Free Sales Org Tool
TPO vs Loan vs Cash, Dealer Proceeds
Same system, three funding paths, three very different numbers landing in your account. See what you net after dealer fee, build cost, and commission, and where the loan stops beating TPO.
Why does the same system pay differently under TPO and a loan?
Because they are different transactions. Under a third-party-owned product, a TPO provider buys the completed system from you at a purchase price, usually quoted per watt. There is no consumer loan and no dealer discount, so your proceeds are set mainly by that purchase price.
Under a consumer loan, the homeowner signs a contract price and finances it, and the lender advances that contract less a dealer fee, the discount the lender takes for funding the paper. Longer terms and lower APRs generally carry higher fees. So your proceeds are your own pricing minus that fee.
The consequence worth internalising: the price the homeowner sees and the money you receive are two different numbers. A long-term, low-APR product with a large dealer fee can be priced above market and still net you less than a cheaper-looking deal.
Compare proceeds by product
Enter the pricing your own agreements give you. Seamless Home publishes no purchase prices or dealer fees. The defaults are placeholders.
The deal
8,000 watts
Equipment, labour, design, permitting, and fulfillment: $16,800 on this system.
$2,800 on this system. Set to zero if you want gross proceeds only.
Pricing by product
Enter the numbers your own agreements actually give you. Seamless Home does not publish purchase prices or dealer fees, these defaults are neutral placeholders only.
What the third-party owner pays you for the completed system.
The price the homeowner signs and finances, $28,000.
The discount the lender takes off the contract to buy the paper, $5,040 here. Longer terms and lower APRs generally carry higher fees.
Usually below the loan price, because there is no dealer fee to absorb.
What you net per product
Homeowner price
$22,400
Dealer fee
-
Build cost
−$16,800
Commission
−$2,800
A third-party owner buys the system. You are paid a purchase price per watt; there is no consumer loan and no dealer discount, but the price per watt is set by the TPO provider.
Homeowner price
$28,000
Dealer fee
−$5,040
Build cost
−$16,800
Commission
−$2,800
The homeowner finances the contract price. The lender advances the contract amount less a dealer fee, so your proceeds depend on both your price and the fee.
Homeowner price
$24,800
Dealer fee
-
Build cost
−$16,800
Commission
−$2,800
The homeowner pays directly. No dealer fee at all, which usually makes it the highest-proceeds product per watt, and the rarest.
Reading this
At these inputs Cash nets you the most, $5,200 against $2,800 for TPO (lease / PPA), a spread of $2,400 on a single 8 kW system.
Your loan and TPO proceeds are equal at a dealer fee of 20.0% at your current loan price. Below that fee the loan wins; above it TPO does. You are currently at 18%.
What this model deliberately does not price: which product the homeowner actually qualifies for, cancellation risk by product, how quickly each one funds, and the downstream service obligations that differ between owning and third-party-owned systems. Proceeds are one input to the product decision, not the decision.
Purchase prices, dealer fees, and eligibility are set by each funding partner, vary by credit tier and product term, and change. Confirm your own current numbers with the applicable provider before pricing a deal.
Informational use only, please verify before you rely on it
Purchase prices, dealer fees, and eligibility rules are set by each funding partner, vary by credit tier and product term, and change frequently. The values prefilled here are neutral placeholders, not offers, quotes, or representative rates. Confirm your own current terms with the applicable provider.
This tool is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. Its output is an illustrative estimate generated from the values you enter and from general assumptions that will not match every deal, market, lender, or homeowner. It is not tax, legal, accounting, financial, or professional advice, and it is not a quote, an offer, a credit decision, or a guarantee of pricing, approval, timing, savings, or eligibility.
You are solely responsible for independently confirming all information presented here including any figures, rates, fees, margins, timelines, tax treatment, and federal, state, local, or utility incentives, with the applicable lender, authority having jurisdiction, and your own qualified tax, legal, and financial advisors before acting on it, relying on it, or presenting it to a homeowner or any third party. Incentive programs, lender terms, and permitting requirements change frequently and vary by jurisdiction.
Seamless Home is not a tax advisor, law firm, lender, or licensed installing contractor, and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy, completeness, or currency of the information produced by this tool. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Seamless Home accepts no liability for any decision made or action taken in reliance on it.
Proceeds are one input, not the decision
It would be easy to read this tool as an instruction to sell whichever product pays best. That would be the wrong conclusion, and it is worth saying plainly on the page that produces the number.
The homeowner has to actually qualify. Steering someone toward a product that nets you more but fits their credit profile, tax position, or ownership preference worse is both a compliance exposure and a cancellation risk, and a deal that cancels after design and permit spend costs you far more than the proceeds difference you were chasing.
Products also differ on dimensions this model does not price: how quickly each one funds, how often each falls through, and what happens afterward. A third-party-owned system leaves a long-term relationship and service obligation behind it that a cash sale does not. Those are real economics, just not ones a per-deal proceeds comparison captures.
Where Seamless Home fits. Access to a multi-lender panel is what makes product choice a real choice rather than a constraint, an org with one dealer agreement sells whatever that one lender approves. Seamless Home provides multi-lender financing access through one workflow, including sell-on-our-paper. To match a product to a specific homeowner rather than to your margin, use the financing type selector.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a dealer fee in solar financing?+
A dealer fee is the discount a lender takes off the contract price in exchange for funding the homeowner's loan. If a homeowner signs a $28,000 contract and the dealer fee is 18%, the lender advances roughly $22,960 and keeps $5,040. It is how a lender can offer a long term at a low APR and still earn a return, which is why longer-term and lower-APR products generally carry higher dealer fees. From your side it is a direct reduction in proceeds on every financed deal.
Why do dealer proceeds differ between TPO and a loan?+
They are different transactions. Under a third-party-owned product, the TPO provider buys the completed system from you at a purchase price, typically expressed per watt, and there is no consumer loan and no dealer discount. Under a consumer loan the homeowner signs a contract price and finances it, and the lender advances that contract amount less the dealer fee. So on TPO your proceeds are set mainly by the provider's purchase price, while on a loan they are set by your own pricing minus the fee. The same system can net materially different amounts.
Is cash always the best product for a solar dealer?+
Per watt it usually produces the highest proceeds, because there is no dealer fee and no purchase-price ceiling. But it is also the least common, since most residential homeowners do not pay cash for a system, and pricing cash at the same level as a financed contract will lose deals. The whole reason the loan price is higher is that it has to absorb the dealer fee. Cash is best understood as the reference point that shows you exactly what financing costs you.
Should dealers choose products based on proceeds?+
Proceeds are one input, not the decision. The homeowner has to actually qualify for the product, and pushing someone toward a product that nets you more but fits them worse is both a compliance risk and a cancellation risk. Products also differ in how fast they fund, how often they fall through, and what service obligations they leave behind. A third-party-owned system carries a long-term relationship that a cash sale does not. This tool prices the proceeds dimension honestly and deliberately does not pretend to price the others.
How do I find the break-even dealer fee between a loan and TPO?+
It is the fee percentage at which the loan's funded amount equals the TPO purchase amount for the same system. Below that fee, the loan nets you more; above it, TPO does. The tool calculates it from your own loan price and TPO purchase price, which makes it a useful sanity check when a lender offers a new product: rather than comparing APRs, you can see immediately whether the fee crosses the line where TPO becomes the better economic outcome for your organization.
Can a solar deal be priced above market and still lose money?+
Yes, and it is a common failure. Because the dealer fee is a percentage of the contract, a long-term low-APR product with a large fee can leave a funded amount below your all-in cost plus commission even at a contract price that is uncompetitively high for the market. The price the homeowner sees and the money you receive are two different numbers, and only the second one pays your costs. The tool flags any product that nets negative at your inputs.
Related resources
Financing type selector
Match a product to the homeowner in front of you: credit tier, tax position, and priority.
Learn more →How solar financing works
TPO vs loan vs sell-on-our-paper explained end to end for sales organizations.
Learn more →Multi-lender solar financing
Access a panel of lenders through one workflow instead of a single dealer agreement.
Learn more →Make product choice a choice
Seamless Home provides multi-lender financing access through one workflow, so you can place a deal where it fits the homeowner instead of where your one agreement allows.
Get In Touch