Solar redline calculator.

What is a redline in solar sales?

A redline is the base price per watt a solar system has to sell for before anyone earns a commission. The company sets it to cover equipment, labor, permits, financing costs and its own margin. Some companies call it the baseline or the floor; the idea is the same.

Everything a rep sells above the redline, after adders like a main panel upgrade or a battery, becomes the commission pool. Sell at the redline and there is nothing to split. Sell well above it and the pool grows fast, because every extra cent per watt is multiplied by the size of the system.

That is why reps on a redline plan care so much about price per watt. It is also why owners usually keep the redline itself private: reps see their own pay, while the owner sees the redline, the margin and how the whole pool is shared.

Per-watt redline vs. percentage plans.

There are two common ways to pay solar sales reps. On a redline plan, commission is whatever the deal sells for above the per-watt floor, and the rep takes a share of that. On a percentage plan, the rep earns a fixed percentage of the contract price, whatever the price per watt.

• Redline plans reward price discipline. A rep who holds price earns more, and a rep who discounts feels it immediately. The math has more steps, which is why reps want a calculator.
• Percentage plans are simpler to explain and to forecast. They pay the same share on a well-priced deal and a discounted one, so pricing has to be protected some other way.

Neither is right for every company. What matters most is that reps can do the math themselves, on the spot, so nobody is surprised on payday.

How setter and closer splits work.

On many solar teams, one person sets the appointment and another runs it. The setter books the homeowner; the closer sits with them and signs the deal. Both expect to be paid when it closes.

Comp plans handle this in a few ways. Some pay the setter a flat amount per appointment that sits. Others give the setter a percentage of the rep commission, and the closer keeps the rest. This calculator models the percentage version: put the setter's cut in, and it splits the rep commission between the two, rounding the closer's share and giving the setter the remainder so the two always add up to the total.

Whatever the plan, write it down. Most commission arguments start with a split nobody agreed on in writing.

A made-up deal, the same one the calculator opens with. None of these numbers are real.

1. Redline total: 8,400 W × $2.85/W = $23,940.
2. Commission pool: $48,600 contract − $6,200 adders − $23,940 redline total = $18,460.
3. Rep commission: 30% of $18,460 = $5,538.
4. Closer's share: 75% of $5,538 = $4,154, rounded to the dollar.
5. Setter's cut: $5,538 − $4,154 = $1,384.

Change any input in the calculator above and every line updates. Every company sets its own redline and splits, so check the numbers against your own comp plan.

Common comp plan mistakes.

Most commission disputes on solar teams come from the same handful of gaps. None of them are about the math itself.

• Paying on the full contract. Adders like a panel upgrade, a battery or trenching cost the company money. If they aren't taken out before the redline, the pool looks bigger than it is, and someone has to give it back later.
• No rule for cancellations. Decide up front whether commission is paid at signing, at install or when the job is funded, and what happens when a homeowner cancels. Clawbacks nobody expected cost you reps.
• A split that lives in someone's head. Setter and closer shares, and who gets credit when an appointment is reset, belong in writing before the first deal closes.
• Moving the redline quietly. Equipment and financing costs change, and the redline may have to follow. Tell reps the date it changes and which deals it applies to.
• Pay with no math behind it. When reps only see a number on payday, every surprise becomes an argument. Show them how each deal was calculated.