What’s Your True Cost Per Proposal? (It’s Higher Than You Think)

Solar executives and leaders often believe they’re paying $1–$45 per proposal for their sales enablement software. On paper, it looks efficient. But the reality is it is much higher.

Why is it so much higher than you think?

Because the sticker price only tells part of the story. Most existing solar platforms bury true costs inside confusing credit systems, missing features, and backend inefficiencies that drain resources. By the time everything is tallied, companies often spend far more per proposal than they realize.

Hidden Feature Spent: The Myth of "Cheap" Proposal Software

Vendors love to lead with a low cost-per-proposal to win your business. But the real cost kicks in after you’ve signed.

Want to model energy usage? That’s extra. Need to add HVAC or roofing? Get ready to pay for another tool.

Hidden feature spend shows up as unexpected credits, integrations, and add-ons that are essential to getting a deal done—but aren’t included in the base price.

It’s not just a pricing trick—it’s a system designed to look cheap on paper and charge more in practice.

The $30 Proposal That’s Actually $88

On paper, most solar platforms advertise proposal pricing between $1–$45. Sounds reasonable, right?

But that’s just the sticker price. Behind the scenes, your “affordable” software may be draining margin through:

• Confusing credit systems

• Feature add-ons that feel essential but cost extra

• Extra tools for reporting, referrals, compliance, and call recording

• …and a whole world of backend inefficiencies

We chatted with one solar CEO thought his team’s proposal cost was $30. In reality?

AI Design	$5
Expert Design Services	$25
Presentation Software	$30
Energy Modeling Subscription	$8
Add-On Product Tools (HVAC, Roofing)	$7
Referral Integration	$3
Compliance Add-On	$5
Advanced Adders	$5
Grand Total	$88

And that’s before backend costs.

Backend Inefficiencies: The Silent Killer of Margin

Even worse are the costs you never see on an invoice. These are the operational headaches your software creates—and they add up fast.

We’re talking about longer onboarding times, more managers needed to babysit deals, compliance issues that cost thousands, and bloated ops teams stuck fixing broken proposals.

These inefficiencies don’t just cost money. They stall growth. Because when your team is stuck reworking deals, they’re not closing new ones.

Let’s take a look at a couple of examples.

Constant Change Orders

Weak controls and inconsistent inputs lead to constant post-sale adjustments. Every change order isn’t just labor — it’s lost margin and a frustrated customer.

• Formula Example:

  Assume 20% of closed deals require change orders = 10 deals

  5 hours per change order × 10 = 50 hours

  50 hours × $50/hr (burdened) = $2,500 per month

  $2,500 ÷ 400 proposals = $6.25 per proposal

  Note: does not include lost margin — just labor.

  
  

The Patter Difference: With guardrails and accurate modeling, Patter dramatically reduces change orders. Customers can work with their rep to build their system and see a proposal they can trust, and companies protect both margin and reputation.

Slower Onboarding

With complex tools and limited guardrails, training stretches far longer than it should. Every extra week of ramp is time reps aren’t producing revenue.

• Formula Example: 

  80 training hours × $50/hr (burdened) = $4,000 per rep

  $4,000 × 2 reps = $8,000 per month

  $8,000 ÷ 400 proposals = $20 per proposal

The Patter Difference: Patter uses one-button navigation to guide the entire presentation while our AI-native advanced rules engine takes out the calculations and extra administrative work. Reps stay in a single tool for the full process — no tool-hopping or extra systems to learn. This takes training from weeks to days. Faster ramp = lower training costs and faster time-to-revenue.

How to Calculate Your True Cost Per Proposal (TCPP)

If you’re still benchmarking on sticker price, you’re using the wrong metric. Try this instead:

TCPP = (Per Proposal Cost (or base credits) + Feature Add-Ons (additional credits or add on services) + Extra Software + Post-Deal Ops Labor + Compliance Losses) ÷ Total Proposals

If you’re not including at least these five, your estimate is off.

So...What's Yours?

Once you know it, you can actually do something about it.

At Patter, we’ve designed our pricing around total cost of ownership, not just surface-level savings.

Our all-in platform reduces feature bloat and backend inefficiencies—so you can scale smarter.

No tool jumping

Presentations, energy modeling, adders, referrals, compliance, reporting, system building, and lender approvals are all in one place.

→ Reduce spend on additional tools and redundant software licenses

Faster ramp

One-button navigation and guided experiences slash training time

→ Cut onboarding costs, shorten time-to-revenue for new reps

Fewer managers required

AI-powered reporting + real-time AI rep assistance

→ Unlock more performance from each manager, allowing you to scale reps without ballooning management headcount

Compliance Baked In

Guardrails, lender-approved pricing and compliant applications, AI call capture

→ Avoid costly compliance issues, redesigns, and rejected deals

Ops Efficiency

Getting clean deals the first time with our advanced rules engine = leaner back office

→ Reduce ops personnel costs and free resources to focus on growth instead of rework

Scalable beyond solar

Roofing, energy efficiency, insulation — all in one system

→ Add new revenue streams without adding new platforms or tool costs

💡 Your Challenge: Try calculating your TCPP. If you want a second set of eyes—we’ll run the math with you. Book a Call with Us.