A system and method for configuring a condensing unit for a cooling system includes inputting one of a cooling system characteristic, a condensing unit characteristic and a compressor characteristic for the cooling system, applying embedded design rules and accessing a condensing unit database of component attributes and their relationships. A base condensing unit is determined based on the one of a cooling system characteristic, a condensing unit characteristic and a compressor characteristic for the cooling system. The method further includes selecting various accessories of the condensing unit for customizing the base condensing unit based on the particular application.