specification: FinOps Framework
specificationVersion: '1.0'
schema: https://www.finops.org/framework/
provider: Aurora Solar
providerId: aurora-solar
created: '2026-07-04'
modified: '2026-07-04'
reconciled: false
tags:
- Solar
- Solar Design
- PV
- Proposals
- FinOps
- Cost Management
- FOCUS
description: >-
  FinOps view of Aurora Solar spend. Aurora is a SaaS platform for solar sales
  and design, billed primarily as per-user, per-month seat licenses (annual
  commitment) across named tiers, with advanced capabilities (AutoDesigner,
  advanced shading, storage) gated to higher tiers or sold as add-ons. Aurora
  also offers a credit-based consumption model where individual projects/designs
  are charged in credits. The API is not a separately metered product; API cost
  is a function of the underlying subscription (seats) and any per-project credit
  consumption that API-driven design/proposal generation triggers. Prices are not
  published and are set through a sales quote.
notes: >-
  All amounts are quote-specific and unpublished; the dominant cost drivers are
  seat count and, under the credit model, the number and type of designs/projects
  generated. API automation can increase credit consumption (each auto-design /
  AI-modeling run costs credits), so treat automated design generation as a
  metered cost even though the HTTP calls themselves are not billed per request.
sources:
- https://aurorasolar.com/pricing/
- https://docs.aurorasolar.com/reference/aurora-solar-api
- https://focus.finops.org/focus-specification/v1-3/
alignedWith:
  framework: FinOps Foundation Framework
  frameworkUrl: https://www.finops.org/framework/
  dataSpec: FOCUS
  dataSpecVersion: '1.3'
  dataSpecUrl: https://focus.finops.org/focus-specification/v1-3/
publisherName: Aurora Solar
serviceCategory: Software as a Service
billingModel:
  pricingCategory: Subscription-Based
  billingFrequency: Annual
  billingCurrency: USD
  chargeCategories:
  - Purchase
  - Usage
  - Adjustment
focusColumns:
  ServiceName: Aurora Solar
  ServiceCategory: Software as a Service
  ProviderName: Aurora Solar
  PublisherName: Aurora Solar
  InvoiceIssuerName: Aurora Solar
  BillingCurrency: USD
  ChargeCategory: Purchase
  PricingCategory: Subscription-Based
meters:
- name: seat_licenses
  description: Per-user monthly seat licenses, billed annually per tier (Grow/Scale/Run or equivalent).
  unit: seats
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - tenant
  - tier
  - user
- name: design_credits
  description: Credits consumed per project/design under Aurora's credit-based consumption model.
  unit: credits
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - tenant
  - project
  - design
- name: ai_modeling_addon
  description: Additional credits for AI/auto modeling add-ons on a design.
  unit: credits
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - tenant
  - design
principles:
- name: Visibility
  description: Track seat count per tenant/tier and credit consumption per project and design; attribute automated (API-driven) design runs to the credits they consume.
- name: Allocation
  description: Tag projects and API keys (Restricted keys can be scoped by tags) per team/office so seat and credit spend maps to internal cost centers.
- name: Optimization
  description: Right-size seats to active designers, prefer webhooks over polling to avoid wasted API calls, and reuse designs/proposals rather than regenerating to avoid extra credit consumption.
- name: Accountability
  description: Assign owners per tenant and per office; review seat utilization and monthly credit burn against the negotiated Aurora agreement.
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com