Solar workflow depth
Can the product carry system details, proposal status, project milestones, and the delivery handoff without rebuilding the process in custom fields?
Quickest Solar CRM is our first pick for a small Bangladeshi installer or EPC sales desk whose real problem is slow quoting and follow up that nobody owns. That placement uses a disclosed proposal-first adoption lens and still needs a Bangladesh proof step. OpenSolar is the clearest free design-first choice, Pylon pairs design with an optional CRM, and Sunbase publishes wider solar operations. We compared seven tools against BDT documents, adviser-approved VAT, SREDA net metering applications, several distribution utilities, Bangla customer output, rooftop and captive commercial work, field evidence, commissioning and handover.
Direct answer
Choose Quickest when proposal speed, lead ownership, mobile adoption and a free pilot are the first priorities. QuickEstimate owns Quickest and its published evidence is India-first, so Bangladeshi currency, VAT, NBR reporting, SREDA and utility stages, language, hosting and support remain unverified until a demo proves them. OpenSolar is better when free solar design leads the purchase. Pylon and Sunbase deserve tests for deeper design or multi-team operations. Zoho, Odoo and HubSpot fit teams willing to configure a general platform and connect specialist design, tax and field systems around it.
7 jobs, 7 picks
A useful shortlist starts with the sales or delivery bottleneck. Each winner below reflects a different buying priority, while the overall ranking rewards a CRM that a solar sales team can adopt quickly.
Small mobile sales teams
Free: 1 user and 10 proposals monthly. Pro: INR 6,999 per user yearly, minimum 3 users. 02Best free design-first optionOpenSolarStartups combining solar design, proposals and project CRM
OpenSolar says partners fund the model; review services and connected costs. 03Best compact design and CRM trialPylonTeams wanting solar and battery proposals with optional CRM
New users receive five Standard Project credits; confirm Bangladesh commercial terms. 04Best broad solar operations candidateSunbaseEstablished teams evaluating a wider solar sales and project platform
Request Bangladesh users, modules, implementation, integrations, support and renewal pricing. 05Best configurable general CRMZoho CRMTeams with an administrator and several sales or service lines
The reviewed global page publishes USD prices and adds local taxes. 06Best configurable operations suiteOdooBusinesses joining CRM with sales, inventory, field service and accounting
Confirm current plan, apps, users, hosting, implementation, localisation and customisation. 07Best for marketing-led acquisitionHubSpot CRMTeams prioritising forms, email, meetings and pipeline
Official page states up to 2 free users and 1,000 contacts; price all required hubs.How we evaluated
We saved English and Bangla search attempts across Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Brave and Mojeek, then traced one record from a web form or WhatsApp enquiry through site visit, load and roof assessment, quotation, advance, design, licensed electrical work, the SREDA and utility net metering route, procurement, installation, bidirectional meter change, commissioning, invoicing, handover and service. Ranking rewards focused sales adoption first, then solar design, operational breadth, field usability, finance fit and configurable CRM depth. Bangladesh facts come from SREDA, BERC, BPDB, DPDC, the National Board of Revenue and the consumer rights directorate. Product descriptions come from official vendor pages and remain vendor claims. Published prices keep the currency the vendor shows. No X or social sentiment claim is used because the bounded research attempt returned no completed report.
Can the product carry system details, proposal status, project milestones, and the delivery handoff without rebuilding the process in custom fields?
Can managers route leads, track activity, automate follow-up, forecast revenue, and see why an opportunity stalled?
Can a rep move from site information to a credible customer proposal, and how much specialist solar design happens inside the platform?
Does the workflow support the language, currency, tax, communications, documents, and handoffs common in Bangladesh?
What setup, migration, training, administration, and extra software does the apparent subscription require?
At-a-glance matrix
The table separates CRM depth from proposal, design, and operations coverage. Confirm plan limits and country availability in writing before signing.
Local billing check: confirm BDT pricing, tax treatment, contract currency, and payment fees in writing.
| Platform | Best for | Public price | Solar proposals | Design | Project operations | CRM depth | Free access |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Quickest Solar CRM | Small mobile sales teams | Free plan; Pro in INR | Focused branded proposals | Bangladesh inputs unverified | Lead stages and follow up | Focused solar sales CRM | 1 user, 10 proposals monthly |
| 2OpenSolar | Startups combining solar design, proposals and project CRM | Free core platform | Interactive and PDF proposals | Native solar and storage design | Project CRM, tasks, schedules and files | Solar project CRM | Core platform described as free |
| 3Pylon | Teams wanting solar and battery proposals with optional CRM | Dollar pricing shown; confirm currency | Web and PDF proposals | Solar and battery design | Optional solar CRM and integrations | Solar CRM available | Five Standard Project credits |
| 4Sunbase | Established teams evaluating a wider solar sales and project platform | Quote required | Solar proposal capabilities published | Connect or verify design scope | Sales and operational solar workflows | Broad solar CRM | Request demo and trial terms |
| 5Zoho CRM | Teams with an administrator and several sales or service lines | Free for 3 users; paid USD tiers | Configure CPQ or connect a proposal tool | Specialist solar tool required | Custom modules, workflow, reports, portals and APIs | Broad general CRM | Free edition for 3 users |
| 6Odoo | Businesses joining CRM with sales, inventory, field service and accounting | One app free; paid plans published | Sales quotations and signatures | Specialist solar design required | CRM, sales, inventory, accounting, field service and more | General CRM within modular ERP | One app free plan stated |
| 7HubSpot CRM | Teams prioritising forms, email, meetings and pipeline | Free CRM; paid hubs available | Connect or configure proposal software | Specialist solar tool required | Paid sales and service expansion | Broad customer platform | Up to 2 users and 1,000 contacts |
Pricing and capability labels were checked against official sources on Sep 7, 2026. Currency conversion is intentionally omitted where a vendor does not publish a local price.
Country research
Most Bangladeshi rooftop and captive solar work passes through a net metering route that SREDA administers alongside the customer's distribution utility. That means a sale is not closed when the customer signs; it is closed when a queue outside the installer's control returns a decision. Meanwhile the account may sit under BPDB, DPDC, DESCO, a northern or western distribution company, or a rural electrification body, each with its own forms and pace. A CRM that only tracks a deal stage will lose the application version, the returned query, the meter and the person who is chasing it.
SREDA publishes a net metering application status route for Bangladesh. That single fact should shape the whole pipeline design. Store the application reference, the submission date, the utility, the customer account, the sanctioned load, the proposed capacity, the inverter and module models, the returned queries, the resubmission, the approval, the conditions, the meter change and the commissioning evidence. A stage called approved with no reference number and no date is the most common way a Bangladeshi rooftop pipeline becomes unreadable three months later.
Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority: Net metering application status ↗SREDA operates a solar e-service portal for stakeholders and applications. Because the portal is the authoritative record and the CRM is not, decide early which system wins when they disagree, and who reconciles them. Keep the portal reference, the account used, the submitting person, the document set uploaded, the version and the download of any approval. Do not let a screenshot pasted into a chat group become the only proof that a customer's application progressed.
Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority: Solar e-service portal ↗SREDA publishes net metering statistics for the country. Use national data to calibrate expectations rather than to make a customer promise. If typical processing takes longer than a salesperson assumes, the CRM should carry a realistic date field, an escalation owner and a customer communication template so the buyer hears about a delay from the installer rather than from a neighbour. Store the assumption and its source beside the commitment you gave the customer.
Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority: Net metering statistics ↗BERC is the energy regulator that licenses and sets tariffs in Bangladesh. A proposal that quotes a saving is quoting a tariff, so the record needs the customer category, the utility, the meter, the billing period, the units, any demand or service charge, the source document, the effective period, the self-consumption assumption and the export treatment. Never keep one tariff permanently in a template, and never present a dated public tariff as a guaranteed customer saving.
Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission: Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission ↗BPDB generates and distributes power across large parts of Bangladesh, and it is one of several bodies a rooftop customer may belong to. The applicable utility is a property of the site, not of the seller. Store the utility, the zone or office, the consumer number, the sanctioned load, the phase, the application route, the reference format and the contact. Test what happens when a site is assigned to the wrong utility and an application has to be withdrawn and refiled.
Bangladesh Power Development Board: Bangladesh Power Development Board ↗DPDC distributes electricity in part of Dhaka and publishes its own customer services, including solar and net metering tooling. A CRM used across the capital and outside it therefore has to hold at least two different application experiences without a coordinator maintaining a private spreadsheet. Capture the utility-specific document list, the inspection, the fees, the meter application, the appointment, the installation and the activation evidence rather than one generic checkbox.
Dhaka Power Distribution Company: Dhaka Power Distribution Company ↗The National Board of Revenue administers VAT and income tax in Bangladesh. A solar sale can mix imported equipment, local supply, design, installation, batteries, transport, civil work, maintenance and finance, and the treatment is not uniform across those lines. Configure tax per line, show whether displayed prices include or exclude VAT, retain the tax source and effective date, and have a Bangladeshi adviser approve advances, staged invoices, variations, credit notes, imports, invoice wording, withholding and reporting for the actual transaction.
National Board of Revenue: National Board of Revenue ↗The Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection handles consumer complaints in Bangladesh. Residential and small commercial sales records should preserve the advertisement, the lead source, the language used, the quotation, the scope, the exclusions, the saving assumptions, the payment terms, the warranty, the named technical owner, the complaint, the response, the escalation and the closure. Make that evidence retrievable without suggesting that the software decides what the customer is legally owed.
Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection: Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection ↗Bangladesh does not yet present a single general purpose data protection regulator in the sources reviewed here, which is a reason for more care rather than less. Solar records hold national identity numbers, addresses, location, electricity bills, household consumption, photographs, payment references, finance notes, signatures and message history. Agree written processor terms, purposes, security, access control, transfers, retention, deletion, breach handling and a complete export with the vendor, and take local legal advice on the current position before production use.
Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority: Solar e-service portal ↗Full reviews
Each review explains the useful workflow, the buyer who should shortlist it, and the country-specific question that a sales demo must answer.
Quickest is first for a narrow mobile sales adoption goal, conditional on passing every Bangladeshi finance, application, field and data test.
Quickest concentrates on the work a small team usually has to fix first: capture the enquiry, assign an owner, produce a branded proposal quickly and make the next follow up visible to a manager. A limited free plan allows an adoption pilot before anyone commits to migration or extra seats. QuickEstimate owns Quickest and publishes this ranking, so the position rests on the disclosed method rather than on independent market recognition.
No public evidence verifies BDT quoting, Bangladeshi VAT, SREDA application tracking, multi-utility routing, Bangla output, local support hours, offline installation capture, commissioning or the handover pack. Use real opportunities and deliberately awkward cases in the pilot, including a returned application query and a design revision after acceptance. Require contract currency, data location, subprocessors, response hours, integration scope, export, cancellation and renewal terms in writing.
Choose it if: proposal speed and follow up are the first bottlenecks and the Bangladesh acceptance test succeeds. Choose another platform if: verified local tax handling, design depth or complete field operations are required immediately.
OpenSolar is the strongest free design-first route for Bangladesh, subject to local modelling, tax, field and partner checks.
OpenSolar publishes design, proposals, table and Kanban project views, custom workflows, actions, schedules, documents, roles, permissions and an API. A young installer can test the whole design-to-sale path without a core licence fee, which matters where working capital is tight and the first CRM decision often gets made under pressure. The partner-funded structure deserves a separate commercial and data review.
Validate Bangladeshi imagery quality, irradiance inputs, equipment libraries, load and battery scenarios, BDT display, VAT treatment, utility stages, field connectivity and Bangla output. Change a design after acceptance and trace price, stock, tax, payment, technical evidence and the handover pack. Review privacy terms, overseas transfers, support coverage, how partners appear to the customer and whether a complete account export is genuinely available.
Choose it if: design and customer-facing proposals lead the purchase and a free core product is attractive. Choose another platform if: the business needs proven local tax, inventory and field delivery inside one suite.
Pylon supports a compact design and CRM evaluation, with billing currency and Bangladesh operation still unverified.
Pylon documents solar and battery design, web and PDF proposals, design history, integrations and a solar CRM add-on. It states that new users receive credits for five Standard Projects and that teams can add unlimited users. That structure supports a practical trial covering sales, design and management before a buyer assumes the product will replace a spreadsheet and a chat group.
Confirm the dollar currency, project credit rules, CRM cost, payment fees, taxes and renewal. Test Bangladeshi locations, weather and production inputs, load profiles, batteries, export treatment, BDT display, offline use, roles and support. Review data processing and export. Model several design revisions on a single factory rooftop, because credit economics and version control both matter when a commercial opportunity changes twice before signature.
Choose it if: the team wants to trial solar design, proposals and CRM in one place. Choose another platform if: local accounting, inventory and service dominate the requirement list.
Sunbase publishes broad solar CRM scope, but a Bangladeshi buyer needs direct product, price, integration and support proof.
Sunbase positions its CRM around solar lead management, sales, communication, proposals, workflow and operational visibility. That suits a company whose problems have moved past design into several teams and handoffs, which is common for a Bangladeshi EPC selling factory rooftops across districts. Public product language is not evidence that local tax, application or utility paths are ready to use.
Ask for Bangladeshi customer references and run a controlled demo from a WhatsApp enquiry through load review, proposal, advance, invoice, procurement, licensed work, installation, meter change, commissioning and service. Verify BDT handling, integrations, offline behaviour, roles, audit history, privacy terms, storage, support hours, the implementation owner, the module list, the contract price, data export and how a post-acceptance change propagates.
Choose it if: a growing EPC wants a broad solar platform and the vendor can prove Bangladesh fit. Choose another platform if: a free design tool or a simpler proposal CRM already meets the immediate need.
Zoho gives a capable administrator real flexibility, while Bangladeshi solar, tax, application and field processes must be designed around it.
Zoho CRM offers configurable modules, fields, pipelines, workflow, reports, mobile apps, portals and APIs. Its free edition supports three users, enough for a process owner to prototype residential, commercial, dealer and service records before committing. The wider Zoho suite can reduce vendor count, but each additional application and integration adds ownership, permissions, pricing and maintenance questions a small team has to answer.
Build or connect load assessment, solar design, BDT proposals, VAT, payment reconciliation, inventory, SREDA and utility application stages, commissioning, assets, warranty and handover. Test mobile offline needs, WhatsApp history, processor terms, transfers, retention, API limits, support coverage, a complete export and the administrator effort required after launch rather than during the demo.
Choose it if: the company has an administrator and wants one flexible shared commercial system. Choose another platform if: the team expects ready-made Bangladeshi solar workflows with little configuration.
Odoo can model a larger operating system, but Bangladesh success depends on localisation, implementation quality and governance.
Odoo combines CRM with quotations, sales, accounting, purchasing, inventory, projects, field service, helpdesk and other applications. That can suit a solar company connecting a sold bill of materials with buying, stock, technician work, invoice and the installed asset. The modular design carries a plain warning: edition, hosting, partner work, custom code and maintenance decide the real cost and the real reliability.
Verify a current Bangladeshi localisation and the VAT reporting route with the responsible implementation partner. Test BDT, advances, staged payments, serial numbers, offline field work, approvals, utility and application evidence, warranty and migration. Connect a specialist design tool and decide which system owns equipment and price. Review privacy roles, hosting, subprocessors, backups, upgrades, custom code support, exit terms and a restorable export.
Choose it if: operations, stock, finance, field service and CRM should share one configurable suite. Choose another platform if: the business wants a solar-specific proposal product with minimal implementation.
HubSpot is a strong lead and marketing layer, but the Bangladeshi solar stack around it can become extensive and expensive.
HubSpot's free CRM covers contacts, lead management, forms, email, meetings and pipeline for a small user group. It can give a marketing-led installer one consistent record from campaign response through sales activity. Paid marketing, sales, service, content and data products extend that record, though contact tiers, seats, onboarding and multiple hubs change the commercial comparison faster than buyers expect.
Price and test the complete Bangladeshi stack: WhatsApp, solar design, BDT quotation, VAT, payment reconciliation, inventory, field delivery, service and reporting. Use controlled fields for the distribution utility, the application reference, the sanctioned load, the responsible electrician, equipment, commissioning and warranty. Review consent, imports, suppression, processor terms, transfers, API limits, attachment storage, support, integration failure handling and export.
Choose it if: marketing and lead management are the first priorities and the business can govern integrations. Choose another platform if: the installer wants design, payments, inventory and field work closer to one record.
Buyer guide
Choose by the most expensive broken handoff, then test that handoff using real opportunities, real users, and the documents your customers actually receive.
Start with Quickest when slow quoting and unowned follow up are the visible failures. Use the free plan on real Bangladeshi opportunities, including one rooftop net metering case and one straightforward captive case. Continue only if the vendor proves BDT, VAT, application tracking, utility routing, Bangla output, field work, privacy, support and export in the buyer's own script and contract.
OpenSolar fits a team that needs solar design, proposals and project CRM before it can fund a wider stack. Validate Bangladeshi imagery, irradiance inputs, equipment libraries, load and battery cases, BDT display, VAT, utility stages, data terms, mobile performance, the partner-funded model and support coverage before the free core product decides the architecture.
Pylon is worth testing when web and PDF proposals, solar and battery design and an optional solar CRM all appeal. Confirm the displayed currency, Bangladeshi model inputs, project credit economics across several design revisions, mobile use, tax and payment connections, permissions, support hours and the evidence produced at handover.
Sunbase targets broader solar sales and operational workflows, which suits a team selling factory rooftops and captive systems across several districts. Ask for Bangladeshi customer proof and run the same tariff, application, tax, payment, offline, privacy, commissioning and export tests. Request current pricing for the actual module set rather than a category description.
A configurable platform can model dealers, service contracts, stock, repayment schedules and several business lines together. That flexibility needs an administrator, a specialist solar design tool, a secure payment integration and disciplined data ownership. Odoo is stronger where inventory and accounting dominate; Zoho is the more familiar route for a sales-led team.
HubSpot fits a business whose first priority is forms, campaigns, email, meetings and pipeline visibility. Budget the solar design, quotation, tax, payment, project, inventory, service and governance tools around it, and test total cost as contacts, seats and hubs grow rather than pricing only the free tier.
Run the same three opportunities in every shortlisted CRM: one ordinary lead, one revision-heavy project, and one deal that already failed. This removes demo theatre and exposes repeated entry, stale documents, weak mobile adoption, and missing local support.
Capture a real lead, assign it, create the proposal, schedule follow-up, record acceptance, and hand it to delivery.
Change the system, equipment, price, payment route, and installation date. Identify every stale record.
Use a duplicate, missed follow-up, rejected proposal, or delayed job and ask the CRM to show what happens next.
Produce an ordinary taxable sale, a mixed supply of equipment and services, an advance, a staged invoice, a variation, a credit note, a refund, a discount and a warranty replacement in BDT. Check inclusive and exclusive display, rounding, business identification numbers, permissions and the signed revision. Let the accountant decide classification, and confirm in writing how the vendor bills its own subscription, including currency, VAT, withholding, bank charges and exchange treatment.
Treat the application as a first class object with its own reference, owner, status, dates and document set rather than as a deal stage. Test a returned query, a resubmission, a capacity change after submission, a rejection and a withdrawal. Capture the customer account, sanctioned load, proposed capacity, equipment models, the approval, the conditions, the bidirectional meter change and the first export reading.
Confirm the CRM can hold several distribution utilities with different offices, document lists, reference formats and turnaround expectations. Test a site assigned to the wrong utility, an account transferred to a new owner and a customer whose sanctioned load changes mid-project. A single stage name is not evidence of an approval; the record must show which organisation approved what capacity on what date.
Record the responsible electrician or contractor, the licence class and validity, the scope, any subcontractor, the site, the design version, the inverter and module models, serial numbers, protection and earthing checks, test results and commissioning evidence. Prevent a salesperson from closing technical stages without a named owner and the required attachments, and confirm current requirements for the actual job rather than trusting a generic checkbox.
Generate the quotation, the acceptance, payment requests, warranty terms and handover instructions in the language the buyer actually reads. Have a fluent reviewer approve the Bangla wording, then store the approved version, the sender, the timestamp, the purpose and the delivery status. Test font rendering in the generated PDF on a real phone, because Bangla script that renders correctly in a browser can still break in an exported document.
Run an advance, a scheduled instalment, a partial payment, a payment from a third party, a duplicate reference, a reversal, a refund, a delinquent account and an accounting close using the payment route the company actually uses, including any mobile financial service. Restrict finance visibility by role, record customer notices and authorisation, and match every payment reference to the invoice and the installed asset rather than leaving the trail in a chat thread.
Map controller and processor roles, purposes, data categories, notices, access, correction, retention, deletion, transfers, subprocessors, support access, breach notification, backups, device security and termination. Test export and erasure against bills, identity documents, WhatsApp messages, site photographs, payment references and installed assets. Get the terms in writing and take local legal advice, since the reviewed sources do not settle every question for Bangladesh.
Have a field user work on the real phone in weak coverage. Capture location with a lawful purpose, the consumption history, the bill image, roof structure and orientation photographs, shading, access and safety notes, design inputs, equipment and serial numbers, delivery, tests, signatures, defects and commissioning. Check offline conflict resolution, image compression, timestamps, supervisor review, lost device controls and later sync without duplicate jobs or missing photographs.
Export the accepted scope, the variations, the as-built design, the installed equipment and serial numbers, photographs, test results, commissioning, the net metering and meter evidence, invoices and payment status, warranties, manuals, monitoring access, training, signatures, open defects and the service contact. Confirm customer access, retention after the warranty period, transfer to a new owner, cancellation, vendor exit and a complete readable archive.
The real budget
Bangladeshi pricing is not a currency conversion exercise. Quickest publishes INR terms, OpenSolar describes its core platform as free, Pylon shows dollar prices whose billing currency should be confirmed, and Zoho publishes USD global tiers. Sunbase needs a quote for the relevant scope. Odoo and HubSpot vary by apps, seats, contacts and implementation. Ask every shortlisted vendor for billing currency, taxes, payment method, bank and card charges, users, projects, proposals, storage, integrations, API limits, messaging costs, onboarding, support hours, renewal terms, exit terms and every separate product required to reach a compliant invoice, a completed field job and a usable handover pack.
Free: 1 user and 10 proposals monthly. Pro: INR 6,999 per user yearly, minimum 3 users.
OpenSolar says partners fund the model; review services and connected costs.
New users receive five Standard Project credits; confirm Bangladesh commercial terms.
Request Bangladesh users, modules, implementation, integrations, support and renewal pricing.
Quickest lists one free user with ten proposals monthly and Pro at INR 6,999 per user yearly with a three-user minimum. Bangladeshi commercial and tax terms are unverified.
OpenSolar states that its core platform is free because partners fund the model. Review partner choices, paid services, data use, support coverage and connected system costs.
Pylon offers five Standard Project credits to new users and states unlimited team users. Confirm the displayed currency, the CRM add-on, payment fees, project rules and renewal.
Zoho's reviewed page offers three free users alongside paid USD tiers. HubSpot states up to two free users and 1,000 contacts. Neither free plan supplies a complete Bangladeshi solar operating stack.
Budget accounting, VAT reporting, payment integration, WhatsApp messaging, design software, implementation, field devices, storage, support and administration alongside the licence fee.
Compare the cost of one complete acceptance case rather than a feature checklist. Measure the staff time needed to capture a bill, confirm the sanctioned load, revise a design, collect an advance, issue a compliant invoice, submit the net metering application, chase a returned query, record serial numbers, close the field job and answer a warranty call. Include travel and rework caused by missing data, and do not publish an assumed return until the pilot produces the company's own baseline.
Ask what happens when connectivity fails at a site or a payment confirmation arrives while an integration is down. The commercial proposal should name queued transactions, retry limits, manual reconciliation, notification, data ownership and support escalation. Price the middleware and the employee who watches it, because a low licence fee does not resolve an unowned exception queue.
Our number-one pick
Quickest concentrates on lead ownership, a mobile proposal and the next follow up, which is a realistic first adoption target for a small Bangladeshi field sales team.
Its free plan lets one person test ten monthly proposals before the company commits to migration, custom integration or additional seats.
First place stays conditional on proof. BDT handling, VAT, SREDA and utility stages, Bangla output, privacy, support and handover are not verified for Bangladesh.
Your next move
Start with Quickest and the specialist closest to your largest local requirement. Use the same evidence and test deals for both.
Name the bottleneck. Pick lead response, proposal speed, design, payment, install handoff, or management visibility.
Choose two tools. Compare Quickest with the strongest specialist for that bottleneck.
Run the Three-Deal Proof. Score adoption, repeated entry, revision handling, support, and full annual cost.
Research record
These sources support the market, regulatory, product, and pricing statements on this page. Product terms can change after the checked date.
Common questions
Quickest is first under our proposal-first adoption lens for a small team, but QuickEstimate owns it and Bangladeshi localisation is unverified. OpenSolar is the better free design-first option. Pylon combines design with an optional CRM, while Sunbase targets a wider solar workflow. Run a real BDT, VAT, net metering, utility, offline and handover test before choosing.
We found no verified public evidence for native BDT proposals or Bangladeshi VAT handling. Quickest's published evidence is India-first. Require a live taxable quotation, an advance, a staged invoice, a credit note, a refund and an accounting export during the demo, plus written billing currency and Bangladesh support terms.
Treat it as its own record with a reference number, an owner, a submission date, the utility, the customer account, the sanctioned load, the proposed capacity, the equipment models, the returned queries, the resubmission, the approval, the conditions and the meter change. A deal stage alone is not evidence. Store the portal reference and any downloaded approval, and decide which system is authoritative when the two disagree.
A CRM can coordinate the documents, the submission, the query responses, the inspection, the meter change and the commissioning evidence. It does not replace the consumer, the licensed electrician, the distribution utility, SREDA or the official process. Confirm the correct utility for the site and follow that organisation's current instructions rather than a stage name inside the software.
Support whichever ones the company actually sells into. A Bangladeshi installer may deal with BPDB, DPDC and other distribution companies depending on the site, and each has its own offices, document sets and reference formats. Store the utility as a controlled field on the site rather than as free text, and test moving a project when the utility was recorded incorrectly.
For documents that carry obligations, yes if the buyer reads Bangla: the quotation, the acceptance, payment requests, warranty terms and handover instructions. Have a fluent reviewer approve the wording, store the approved version and test PDF font rendering on a real phone. English-only internal records can be acceptable when the customer-facing set is correct.
The sources reviewed here do not settle every question, so rely on the contract. Require written processor terms covering purposes, security, access control, subprocessors, transfers, retention, deletion, breach notification, support access and a complete export. Take local legal advice on the current position before real customer data enters the system, and avoid storing identity documents that the process does not need.
Quickest offers one user and ten proposals monthly. OpenSolar publishes a free core solar platform. Zoho offers three free users, and HubSpot states up to two users and 1,000 contacts. Compare the full cost of design, tax, payments, messaging, field work, service, support and administration rather than the free tier alone.
Include the accepted scope, variations, the as-built design, installed equipment and serial numbers, photographs, test results, commissioning, the net metering approval and meter evidence, invoices, payment status, warranties, manuals, monitoring access, training, signatures, open defects and the service contact. Confirm the customer can retrieve it without the installer's software licence.
Use the Three-Deal Proof and require every vendor to show the same lead, revision, document, and failed handoff.