For solar installers
Proposals by the kilowatt and payments that follow the install, from deposit to PTO.
A residential solar job is months of milestones: signing, permits, install, inspection, utility interconnection and permission to operate. Fee-Lion itemizes the system, takes the deposit at signing, bills each milestone as it lands, and keeps the paperwork on the project where the homeowner can follow along.
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No signup, no password: walk around Brightside Solar’s workspace. Or start your free trial.
Sound familiar?
The paperwork side of the job.
- The proposal says $20,410, but the payment schedule lives in a contract PDF the homeowner never reread.
- Milestone invoices for install and PTO go out late because nobody noticed the inspection passed.
- Homeowners call every week asking where their permit and interconnection stand.
- Financed jobs pay out from the lender in stages, and reconciling them against the contract is a spreadsheet project.
- Panels, inverters and racking are bought months ahead, and the margin per job is a guess until year-end.
A real example
What an estimate looks like.
Line by line, the way you’d actually quote it: quantity times rate, tax worked out for you, and the deposit collected the moment the client approves.
- Your client opens one link and approves it, paying the deposit by card.
- Approved estimates turn into invoices in one click.
- Your logo, your terms, and your line items saved for next time.
Prepared for Sam & Nora Lindqvist — 74 Sunfield Ln.
| Item | Qty | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 420 W all-black solar modules 20 ea × $285.00 | 20 ea | $285.00 | $5,700.00 |
| Microinverters, one per module 20 ea × $195.00 | 20 ea | $195.00 | $3,900.00 |
| Racking and flashed roof attachments 8.4 kW × $250.00 | 8.4 kW | $250.00 | $2,100.00 |
| Electrical balance of system: combiner, AC disconnect, conduit and wire 1 ea × $1,650.00 | 1 ea | $1,650.00 | $1,650.00 |
| Installation labor 8.4 kW × $650.00 | 8.4 kW | $650.00 | $5,460.00 |
| Engineering, permit and utility interconnection application 1 ea × $1,250.00 | 1 ea | $1,250.00 | $1,250.00 |
| Monitoring setup and commissioning 1 ea × $350.00 | 1 ea | $350.00 | $350.00 |
Payment schedule: 10% at signing, 60% when installation is complete, 30% at utility permission to operate (PTO). 25-year module warranty from the manufacturer, 10-year workmanship warranty from us. Battery storage quoted separately on request.
Sent with Fee-Lion · example document, fictional client
How Fee-Lion fits
The parts that do the heavy lifting.
Proposals by the kW
Modules and microinverters as units, racking and labor per kW, electrical balance of system, engineering and permitting: a total the homeowner can follow.
More on estimates & proposalsDeposit at signing
Set a 10% deposit; it's paid by card when the proposal is approved and credited on the invoices that follow.
More on online paymentsMilestone invoices on one project
Bill install and PTO as separate invoices on the same project as each milestone lands, with check, transfer or lender payouts recorded as payments.
More on invoicingStatus the homeowner can see
A shared checklist (site survey, design, permit submitted, install, inspection, interconnection, PTO) moves in the portal, so the weekly "where are we?" calls stop.
More on the collab portalEquipment costs against the job
Distributor invoices for modules, inverters and batteries go on the job as expenses, so every system shows its margin.
More on expense tracking & bookkeepingPipeline the owner can read
Win/loss on proposals, outstanding milestones in the aging report, revenue by month.
More on reports & insightsSigned proposals
Require a typed name and a drawn signature on approval. The signed proposal keeps the signer, time and a fingerprint of the terms, and prints them on the PDF.
More on e-signaturesSite-survey requests
A request form on your website collects the address, the utility and a photo of the bill, and lands in your Requests inbox with the homeowner already created.
More on request formsA day with Fee-Lion
How it actually plays out.
- Site survey: roof measured, main panel photographed, last year's utility bills in hand. EST-5120 goes out with a 10% deposit.
- The Lindqvists approve and pay the deposit by card. A shared checklist starts in their portal: design, permit, install, inspection, interconnection, PTO.
- Permit approved: tick it off; they see it without calling. The distributor invoice for modules and inverters goes on the job as an expense.
- Install day: the crew logs hours on the Job Clock. Once the system is in, send the 60% install invoice on the same project.
- Inspection passes, interconnection is submitted, and weeks later the utility grants PTO. Send the final 30% invoice; they pay from the link.
- Quarter-end, the owner checks proposal win/loss and the job reports for margin per system.
Live demo
Click around Brightside Solar.
A residential solar installer with kW-based proposals, deposits at signing, install and PTO milestone invoices, and homeowners following permit status in the portal.
A real Fee-Lion workspace set up as Brightside Solar, with sample clients, jobs, estimates and invoices. No signup, no password. Changes are switched off, so click anything.
Questions
What people ask before they switch.
How should a solar installer structure payments?
Common schedules tie payments to milestones: a deposit at signing, a large payment at installation, and the balance at inspection or permission to operate (PTO). In Fee-Lion the estimate takes the deposit at approval, and each later milestone is its own invoice on the same project, so the homeowner sees what is paid and what is next.
What should a solar proposal include?
System size in kW, module and inverter make, model and count, racking, electrical work, any battery, estimated production, installation, engineering, permits and interconnection, the payment schedule, warranties (module, inverter, workmanship) and how long the price holds. Be careful with savings and incentive claims; incentives change and depend on the customer's tax situation.
How much does residential solar cost per watt?
Installed residential solar in the US has commonly ranged from roughly $2.50 to $3.50 per watt before incentives, varying by region, roof complexity, equipment and installer. Quote yours per kW and itemize it so customers can compare like for like.
How do I handle financed solar jobs?
Fee-Lion doesn't provide financing. When a lender funds the job, often in stages, record each payout as a payment on the matching milestone invoice so the balance stays correct.
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