-Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana (DCR requirement, special-category rates, five-year CMC)
- MNRE — Clarification regarding CFA to RWA/GHS cases (19 November 2024)
- PM Surya Ghar National Portal — What's New (OM on repeated serial numbers, 11 May 2026)
- MNRE — Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM)
- MNRE — O.M. dated 18 July 2026: ALMM List-II for cells, limited window till 31.12.2026 for net-metering projects
- PIB — GST on renewable energy devices rationalised to 5% (effective 22 September 2025)
- CBIC — Notification No. 9/2025-Integrated Tax (Rate), Schedule I entry with 70:30 valuation for solar systems
- GST Council — Notification No. 10/2023-Central Tax (e-invoicing for aggregate turnover above ₹5 crore from 1 August 2023)
- PIB — Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025 notified (November 2025)