Blu Banyan’s SolarSuccess and LumberFi Help Solar Contractors See Actual Labor Cost by Project and Phase, No Rework

Blu Banyan brings LumberFi payroll into SolarSuccess on NetSuite, so solar companies know what each job cost before the books close. No manual cleanup.

BERKELEY, CA, UNITED STATES — Blu Banyan, developer of the multi-award winning SolarSuccess platform built on Oracle NetSuite, and LumberFi (“Lumber”), a construction workforce management platform, today announced a partnership to enable solar and construction contractors see what labor actually costs on each job, broken out by work phase and component, directly inside NetSuite-SolarSuccess (and its construction complement, BuilderSuccess).

The core problem is simple: labor is the biggest variable in solar project margins, and most companies still can’t see what it actually costs until weeks after a crew has moved on. Time gets recorded in one system. Payroll runs in another. Job-cost allocations and reports get rebuilt manually, often in spreadsheets, long after different decisions could have been made. The result is late visibility, shaky estimates, hours of reconciliation at every close, and often, unexpected margin hits.

The Blu Banyan/LumberFi integration closes that cost-allocation timing gap. LumberFi captures time in the field and runs payroll. SolarSuccess takes those payroll results and posts them to the right project and phase (site survey, installation, permitting, commissioning) automatically. That gives operations and finance teams a clear picture of what labor actually costs on each component of each job, based on real payroll, not estimates or after-the-fact allocations.

“Solar teams don’t just need payroll to land in the financial system. They need labor costs to hit the right project phase, quickly and consistently, so the numbers match how jobs are actually run,” said Jan Rippingale, CEO of Blu Banyan. “SolarSuccess provides that job structure inside NetSuite, and Lumber brings the payroll engine,” she added. “Together, we’re giving solar and construction customers accurate labor costs by project and phase without days of manual cleanup.”

What Changes for Solar Companies

• Real labor cost by project and phase, faster. After payroll runs, costs show up in SolarSuccess under the right project and the right phase. Finance and ops see the same numbers, at the same time, without waiting for someone to reconcile them.
• Overtime and staffing decisions tied to real numbers. When overtime spikes on a job, leaders can see exactly where, and what it cost. That information is available immediately after times are entered, before the next job starts, not after the quarter closes.
• Less manual work at close. Because time, payroll, and accounting are connected through a single project structure, there are fewer spreadsheets to build and fewer handoffs to manage at month-end.

Why It Matters Now

Solar contractors working across multiple states, dealing with union pay scales, or meeting certified payroll requirements, know how quickly things get complicated when labor cost data lives in separate systems. As project volumes grow and margins get tighter, the gap between “what payroll ran” and “what that job cost” becomes a real problem.

“Blu Banyan understands how solar and construction companies actually run their jobs, and that alignment made this partnership a natural fit,” said Girish Ramachandra, Head of Partnerships at LumberFi. “By working together, we’re connecting Lumber’s time, payroll, and compliance data directly into SolarSuccess so customers get accurate, job-level labor costs while staying aligned with certified payroll and multi-state requirements,” he added. “The result is cleaner data, stronger compliance, and a lot less manual work for ops and finance.”

How It Works

LumberFi tracks time in the field and runs payroll. SolarSuccess organizes each job by project and phase, matching the way solar work is actually done. When payroll runs, the labor costs are posted back into SolarSuccess under the right project and phase automatically. No custom build required.

Example: An installer running 30 residential jobs per month can see what labor cost on each phase (site survey vs. installation vs. punch list) using actual payroll numbers, not estimates. That makes it easier to spot where overtime is spiking, when to sharpen future bids, and still close the books faster and more accurately.

Availability

The SolarSuccess/LumberFi integration is available now to solar and construction customers. To learn more or request a demo, contact either company directly.

About Blu Banyan

Blu Banyan develops solar-specific business management solutions built on Oracle NetSuite. Its flagship platform, SolarSuccess (and its construction complement BuilderSuccess), help solar installers, developers, and construction companies, run projects, manage finances, and see how their business is performing in real time.

Blu Banyan Inc. – https://blubanyan.com/

SolarSuccess – https://blubanyan.com/solar-solutions/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/blu-banyan/

About LumberFi

LumberFi provides a construction workforce management platform that includes time tracking and payroll. Through its partnership with Blu Banyan, LumberFi connects payroll results directly into SolarSuccess projects for direct job costing and reporting.

LumberFi – https://www.lumberfi.com/
Oracle NetSuite is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates.

For more information, contact:

Andrew Hubbard
Blu Banyan Inc.
+1 510-929-1075