Blog
Best CRM software for solar installers: how the options actually compare
A practical comparison of CRM and field service software for solar installers, and where each option falls short.
Ben Clarke
4 August 2026
Blog
Insights and guides to help you grow your clean tech business.
How-to Guide
The install workflow that runs itself: from customer signature to assigned tasks
Payaca automations now fire the moment a document is signed, and task templates carry a default assignee and deadline. How UK installers chain signatures, stage moves and pre-assigned tasks into one workflow.
Jamie Duncan
28 July 2026
How-to Guide
Make Payaca's AI sound like your company
Agent Dave now takes standing instructions - tell Payaca's AI assistant how your business works once and it applies that context to every conversation. A setup guide with example instruction sets for heat pump, solar and service-plan installers.
Jamie Duncan
27 July 2026
How-to Guide
Export limitation: the G100 route that gets a bigger job connected on a constrained grid
When a full-export G99 connection would be refused or need reinforcement, an export limitation scheme (ENA EREC G100) keeps the job alive. Here is how it works and how to track it across a busy install schedule.
Jamie Duncan
24 July 2026
How-to Guide
The DNO replied and nobody noticed: automating the middle of the job
Payaca automations now fire on DNO application status changes and on every change proposal event, not just acceptance. How UK installers wire up the two mid-job waits that stall installs: grid applications and scope changes.
Jamie Duncan
20 July 2026
How-to Guide
Heat pump permitted development in 2026: the noise assessment that decides the job
England relaxed permitted development for air source heat pumps, but the right hinges on an MCS 020 noise assessment under 42 dB(A). A practical guide for UK installers on what changed and where jobs slip into a full planning application.
Jamie Duncan
18 July 2026
How-to Guide
Stop re-keying leads: enquiry forms that build the project for you
Payaca's enquiry forms are now live on every account. A lead lands as a ready-made project - no re-keying, and UK heat pump enquiries arrive with EPC data attached.
Ben Clarke
16 July 2026
Blog
The Clean Flexibility Roadmap update: what it changes for solar and battery installers
July's Clean Flexibility Roadmap update sets dates that will reach installers' quotes: minimum standards for smart batteries later in 2026, a Smart Readiness EPC metric in 2027, and a landlord deadline in 2030. What to do about each.
Matt Franklin
14 July 2026
Blog
Know your margin before you send the quote
How Payaca's live profit forecast in the proposal builder helps clean tech installers stop mispriced jobs from going out the door.
Matt Franklin
13 July 2026
Blog
What a pallet of panels really costs your margins
Bulk-bought stock used to land its whole cost on one unlucky project. Payaca's Stock Locations, now live on every account, hold it at real weighted average cost until a job actually uses it.
Matt Franklin
13 July 2026
Blog
The redeveloped MCS scheme: what changes before your certification body calls
MCS is moving every certified installer onto its redeveloped scheme through 2026. The three business roles you must assign, the risk-based assessment model, and what to have ready before your certification body starts your transition.
Jamie Duncan
6 July 2026
Blog
Solar PV commissioning under MCS: from survey to sign-off
What an MCS-certified solar installer has to produce by commissioning sign-off - MIS 3002 evidence, IEC 62446 tests, the EIC, DNO notification, MID registration within 10 working days, and a handover pack that unlocks the customer's SEG application.
Jamie Duncan
2 July 2026
Blog
G99 applications: why they get rejected and how to speed up approval
G99 rejections delay solar installations by weeks. These are the most common causes of failed applications - and what to fix before you submit.
Jamie Duncan
29 June 2026
Blog
Heat pump installer income guide 2026: what MCS-certified businesses actually earn
Real income numbers for MCS-certified heat pump installer businesses in 2026. Day rates, annual turnover, BUS grant impact, and what a 5-person team can realistically earn.
Ben Clarke
29 June 2026
Blog
Payment terms for installers: how to set them and actually get paid on time
Vague payment terms are why installers wait 60 days for money they earned in a day. Here's how to set terms that hold up, what you can charge for late payment, and how to make getting paid the default.
Felix Rusby
15 June 2026
Blog
Solar installer economics: where the margin actually goes
A practical breakdown of where UK solar installer margin is won and lost - from survey to DNO energisation. Covers the real cost of quoting, MCS and DNO admin, on-site overruns, and how growing installers protect 20% margins as volume scales.
Jamie Duncan
15 June 2026
Blog
Deposits and cancellation rights: what installers need to get right
Taking a deposit at the kitchen table is normal. Doing it without handling the customer's cancellation rights is how installers end up unable to enforce payment. Here's what to get right.
Felix Rusby
8 June 2026
Blog
We built an MCP server for Payaca. Here's what it lets your team do.
Connect your AI assistant straight to your Payaca account and ask it to do real work: pull stuck jobs, bulk-update projects, draft follow-ups, build reports. Here's why we built it and the practical things install teams can do with it.
Matt Franklin
4 June 2026
Blog
We watched 30 clean-energy installers churn off HubSpot. Here's why
HubSpot wins solar, heat pump and EV installers on the way up - and loses them as soon as the install team starts using it. Five patterns we keep seeing in migration calls.
Matt Franklin
28 May 2026
Blog
Why in-house and bespoke CRMs don't survive growth (UK installer playbook)
Mid-sized UK installers spend two engineers a year maintaining a bespoke CRM that handles maybe 60% of the workflow. The other 40% is on spreadsheets. Here's what's actually being paid for, and why the build never catches up to MCS, DNO and BUS V5.
Matt Franklin
27 May 2026
How-to Guide
Migrating from HubSpot to Payaca: what actually moves (UK installer guide)
Decision-stage migration guide for UK clean-energy installers leaving HubSpot. What imports cleanly, what doesn't, what HubSpot stays good at, and how to sequence a 4-week cutover without losing project history.
Matt Franklin
25 May 2026
Blog
Pipedrive vs Payaca for clean energy installers: where Pipedrive stops, where Payaca picks up
Pipedrive works well for the sales pipeline but stops at the deal-closed line. For UK solar, heat pump and battery installers, that's where the real work begins. A side-by-side workflow walkthrough: lead, quote, DNO, MCS, BUS, install, handover.
Jamie Duncan
22 May 2026
Blog
Sweden's air-to-air playbook: what UK installers can borrow as BUS V5 opens the £2,500 grant
BUS V5 added a £2,500 grant for air-to-air heat pumps on 28 April 2026 - the first time UK policy has recognised the technology Sweden built a market around. The operations playbook for air-to-air installs is genuinely different from air-to-water. Here's what UK installers should borrow.
Jamie Duncan
15 May 2026
Blog
The Warm Homes Plan is delivery-constrained, not money-constrained
The £15bn is real. The 5-million-homes target is real. What's missing is the engineers. For UK heat pump installers, the next four years are an installer-capacity market - and the operations playbook that wins it is different from the one that won 2024.
Jamie Duncan
14 May 2026
Blog
BUS V5 and the upfront discount: what changed on 28 April 2026
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme moved to V5 on 28 April 2026. The voucher mechanism is unchanged - what's new is the mandatory upfront discount on the customer's quote and invoice. Here's how that changes installer cash flow, T&Cs, and template configuration.
Jamie Duncan
11 May 2026
Blog
MIS 3005-D vs MIS 3005-I: who designs, who installs, who signs
MIS 3005 split into two documents on 1 April 2022 - one for design, one for installation. Most growing UK heat pump installers still treat them as one workflow, and that's where the data leaks. A practical guide to the design-to-install handoff for scaling installers.
Jamie Duncan
11 May 2026
Blog
EV charger operations: running a high-volume install business without the chaos
EV charger install businesses live or die on throughput. A practical operational playbook for teams running 40+ installs a month - scheduling density, quote speed, mobile field completion, and keeping margin tight as volume grows.
Jamie Duncan
28 April 2026
Blog
Heat pump commissioning under BUS V5: a 2026 compliance playbook
Commissioning is where heat pump jobs get signed off - and where margin and customer satisfaction most often leak. A practical playbook for growing UK installers on MIS 3005, the MCS Installation Database, BUS V5 voucher applications and redemption, and clean handover.
Jamie Duncan
28 April 2026
Blog
Heat pump installer economics: what actually drives margin
A practical breakdown of where heat pump installer margin is won and lost - from survey to commissioning. Covers the real cost of quoting, MCS admin, on-site overruns, and how growing installers protect 20%+ margins as volume scales.
Jamie Duncan
22 April 2026
How-to Guide
How to automate your deposit and payment workflow in Payaca
A step-by-step guide to setting up automated deposit collection, payment schedules, and invoice triggers so nothing falls through the cracks.
Jamie Duncan
6 April 2026
Blog
Why solar installers are replacing their generic CRMs
Salesforce, HubSpot, and ServiceTitan weren't built for clean tech. Here's what happens when installers switch to a purpose-built platform.
Matt Franklin
4 April 2026
Blog
The Warm Homes Plan: what growing installers need to know
The UK government's £15 billion Warm Homes Plan is the biggest home upgrade programme in British history. This is the operational guide for growing installation businesses - what it means for your pipeline, accreditations, and operations through 2030.
Jamie Duncan
16 March 2026
Blog
Why solar companies are leaving Salesforce (and what they switch to)
Ben Clarke, Account Executive at Payaca with 10+ years in field service management, explains why solar businesses keep abandoning Salesforce and generic CRMs - and what actually works instead.
Ben Clarke
10 March 2026
Blog
Should you become a heat pump installer?
Heat pump installations in the UK grew 27% in 2025, and the government is targeting 450,000 a year by 2030. Here's what it takes to get certified, what you can earn, and whether now is the right time to make the move.
Jamie Duncan
9 March 2026
Blog
The Guild of Master Heat Engineers - why it matters for growing heat pump businesses
A new peer-driven recognition model is emerging for UK heat pump installers. Here's what the Guild of Master Heat Engineers is, why the industry needs it, and what it signals about where quality standards are headed.
Matt Franklin
4 March 2026
Blog
The ECO scheme is ending. Here's how to build a business that sells direct
Selling funded measures to eligible households is a different discipline from selling to homeowners spending their own money. With ECO ending in 2026, Jamie Duncan explains what needs to change and why the able-to-pay market is a bigger opportunity than the scheme ever was.
Jamie Duncan
27 February 2026
Podcast
How the best renewable energy companies onboard and scale
Jamie Duncan, Head of Customer Operations at Payaca, shares what separates thriving renewable energy businesses from those that stall out. Structured onboarding, AI tools like Agent Dave, and a willingness to embrace change.
Jamie Duncan
26 February 2026
Blog
Meet Agent Dave: AI that actually does the work inside your CRM
In a conversation with Digital Tool Bag, Payaca CEO Matt Franklin demos Agent Dave, the AI assistant built into Payaca that can set up automations, analyse pipelines, create templates, and configure accounts through simple chat.
Matt Franklin
20 February 2026
Blog
What software do EV charger installers need?
A practical guide to the software options for EV charger installation businesses. Covers the difference between charger management and installer management, compares tools from spreadsheets to purpose-built platforms, and explains what to look for as you scale.
Jamie Duncan
14 February 2026
Blog
What CRM do heat pump installers use?
A practical comparison of CRM and business software options for heat pump installation companies. Covers generic CRMs, HVAC field service tools, and purpose-built clean tech platforms.
Joe Gravestock
13 February 2026
Blog
What job management software works for battery installers?
Battery storage installers have unique operational needs that generic field service tools don't address. We compare the software options available, from spreadsheets and solar-specific tools to purpose-built clean tech platforms.
Jamie Duncan
12 February 2026
Blog
What software do solar installers use to manage their business?
A comprehensive guide to the software solar installation businesses use, from CRMs and field service tools to design platforms and compliance systems. Covers what to look for at every stage of growth.
Ben Clarke
11 February 2026
Blog
The future of solar energy in the UK and beyond
Where is solar energy headed? From perovskite cells to agrivoltaics, we cover the technology, policy, and market trends shaping the future of solar power in the UK and globally.
Felix Rusby
6 February 2026
Blog
String inverter vs microinverter: a guide for solar installers
String inverters vs microinverters: which should you recommend? An installer-focused comparison covering cost, performance, shading, monitoring, and when to use each.
Felix Rusby
5 February 2026
How-to Guide
Heat pump lead generation: how to attract quality customers
A complete guide to generating leads for your heat pump installation business. Covers digital marketing, referrals, partnerships, and strategies specific to the heat pump market.
Ben Clarke
22 January 2026
How-to Guide
Solar marketing strategies that actually generate leads
Proven solar marketing strategies for installation businesses. Learn how to generate quality leads through SEO, social media, referrals, and content marketing.
Ben Clarke
15 January 2026
Blog
2025: The year Payaca grew up
Enterprise wins, profitability, and why we're betting big on AI that actually does things.
Matt Franklin
19 December 2025
Blog
Design for simplicity at Payaca
This value represents our commitment and focus to remove complexity for our clients. In order to achieve this, it needs to be adopted across the whole organisation.
Joe Gravestock
18 December 2025
Blog
Complete your solar installations faster with automated commissioning applications
Payaca now handles commissioning applications for G98 and G99 installations. Complete the full DNO compliance workflow from initial application to final energisation approval.
Jamie Duncan
13 August 2025
How-to Guide
Create easy forms for collecting on-site job info
Stop messy paperwork! Learn to create simple digital forms in Payaca for your team to use on-site. Get accurate job info straight to your mobile app, every time.
Jamie Duncan
31 May 2025
News
Payaca achieves ISO 27001 certification: reinforcing our commitment to data security
Payaca has achieved ISO 27001 certification, the internationally recognized standard for information security management, demonstrating our commitment to protecting customer data and privacy.
Matt Franklin
30 December 2024
Blog
Stop trying to fit a square peg: why generic CRMs are hurting your renewables business
Ben Clarke, an Account Executive at Payaca with over a decade of field service management experience, argues that renewable energy businesses suffer when using generic CRM software designed for other industries.
Ben Clarke
19 December 2024
Podcast
Accelerating net zero: a conversation with Payaca's CTO, Matt Bessey
Join Matt Franklin, CEO of Payaca, as he sits down with the company's new Chief Technology Officer, Matt Bessey, to discuss how software innovation is driving the adoption of low-carbon technologies.
Matt Franklin
15 October 2024
Blog
600,000 heat pump installations a year: how do we get there?
The UK government has set out an ambitious target to install 600,000 heat pumps per year, the industry seems to be far behind this target. In this blog, we look at what steps the renewable sector as a whole can take to help get us there.
Felix Rusby
23 September 2024
Blog
Best types of solar panels for domestic properties
This article compares different types of solar technology that are available to choose from.
Felix Rusby
8 August 2024
Blog
Can solar panels be recycled?
Breaks down how solar panels are recycled and some of the challenges involved in the recycling process. This article covers specific examples from the UK as well as predictions about where the industry is headed.
Felix Rusby
26 July 2024
Blog
Do I need MCS to install solar PV or heat pumps?
MCS accreditation is not legally required to install solar panels or heat pumps, but it significantly limits available work opportunities. Learn why MCS certification matters for your renewable energy business.
Felix Rusby
1 July 2024
Blog
Where are solar panels made?
Understanding the global solar panel supply chain - from raw materials to final assembly. Learn where components originate and what this means for the industry.
Felix Rusby
24 June 2024
Blog
Is a quote a contract? A guide for skilled trades
Understanding when quotes become legally binding agreements. Learn the five essential elements that create enforceable contracts and how to protect your business.
Felix Rusby
6 March 2024
Blog
Do I need a CRM for my business?
This article weighs up the reasons why you should consider investing in a CRM, including signs that you need it and what type of solution to look for.
Felix Rusby
20 January 2024
Blog
How do I become a solar panel installer in the UK?
Discover everything you need to know about qualifying as a PV solar installer, including training time, cost and industry insights.
Felix Rusby
5 January 2024