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
Solar installers typically use a combination of CRM software for managing leads and customer relationships, field service management tools for scheduling and dispatching engineers, design software like OpenSolar or Aurora for system sizing, and compliance tools for permits, MCS documentation, or DNO applications. The most operationally mature businesses consolidate these into a single end-to-end platform that handles everything from quote to final payment, rather than stitching together multiple disconnected tools.
Solar installation is not a simple service call. A single residential project involves a site survey, system design, a detailed proposal with equipment specifications, customer sign-off, deposit collection, permit or DNO applications, material procurement, scheduling across multiple trades, on-site installation, commissioning, compliance documentation, and final payment.
That is a complex, multi-stage process with regulatory requirements at several points. The software you use to manage it has a direct impact on how many installs you can handle, how fast your team can quote, and whether you maintain margins as you grow.
Businesses running 5 installs a month can manage this in spreadsheets. At 20 or more, something breaks. Information lives in too many places, jobs fall through gaps, compliance documentation becomes a bottleneck, and quoting slows down precisely when you need it to speed up.
This guide covers the main categories of software solar installers use, the strengths and limitations of each approach, and how to think about what you actually need based on where your business is today.
There is no single category of tool that covers everything a solar business needs. Most companies end up using one or more of the following.
Almost every solar business starts here. Google Sheets or Excel for tracking jobs, email for customer communication, WhatsApp for field team coordination, and a shared drive for documents.
Strengths: Zero cost, infinitely flexible, no training required.
Limitations: No automation, no real-time visibility across the team, version control issues, no compliance workflow, and no integration with design tools or payment systems. Breaks down as volume increases.
These are enterprise-grade customer relationship management platforms with extensive customisation capabilities. Some solar businesses adopt them when they outgrow spreadsheets, attracted by their brand recognition and flexibility.
Strengths: Powerful reporting, workflow automation, large integration ecosystems, well-supported.
Limitations: They require significant configuration to work for solar. Out of the box, they do not understand installation projects, compliance requirements, multi-stage payments, or equipment specifications. Implementation often takes months and may require a consultant. Field teams frequently resist adoption because the interface was not designed for their workflow.
A common pattern
Many scaling solar businesses have already tried a generic CRM and moved away from it. The investment in setup was substantial, but the result did not match the operational reality of running solar installations. If this sounds familiar, you are not alone — it is one of the most common buying triggers in the industry. We covered this in detail in Why generic CRMs are hurting your renewables business.
Field service management (FSM) platforms are designed for businesses that dispatch technicians to job sites. They handle scheduling, dispatching, invoicing, and customer communication well.
Strengths: Strong scheduling and dispatch, mobile apps for field teams, customer communication automation, payment collection.
Limitations: Built for reactive service businesses (plumbing, HVAC, electrical) rather than project-based installation work. Solar projects span weeks or months, involve multiple site visits, and require design imports, staged payments, and compliance documentation that these tools do not natively support.
These are specialised platforms for designing solar PV systems. They handle panel layout, shading analysis, energy production estimates, and often proposal generation.
Strengths: Accurate system design, professional proposals with production estimates, financing options (particularly in the US market), equipment databases.
Limitations: Design-only. They do not manage your pipeline, schedule your engineers, handle compliance documentation, process payments, or coordinate post-sale operations. You still need separate tools for everything that happens after the customer says yes.
A newer category of tools built specifically for solar and clean energy installation businesses, covering the operational workflow from lead to completion.
Examples include:
The right choice depends on your business size, growth trajectory, and where you are losing the most time or margin today. But certain capabilities matter across the board.
| Capability | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Pipeline visibility | Know where every project stands at a glance, from initial enquiry to completion |
| Quoting speed | Generate professional proposals with accurate equipment specs quickly enough to win work |
| Scheduling and dispatch | Coordinate office and field teams from a single view |
| Compliance workflow | Handle MCS documentation, DNO applications, permits, or AHJ requirements within your normal process |
| Payment collection | Manage deposit collection, staged payments, and final invoicing without chasing |
| Mobile access | Field teams need job details, forms, and photo capture on site |
| Design tool integration | Import system designs directly into quotes rather than re-entering specifications manually |
| Customer portal | Give customers self-service access to documents, project status, and payment options |
The table below summarises how each category of tool handles the key requirements of a solar installation business.
| Capability | Spreadsheets | Generic CRM | Field Service | Design Tools | Solar-specific platform |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pipeline management | Manual | Strong | Basic | None | Strong |
| Quoting with specs | Manual | Custom build | Basic | Proposals only | Built-in |
| Scheduling | None | Plugin/add-on | Strong | None | Built-in |
| Compliance (MCS/permits) | Manual | Custom build | None | None | Built-in |
| Design tool integration | None | Custom build | None | Native | Built-in |
| Payment collection | None | Plugin | Built-in | Some | Built-in |
| Mobile field app | None | Limited | Strong | None | Built-in |
| Setup time | None | Months | Weeks | Days | Days-weeks |
| Solar-specific out of the box | No | No | No | Design only | Yes |
The real cost is not the subscription
When evaluating software, factor in the total cost of ownership: subscription fees, implementation time, training, ongoing customisation, and the productivity lost during transition. A generic CRM at a lower monthly price point can cost significantly more in practice when you account for the consultant fees and months of setup required to make it work for solar.
The answer depends on which of these three stages best describes your business.
You have outgrown spreadsheets. Jobs are being tracked across too many tools, quoting takes too long, and you are starting to lose visibility of where projects stand. Your team is growing and you need a shared system rather than relying on one person's knowledge.
What to look for: An all-in-one platform that handles CRM, quoting, scheduling, and basic compliance. Prioritise ease of setup and fast time to value. You do not have months to spend on implementation.
What to avoid: Enterprise CRMs that require dedicated administrators. You need something your team can adopt quickly.
You have likely already tried a generic CRM or are running multiple disconnected tools. The friction is costing you margin and limiting how fast you can grow. You need operational efficiency, not just better lead tracking.
What to look for: A platform purpose-built for your industry that covers the full workflow — from initial enquiry through quoting and scheduling to compliance and payment. Design tool integrations that eliminate manual data re-entry. Reporting that gives you visibility across the entire operation.
What to avoid: Assembling a stack of point solutions that each handle one piece well but do not talk to each other. The integration overhead becomes its own operational burden.
You need standardised processes across teams and locations, unified reporting, and potentially API access for custom integrations with your ERP or accounting systems.
What to look for: A platform with role-based access, multi-location support, and an API. Proven deployment at scale with references from businesses of similar size.
What to avoid: Building in-house. It sounds tempting at this scale, but the ongoing maintenance cost of a custom-built system for an evolving regulatory landscape is almost always higher than adopting a dedicated platform.
Yes, and they are significant enough to affect your software decision.
The UK solar market operates within a well-defined compliance framework. MCS certification is required for customers to access government incentives like the Smart Export Guarantee. DNO applications (G98 and G99) must be submitted for grid connections. These are not optional extras — they are core to the installation process.
Software that handles MCS documentation and automates DNO/grid connection applications provides real operational value in the UK. Integrations with UK-specific design tools like EasyPV and Heatpunk are also important.
The US market is more fragmented. Compliance requirements vary by state, county, and even municipality. There is no single national certification equivalent to MCS. Permit processes, AHJ (Authority Having Jurisdiction) requirements, and utility interconnection applications differ across thousands of jurisdictions.
The US also has a more developed ecosystem of solar-specific tools. OpenSolar and Aurora Solar are widely used for design and proposals. Scoop Solar and SunBase serve different parts of the operational workflow. The competitive landscape is broader, which means more integration options but also more complexity in assembling a coherent stack.
For US installers, the emphasis tends to be on operational efficiency, proposal speed, and pipeline management rather than compliance automation — simply because the compliance landscape is too fragmented for any single tool to cover comprehensively.
Multi-technology businesses
If your business installs across solar, battery storage, heat pumps, and EV chargers, your software needs to handle all of these within a single project. Creating separate workflows for each technology creates duplication and limits your ability to offer combined proposals. This is particularly relevant in the UK market, where multi-technology installations are increasingly common. Platforms built for solar installers that also handle other clean technologies offer a significant advantage here.
Before committing to any platform, work through these questions:
Does it handle our actual workflow? Not a theoretical workflow — your real process, including the messy parts. Ask for a demo using your own project data.
How long until we are live? If the answer is "3-6 months with a consultant", factor that cost and delay into your decision.
Will our field team actually use it? The best system in the world is worthless if engineers refuse to adopt it. Ask about mobile experience and offline capability.
Does it integrate with our design tools? If you use OpenSolar, Aurora, EasyPV, or Heatpunk, check whether designs flow into quotes automatically or require manual re-entry.
How does it handle compliance? Whether that is MCS documentation in the UK or permit tracking in the US, compliance should be part of the workflow — not a separate process.
What does onboarding look like? Do you get dedicated support during setup, or a link to a help centre? For businesses doing 30+ installs a month, assisted onboarding is worth insisting on.
Can it grow with us? Check pricing tiers, user limits, and whether the platform serves businesses at the scale you are heading toward — not just where you are today.
There is no universally correct answer to what software a solar installer should use. The right choice depends on your current scale, your growth ambitions, and where the most friction exists in your operations today.
What is clear is that the market has matured beyond the point where generic tools are the only option. Solar and clean tech businesses now have access to platforms built specifically for their workflow — tools that understand the difference between a service call and a multi-week installation project, that handle compliance as part of the process rather than an afterthought, and that connect design, sales, operations, and finance in a single system.
If you are evaluating options, start with the problem you are trying to solve. Is it quoting speed? Pipeline visibility? Compliance bottlenecks? Team coordination? The answer will point you toward the right category of tool, and from there you can evaluate specific platforms against your requirements.
See how Payaca helps clean tech installers save time and grow their business.
Book a demo
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.
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.
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.