OpenSolar and Plenti launch zero interest finance option to boost solar sales

A collaboration between rooftop PV sales optimisation company OpenSolar and renewable energy loan outfit Plenti has been extended to give Australian solar businesses the option to offer customers zero interest payment plans.

The two companies first joined forces in February of 2021 – in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic – with the aim of removing some of the barriers standing in the way of households making the leap into solar and/or battery storage.

They did this by using OpenSolar’s software platform to match the energy needs and budgets of households, and likewise to match the terms of the finance, from Plenti, to the electricity bill savings the solar system was projected to deliver.

This week, however, the two companies announced they had taken further steps to “make solar accessible to more people as quickly as possible,” while also helping solar installers to convert more leads to sales.

The all-in-one proposal means, starting immediately, customers can accurately visualise their homes with solar, together with finance options that allow them to pay in up to 72 equal regular repayments with zero interest.

“Solar installers benefit by providing an effortless purchasing experience for their customers, including automatic conditional approvals within two minutes of the customer’s application,” the companies say.

“At OpenSolar, we enable Aussie solar installers to present super compelling solar proposals to their customers with cutting edge accuracy ,” said Maaike Gobel, head of partnerships.

“What’s great about this latest innovation from Plenti is that the customers can see really flexible finance options that can get approved on the spot, getting more solar out there in less time,” Gobel said.

“As we continue on our mission to build Australia’s best lender, our goal is to provide the very best in flexible payment terms for solar customers” said Louis Edwards, head of renewable energy finance at Plenti.

“This new style of finance integration with OpenSolar means that solar installers can increase their sales conversion whilst also being able to rely on steady and timely income for their growing businesses.”

OpenSolar, a free online tool launched in Australia by Adam Pryor and Andrew Birch in May 2019, is designed to help solar companies deliver better rooftop solutions for customers.

As Nigel Morris wrote at the time, the team behind the platform were global pioneers in solar quoting and design software, pioneered by Sungevity, one of the largest solar companies in the US, whose founders are Australian.

Backed by some of Australia’s leading solar industry services companies, including Solar Outlet and SunWiz, OpenSolar offers services including intelligent roof mapping, comparison tools, product pickers, pricing and cost input options and full branding and quote templates for residential and commercial.

It includes functions to help companies manage customers, with one-click calling and filtering and useful tools in the field, like image uploads, and configurable work-flow, and action-setting from any device. It also has an online support center with training and videos.

Solar professionals on OpenSolar can now go to www.opensolar.com/plenti to learn more about the new feature, activate it on their accounts and start offering zero-interest finance to their customers right away.