The CRM replacement built for clean energy installers
Most CRMs were built to close deals. Solar, heat pump and battery installers have a project problem. Payaca runs the whole job on one record, from first enquiry to paid.
No credit card needed. ISO 27001 certified.
Why generic CRMs do not survive a clean energy install
A sales CRM holds the first 5% of an installer's workflow. Everything from accepted proposal to paid sits somewhere else.
Deals end at "Closed Won". Projects do not. Survey, design, MCS, the DNO application, materials, install, handover and the voucher claim all come after the signature. How Payaca does it →
Compliance is not a custom field. MCS, DNO and BUS paperwork has to stop a job moving until it is done, not sit in a notes box. How Payaca does it →
Multi-technology is one customer, not three deals. Solar, battery and an EV charger is one quote, one install and one handover. How Payaca does it →
Field teams will not log into a sales tool. Engineers need today's jobs, the design and a checklist, on their phone. How Payaca does it →
How Payaca compares to Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive and an in-house build
Five tools. Ten operational dimensions clean energy installers told us they need. The matrix below is opinionated and direct. Deeper one-on-one comparisons live in the linked pages.
Payaca
- Project as the primitive
- Yes. One record from lead to year-three service.
- Compliance as a workflow gate
- Yes. Stage transitions blocked until tags, documents and approvals exist.
- MCS, DNO and BUS V5 workflows
- Native fields and submission tracking.
- Multi-technology proposals
- Solar, battery, EV, heat pump on one quote.
- Materials and purchase orders on the job
- Native. Proposal items become the materials list and purchase orders.
- Install scheduling
- Built in, on the same project as the materials and the pipeline stage.
- Commissioning and handover
- Native checklists, photos, signatures, certificates.
- Customer portal
- Built in. Customers track from proposal to paid.
- Payments (Stripe and bank)
- Native. Deposits, milestones, balances, plans.
- Accounting flow (Xero, QuickBooks)
- Native two-way sync.
Salesforce
- Project as the primitive
- No. Deal closes; project lives elsewhere.
- Compliance as a workflow gate
- Build it yourself with custom objects.
- MCS, DNO and BUS V5 workflows
- Not native; bolt-on or manual.
- Multi-technology proposals
- Custom objects per technology.
- Materials and purchase orders on the job
- Custom.
- Install scheduling
- Salesforce Field Service add-on; separate licence.
- Commissioning and handover
- Custom.
- Customer portal
- Experience Cloud add-on.
- Payments (Stripe and bank)
- Integration partner.
- Accounting flow (Xero, QuickBooks)
- Integration partner.
HubSpot
- Project as the primitive
- No. Deal closes; project lives elsewhere.
- Compliance as a workflow gate
- Build it yourself with workflows.
- MCS, DNO and BUS V5 workflows
- Not native; bolt-on or manual.
- Multi-technology proposals
- Custom properties per technology.
- Materials and purchase orders on the job
- Not supported.
- Install scheduling
- Not supported.
- Commissioning and handover
- Not supported.
- Customer portal
- Service Hub add-on.
- Payments (Stripe and bank)
- Integration partner.
- Accounting flow (Xero, QuickBooks)
- Integration partner.
Pipedrive
- Project as the primitive
- No. Deal-only model.
- Compliance as a workflow gate
- Not supported.
- MCS, DNO and BUS V5 workflows
- Not native.
- Multi-technology proposals
- Limited.
- Materials and purchase orders on the job
- Not supported.
- Install scheduling
- Not supported.
- Commissioning and handover
- Not supported.
- Customer portal
- Not supported.
- Payments (Stripe and bank)
- Integration partner.
- Accounting flow (Xero, QuickBooks)
- Integration partner.
In-house build
- Project as the primitive
- Maybe. Engineering-dependent.
- Compliance as a workflow gate
- Possible, but you maintain it forever.
- MCS, DNO and BUS V5 workflows
- Custom build, custom maintenance.
- Multi-technology proposals
- Whatever you built.
- Materials and purchase orders on the job
- Custom build.
- Install scheduling
- Custom build.
- Commissioning and handover
- Custom build.
- Customer portal
- Custom build.
- Payments (Stripe and bank)
- Custom build.
- Accounting flow (Xero, QuickBooks)
- Custom build.
What Payaca actually does that a CRM cannot
One job at Wyvern Heat & Power, a demo installer, from signed proposal to paid.
The unit of work is a project, not a deal
The customer reads the proposal on their phone and signs it there. The signed quote and the deposit invoice land on the same project as the survey and the design.
Compliance is a stage gate, not a side-system
Payaca pipeline guards (live across 16 franchises at OVO Solar and Heating) refuse to let a project advance until the conditions you set are met. Examples installers run today: deposit paid before procurement, MCS documents attached before commissioning, BUS V5 sound calculation present before claim submission, F-Gas record uploaded before sign-off. The mechanism is operational, not advisory.
One record from cold lead to year-three service
The engineer's install record fills in the customer's handover report, with the photo of the finished array and every serial number, ready to share to their portal.
Paid, and in the accounts
Deposit and balance sit on one payment schedule on the project, and Xero or QuickBooks stay in step.
What switching was like
From install businesses that moved their whole operation to Payaca.
“We delayed moving CRM for about six months, and it held our journey back. I wish I'd pulled the trigger sooner.”
“We wanted something that brought Pipedrive and the field service side into one tool.”
“The system's working for us in terms of oversight and job management. The lads love it. It's a lot easier than the previous system, which was archaic.”
CRM replacement FAQ
What does "CRM replacement" actually mean for a clean energy installer?
A platform that runs the operational side of the business as the primary record, not as a downstream extension of a sales pipeline. That includes lead, quote, contract, deposit, materials, MCS submission, DNO connection, install schedule, commissioning, handover, warranty registration and service plan. Payaca is built for that scope; generic CRMs (HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive) are built around the deal.
Do I lose my marketing tools if I move from HubSpot to Payaca?
Most installers keep HubSpot at the very top of the funnel for marketing email and lead capture, and run Payaca for everything operational. Your inbound forms, MailChimp or HubSpot marketing emails and lead lists can stay where they are. The operational system moves to Payaca.
Will my Salesforce data come across?
Yes. Customer records, deal history, contacts, notes and pipeline stages migrate during onboarding. We map your existing fields to Payaca and import structured data; we do not hand you an export and walk away.
How does Payaca handle MCS and DNO submissions?
MCS Installation Database details, MIS 3005 D/I documentation, BUS V5 voucher state and DNO submission status (via the ENA Connect portal or the HP/EV connection notification form for solar, batteries, heat pumps and EV chargers) live as fields and stage gates on the project. Stage transitions can be blocked until the right document or approval exists.
Is Payaca a good fit for a 10-person installer or a 50-person business?
Both. A 10-person install business replacing spreadsheets or a generic CRM and a 50-person business with several sales reps, an ops manager and field crews run on the same system, and you add users as you hire. The pricing page shows how many users each plan includes. Franchise and enterprise networks run on Enterprise (OVO Solar and Heating, for example, runs 16 franchises on Payaca). The platform grows with the business.
Can I see how it compares to a specific tool?
Yes. Direct comparisons live at Payaca vs Salesforce, Payaca vs HubSpot, Payaca vs Pipedrive, and Payaca vs every other generic CRM, all linked above.
Related reading
See Payaca on your actual workflow
30-minute demo, tailored to your install volume, design tools and ops stack. Not a generic walkthrough.