How to Track Solar Project Stages, Proposals and Service Visits

In many installer businesses the proposal sits in an email, the stage notes sit in a crew chat and the service dates sit in a diary. Each is correct. None of them can see the others.

The result is a customer record that cannot answer simple questions. Which revision did the customer accept? Which stage is open? When is cleaning due?

The fix is one record per site. Everything below hangs off it, and each team writes to the same place. Sales, crews, the office and service technicians then read one history, not four.

A proposal begins with the survey. The office sizes the plant, selects panels, inverter and structure from the price list, and issues a quotation.

Keep every revision on the enquiry. A customer may ask for a smaller system, then a hybrid option. The accepted revision moves with the job into material planning and billing.

Sales owners can then see proposals pending and follow up on those not yet accepted. The owner decides who may change a price, and which revisions the customer must sign.

Split each accepted job into stages. Typical ones are structure, panel mounting, DC and AC wiring and earthing. Your own list may differ.

For each stage, decide what the crew must record before it closes. Photos and notes from site are the usual minimum. Panel and inverter serial numbers are logged when material is issued.

Crews open the day’s jobs on a phone, see the material issued and close the stage. The owner sees jobs in progress by stage, which shows where work is waiting.

When the plant is switched on, the commissioning sheet records test readings and inverter settings. It also holds monitoring login details and a handover checklist the customer signs.

This sheet marks the start of service. Warranty dates are held by serial number for panels, inverters and your own workmanship. Cleaning and inspection visits can then be scheduled from the commissioning date.

Net-metering paperwork runs alongside. The file is tracked with its documents, inspection and meter change, but filing is done with the DISCOM and its steps differ by scheme.

Book cleaning, inspection and fault visits against the plant. A technician sees the visit, the serial numbers and the warranty status, then records what was done.

Annual maintenance contracts carry their own dates. Visits due and renewals show to the office before a contract lapses.

Decide first whether you sell AMC at all, and what a visit includes. Without that decision, the service module has little to schedule. A handful of plants can be tracked in a spreadsheet, and software matters once visits and renewals pile up.