Answer
Solar software integrations move project information between design, CRM, finance, procurement, and other systems. Before buying, verify which fields can be read or written, who owns them, how revisions are identified, and what happens when a transfer fails. Test the exact connector or API in your configuration, and agree support, data access, and exit rights in writing.
A solar project can have the right address in the CRM and the wrong design revision in its proposal. Evaluating an integration means proving that the receiving system gets the right information, with a visible owner when it does not.
This guide is a buyer acceptance checklist. It does not certify a connector, describe a SurgePV API, or promise that a listed platform integrates with your account.
Separate an API, a connector, and a file export
| Connection | What to establish before purchase | What not to infer |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor-maintained connector | Named systems, supported versions, fields, direction, plan entitlement, support owner | Every field or workflow is supported |
| Custom API integration | Documented endpoints, authentication, permissions, developer responsibility, maintenance | A ready-made connector exists |
| Middleware workflow | Trigger, mapping, execution limits, error routing, data access | An event means the full project is synchronized |
| CSV or other file exchange | Schema, units, attachments, import validation, reconciliation owner | A report export can be imported as an editable project |
Ask the vendor to demonstrate the exact route in the proposed subscription and environment. Mark undocumented operations as open requirements rather than putting them into a rollout estimate.
Define the project data contract
Start with one bounded handoff, such as creating a design request from an accepted site record. Extend it only after the receiving team can reconcile the result.
| Field group | Define in the mapping sheet | Acceptance evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | Source project ID, destination ID, site coordinates, account boundary | The transfer updates the intended project without creating another |
| Equipment and design | Exact equipment identity, active design ID, revision, review status | Superseded designs cannot silently replace a released design |
| Consumption and production | Units, interval, timestamp convention, AC/DC boundary, source date | Values retain their meaning after transfer |
| Commercial record | Currency, tax basis, quote revision, included scope, approved status | A design change does not silently approve a new customer price |
| Documents | File type, attachment identity, version, access and retention | The receiving role can retrieve the approved document |
Assign ownership per field. A blanket “CRM is the source of truth” does not settle who may change module count, engineering approval, or accounting status. Preserve the useful project-control rule: every exception needs an impacted output, owner, and next review event.
What official documentation demonstrates
Aurora’s API tutorials describe workflow integration using APIs and event webhooks. Its environment documentation separates sandbox and production and requires authenticated HTTPS requests. That establishes documented interfaces, not a working connector in an arbitrary customer’s account.
Aurora’s CRM app documentation is labelled private beta. It describes scopes and warns that response measurement units depend on customer preferences. Confirm release status and entitlement before relying on an example. This review did not execute an Aurora request or test an application.
For another unit boundary, the official PVWatts V8 API documents monthly AC output in kWh and hourly AC output in W. A receiving field labelled “production” is insufficient: monthly energy and interval power require different mappings. No PVWatts or SurgePV integration is implied here.
Run acceptance tests, including failures
Use sanitized test records and a permission-limited test environment where available. Avoid real customer data until access and data-handling requirements are agreed.
- Create a project, repeat the same request, and check whether a duplicate appears.
- Change a source field and verify the destination field, revision, and audit record.
- Send a missing unit, invalid address, or unsupported value. Check that it is rejected or held visibly.
- Simulate a timeout or interrupted transfer. Confirm what retries and who receives the exception.
- Deliver an older revision after a newer one. Confirm the agreed conflict rule.
- Remove access or expire a credential. Verify the failure notice and recovery process.
- Compare the final design, proposal, and relevant downstream record before release.
Do not invent a universal retry interval or reconciliation tolerance. Agree them for the supported interface and the consequence of a wrong record. A technical success response does not establish engineering or commercial approval.
Agree support, security, and exit responsibilities
Name the vendor, implementation partner, and internal owners. Ask who monitors failed transfers, handles interface changes, restores credentials, and reconciles records after an incident. Keep privileged credentials out of customer-facing documents and agree an approved access process with the security owner.
Separate subscription entitlement from custom development, middleware usage, ongoing support, and migration work in the quote. Count an included item once. No universal implementation duration or return on investment is defensible without the actual workflow and measured baseline.
Request a sample exit export. Check whether it includes editable inputs, IDs, attachments, relevant revisions, and documentation of field meanings. Contractual export rights and a demonstrated usable export are complementary controls.
Use the right follow-on review
A software stack review asks which systems are needed. This checklist asks whether the selected connection works and can be supported. A software migration review addresses the controlled transition; multi-country configuration adds market and locale acceptance tests.
When evaluating SurgePV’s solar design workflow, bring a sample handoff and ask the team to demonstrate the currently supported input, output, and review steps. Use the demo to resolve requirements, then record what is included in the written offer. Do not assume native CRM, finance, ERP, or accounting connections from a general software description.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does an API mean a solar platform has a native CRM integration?
No. An API documents a way to exchange data. A native connector is a separate product with its own supported fields, permissions, configuration, entitlement, maintenance, and acceptance tests.
What should be tested before an integration goes live?
Test project identity, field mapping, units, revisions, permissions, duplicate and failed events, reconciliation, customer-facing outputs, and the manual fallback. Record expected and actual results for the exact configuration.
Can an integration replace design or financial review?
No. Successful data transfer does not approve the design, tariff, savings model, equipment, finance terms, or customer commitment. Preserve the relevant review and release gates.
What data rights should an installer request?
Agree ownership, permitted use, access roles, retention, export format, attachments, revision history, deletion, and post-termination access. Verify that an export contains the records needed to continue work, rather than relying on a downloadable report alone.
Sources
Primary research and reference material used for this desk-research article.
Where this fits
This article is part of SurgePV's Solar Business & Operations hub, which works through the topic from first principles to the decisions a project team actually has to make.
