Bloomberg predicts sustained solar power growth in the next three decades. It is understandable since solar energy is one of the most cost-effective solutions for lowering energy costs for residential and commercial consumers. As demand for solar grows, it’s essential to develop best practices when starting or running a solar business.A good customized proposal is essential to engage prospective customers and eventually help them decide on their final solution. The framework of such a proposal must include the following considerations:

• Why must the proposal be paid attention to, read or evaluated?
• How can the customer trust the provider and their proposed solution?
• What is in it of specific value/benefit to the customer?

But why trust Enact? Unlike many other solar companies, Enact Solar has been delivering solar design software for over ten years. Our software enables fast solar and storage proposal generation in over 35 countries across the globe.

Here are some tips to guide solar businesses to successful solar proposals. These useful suggestions reduce customer acquisition costs and sales lead times by eliminating complexities that hinder customer decisions to transition to solar.

An impactful and persuasive proposal pitch makes a great beginning. While many homeowners and business decision-makers are generally aware of solar’s benefits, they need compelling and relatable reasons to make the transition. A strong opening creates urgency and relevance, grabbing attention and sparking curiosity.

Residential Example:
“Imagine cutting your energy bills in half this year while your neighbor’s bills keep climbing. With recent electricity price hikes, many homeowners are seeing their monthly expenses skyrocket. But what if you could lock in a lower energy cost for the next 20 years and protect yourself from unpredictable hikes?”

Commercial Example:
“Picture this: a local bakery saved $15,000 in energy expenses in just two years after installing solar panels. That savings allowed them to upgrade their equipment and increase production capacity. By choosing solar now, your business can gain a competitive edge, reduce operational expenses and allocate funds toward growth instead of utility bills.”

Urgency motivates potential customers to act quickly when they realize how immediate the savings and benefits can be.

Residential Example:
“Did you know Pennsylvania recently increased utility rates, causing many homeowners to see higher energy bills? With federal tax incentives still available, now is the perfect time to install solar panels and maximize your savings. By switching to solar, you can also boost your home’s value, which is crucial in today’s competitive real estate market.”

Commercial Example:
“Many businesses are unaware that commercial solar systems can qualify for both federal tax credits and local incentives. This means not only lower upfront costs but also faster payback periods. If you’re running a retail space or office building, imagine cutting overhead expenses by generating your own clean energy — freeing up capital for marketing or employee benefits.”

When used responsibly, urgency and relevance empower customers to make informed, beneficial decisions. By crafting compelling stories tailored to both residential and commercial prospects, solar installers can transform interest into action and demonstrate the real, lasting value of solar energy.

Using the Enact Solar Design Software, you can start to build credibility by generating a proposal that offers estimated financial savings over the 25 year warranty period — as well as projected performance. Installers can pull up their customers’ utility rates and associated building structure for proposed designs — and forecast net billing algorithms. Enact proposals also make pricing and financing simple with customizable templates that can showcase our users’ brands.

You can demonstrate your proposal’s accuracy and Enact’s proven credibility to assure customers. The Enact Software has generated over 53 million kWh of clean energy in over 35 countries for over ten years. Enact has won three awards — two Red Herring Top 100 North America awards and one from the U.S. Department of Energy.

To establish trustworthiness for your brand, you can share how many projects your team has worked on, high-quality pictures of a completed project and share other trust-building information. Showcasing a polished brand image and credible expertise that can gain trust is crucial. Listed below are a few ways your team can establish trust with prospective customers:

• Team expertise: Showcase the number of solar projects deployed
• Customer testimonials: Obtain quality project pictures and quotes from satisfied customers
• Press coverage & industry awards
• Local certification & association memberships
• Social media engagement and reviews

The most important step is to provide technical and commercial solution details that are personalized, easy to comprehend, and facilitate a quicker convergence towards a decision. The following content is crucial to have a good solar sales proposal.

Beyond aesthetics, the Enact Solar Software ensures precise system designs by leveraging site-specific data. This results in accurate energy production estimates, optimal system performance and detailed layouts that inspire customer confidence.

Proposals should also include key technical details such as energy ratings, the solar panels and inverters being used and any optional battery storage solutions. Mentioning specific brands and their warranties adds credibility and reassures customers about the quality of their investment.

Additionally, provide a comprehensive energy savings analysis. Highlight the tangible savings customers can expect over time with concrete numbers, tailored to their energy consumption patterns. Include a cash flow analysis that accounts for both operating and capital expenses, showing a realistic break-even point. These details not only build trust but also emphasize the financial benefits of switching to solar.

Avoid using generic designs or irrelevant data sheets that fail to address the customer’s specific needs. Always ensure the information is accurate, transparent and actionable to build credibility and trust.

A descriptive walk-through detailing the methodology and schedule is required so that customers understand the project implementation. The solar installation can take weeks, by clearly communicating your project timeline you can reduce customer anxiety. The Enact Solar Design Software comes with sample templates that include an installation timeline — in addition to forecasted energy production and financial savings. The following timeline example is used Enact to communicate the installation timeline with residential solar customers:

• Week 1: Technical Site Visit
  We’ll work with your schedule to find a time to have a qualified Site Technician come out and confirm the size and solar access of your proposed installation site.
• Week 2: Engineering & Design
  We will assemble the final designs and purchase agreement at this stage. We will work with you to finalize all the details of the project and answer any questions you may have.
• Week 3-6: Permits & Approvals
  Our Project Operations Team will work to obtain all the necessary local permits and approvals to install and interconnect your new solar system.
• Week 6: Installation
  A trained Installation Team will complete all civil and electrical works necessary to install your new solar system in a timely manner.
• Week 7-10: Testing & Approval
  We will coordinate all system inspections requested by the utility company and local electrical inspector.
• Week 10: Handover
  Once the utility company grants final approval, we’ll walk you through turning on your new solar system and monitoring your electricity production. We’ll be here should you have any questions over the next 25 years!

When presenting a solar proposal, it’s crucial to provide transparent pricing and financial options that align with the customer’s goals. Break down commercial terms and conditions, including the pricing, payment schedule, taxes and levies, so the customer has a clear understanding of their required investment. Transparency builds trust and confidence in your proposal.

Include a detailed breakdown of potential solar financing options, such as:

• Loans: Customers can secure loans to purchase the solar system outright, enabling them to own the system and benefit from long-term savings. Explain the terms, interest rates and monthly payments so they can weigh the costs versus savings.
• Leases: Solar leases allow customers to use a solar system installed on their property for a fixed monthly payment. Emphasize that this option often requires little to no upfront cost, making it more accessible to budget-conscious customers.
• Power Purchase Agreements: With a PPA, the customer agrees to purchase the electricity generated by the solar system at a predetermined rate. This option minimizes upfront costs while still providing energy savings.

Providing these options helps customers choose a financing solution that matches their financial situation and goals.

Explain how the federal, state and local incentives —  such as the Investment Tax Credit — can significantly reduce the upfront cost of going solar. For example, the ITC allows customers to deduct a percentage of the system’s cost from their federal taxes, making solar more affordable. The ITC is also available to commercial properties, in addition to MACRS — improving the return on investment for businesses. Include state-specific rebates and incentives to showcase additional savings opportunities.

Illustrate how financing options and incentives can impact the return on investment for the customer. For instance, combining the ITC with a solar loan may result in immediate savings on energy bills while achieving system payback within a shorter timeframe. Similarly, leasing or PPA arrangements can provide savings from day one without the need for significant upfront investment.

Avoid making false commitments or promises you cannot deliver. Clearly outline all terms, conditions and assumptions in the proposal. This approach ensures customers have realistic expectations and fosters long-term trust in your services.

When presenting solar proposals, numbers alone don’t always make an impact. Many homeowners and business decision-makers find it challenging to interpret rows of data or technical descriptions. That’s where visuals and charts become essential. Clear, engaging graphics help translate complex energy and financial data into insights your customers can easily understand and get excited about.

The Enact Solar Design Software makes it simple to generate professional, visually compelling solar proposals. With just a few clicks, you can create dynamic charts that showcase key metrics such as estimated energy production, consumption patterns and projected financial savings over 25 years. These visuals help customers see the long-term value of their investment in solar, making their decision more confident and informed.

Want to highlight the environmental benefits? Our software includes graphics that illustrate the carbon footprint reduction of going solar. For commercial clients, you can demonstrate how solar aligns with sustainability goals or visualize peak demand savings.

By incorporating data-driven visuals, installers can tell a story that resonates with customers—showing how solar will power their homes or businesses efficiently while maximizing financial returns. Whether your audience is a tech-savvy business owner or a homeowner who just wants to save on their utility bills, visuals help bridge the gap between technical data and practical benefits.

Visual storytelling doesn’t just simplify proposals—it helps close deals. With Enact Solar’s design software, you’ll deliver polished, engaging and easy-to-understand proposals that inspire customers to go solar.

The solar business is competitive. Customers will often consider multiple bids and differentiators are of value to score over the competition. We have seen solar companies add solid differentiation through extended service warranty commitments, performance guarantees.

But winning solar bids have one differentiator: they are generated using solar proposal proven (independent) solar proposal software. Pre-designed templates used on such solar software tools ensure standardized, error-free proposals that are consistent across teams. Also makes change orders or revisions quick to approve, improving the chances to close.

The Enact Software automates the solar design and sales process, streamlining the proposal generation process with automatic measurements and optimal panel placements. Users can generate proposals in seconds for residential and commercial solar energy and battery storage systems.  

Clients gain confidence when they see a sales person using an independent software platform to work with them – this adds to transparency and the assurance of outcomes. Additionally, installers can manage documents inside the Enact Software platform — offering one place for proposals, warranties and other documentation. Finally, the sales person does not worry about the proposal generation or accuracy itself, rather can focus on the sale and closing the customer.

Remember, the solar sale is expensive and a long-term commitment so the sales person is key to every close. The Enact Software equips solar sales professionals in over 35 countries, which enables faster sales and better customer service. A good proposal makes the sales person shine. The best solar proposal software makes the end-to-end process agile and professional for everyone.

To get started and see how to generate fast, accurate, customer-friendly proposals in seconds — sign up for a free demo with the Enact team today.

Solar energy is becoming increasingly popular across the United States. Solar energy technology has advanced, solar panel costs have decreased and the federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) have contributed to widespread adoption. Especially as many homeowners and businesses look to avoid rising electricity costs and pursue environmental sustainability.

Creating any new business from scratch is no easy task, but can bring independence, reward and fulfillment. Below are a few quick tips to help you get your solar business started. Here’s ten steps to launching your business in 3 to 6 months.

These basic questions are crucial to clearly plan as you set up your business:

• Are you planning to sell to residential or commercial customers? Or both?
• Do you plan to both sell and install projects?
• Will you have your installation crews in-house or outsourced?

A residential installation can be priced anywhere from $15,000 to $50,000, depending on the size and type of panels installed. For companies that only sell and install panels to residential customers who pay all at once, you can see profits of $5,000 to $10,000 per job. Commercial installation pricing can widely vary. Projects for smaller businesses may cost around the same as a residential installation, while larger commercial projects may cost over $100,000.

Solar energy is a long-term solution to rising utility costs, making it an attractive option for homeowners and businesses alike. By launching a solar business, you position yourself at the forefront of this shift, offering customers savings and energy independence. Additionally, incentives like the federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) and state-level rebates make solar more accessible, boosting demand for installation services.

The industry also offers diverse revenue opportunities, from residential and commercial solar installations to battery storage and maintenance services. With the right planning and execution, a solar business can be both profitable and purpose-driven. Beyond financial benefits, you’re helping reduce carbon emissions and build a sustainable future, which can be deeply rewarding.

One way you can form a strong team is by finding members that are NABCEP certified. NABCEP is a nonprofit organization widely recognized as a gold standard for certification in the solar energy industry. If members of your team aren’t certified, ensure they have the resources needed to earn their certification.

Make sure your team understands your business, products and services and company culture. From sales to installation and maintenance, your entire team should understand what your business offers and why it matters.

The residential solar industry in some regions may unfortunately have a poor reputation due to unethical sales practices. Make sure your sales professionals can educate consumers and build customer trust while offering solar solutions. Solar is a sustainable solution to lower electricity prices and build energy independence.

• Sales Professionals:
  These individuals are responsible for educating potential customers about solar energy benefits, handling objections and closing deals. They play a critical role in converting leads into paying customers and are often the face of your business during initial interactions.
• Installation & Maintenance Professionals:
  These are the technical experts who design, install and maintain solar energy systems. They ensure that systems are installed safely, efficiently and in compliance with local regulations. Maintenance professionals also troubleshoot and resolve any issues post-installation.
• Marketing:
  The marketing team is in charge of promoting your solar business and generating leads. They use digital campaigns, social media, content creation and other strategies to educate potential customers and build brand awareness in a competitive market.
• Accounting:
  Accountants handle the financial aspects of your business, from tracking revenue and expenses to managing payroll and ensuring compliance with tax regulations. They help keep your business financially healthy and prepared for growth.
• Human Resources:
  HR professionals recruit and onboard team members, manage employee benefits and ensure compliance with labor laws. They play a crucial role in fostering a positive workplace culture and addressing personnel needs.
• Customer Service:
  This team provides ongoing support to your customers, addressing inquiries, resolving issues and ensuring satisfaction. Excellent customer service strengthens relationships and leads to positive reviews, referrals and long-term loyalty.

As for any new business, in order to register for taxes you will need to apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN). It’s easy and free! Learn more about licensing requirements in your state by visiting SBA’s reference to state licenses and permits. A solar panel installation business would need to create a services agreement. Which should outline the parameters of installation, the price and the expectations of the client. A solar panel business is often run out of an office. Businesses operating out of a physical location typically require a Certificate of Occupancy (CO). Also get Business Insurance to protect your company’s financial wellbeing in the event of a covered loss.

Using dedicated business banking and credit accounts is essential for personal asset protection. Besides being a requirement when applying for business loans.

Recording your various expenses and sources of income is critical to understanding the financial performance of your business. Keeping accurate and detailed accounts also greatly simplifies your annual tax filing. Develop a detailed financial plan for your first year with achievable revenue and profit and loss (P&L) targets based on available capital and resources.

What cities or areas will you sell into? Will you sell solar systems with the options for battery storage or electric vehicle charging?

Solar installation is a local business; spreading coverage out to too many areas at once hurts your profits and adds execution risk. Every customer who has solar installation needs site visits for permits and inspections and various installation milestones, so geographic territories are key to success.

Most businesses have a sales or operations leader that can close the initial customers and execute such contracts. Thereafter, you will need a team to scale the business.

“A minimum of 5 homes per month is necessary to sustain a start-up organization and getting to 5-10 closings per month within the first 6 months of business is crucial for a successful launch,” said Deep Chakraborty, CEO of Enact Systems.

Key elements of a sales and execution plan include:

• Goals and Objectives: Clearly defined targets, such as revenue milestones, customer acquisition numbers or project deadlines.
• Actionable Steps: Specific tasks or initiatives needed to achieve the set goals.
• Roles and Responsibilities: Assigning accountability to team members or departments for each task.
• Timelines: Setting deadlines to ensure progress stays on track.
• Resources and Budgets: Identifying the tools, personnel and financial resources required to execute the plan.
• Performance Metrics: Establishing key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure success and track progress.

A strong brand and marketing strategy will help your business stand out from competitors. When registering a business name, we recommend researching your business name by checking the following: your state’s business records, federal and state trademark records, social media platforms and web domain availability. 

Some popular website builders are: WordPress, WIX, Weebly, Squarespace and Shopify. Getting a phone set up for your business is one of the best ways to help keep your personal life and business life separate and private. And best to integrate your website to your customer relationship management (CRM) system for efficient messaging and customer service.

When creating a brand for your business — ensure your logo, website, social media and promotional content are consistent. This means using the same logos, fonts and colors to make your company findable and recognizable. Additionally, ensure your brand is aligned with your unique value propositions, services and company values.

Most companies use a customer relationship management (CRM) tool to keep tasks and contacts organized and for solar sales, it is also used as a design and project management software. Soft costs for Solar businesses are high. Over 50% of the installed cost of a US solar project is non-hardware costs. Hence solar software platform(s) will integrate with your processes is crucial for a successful team outcome.

The global trend is for solar companies to adopt end-to-end solar platforms that are fully integrated and track the entire customer journey. All the steps – from the point of first customer lead capture, to developing their proposal, closing their contract and delivering the project, can now be managed on single software platforms like Enact. 

Another option is to use multiple software tools for different needs, for example Helioscope for design and Salesforce for CRM, which is not only more expensive as an approach, but also more time consuming to set up.

Hundreds of solar panel original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) — manufacturers that specialize in making specific products on behalf of brands — and dozens of inverter, battery storage or racking options are available. You need to plan well on partnering with the right OEMs.

Examples of top OEMs include:

• Solar Panels: Hanwha QCells, Jinko Solar and TRINA Solar
• Inverters: SolarEdge and Enphase
• Rooftop Racking Options: IronRidge, Unirac and SnapNrack
• Storage Batteries: Tesla Powerwall, Bluetti, Franklin WH, Generac and Enphase

Also, for the initial years you might be best suited to procure all your hardware from well-established distributors that can support your entire logistics needs. Some top U.S. solar distributors include CED Greentech and WESCO and they also provide extended terms for payment easing your working capital needs.

Residential solar projects are warrantied for over ten years of workmanship in California and most other states, backed by the licensed solar installer. Residential customers investing thousands of dollars upfront require good support and service to ensure they have a good experience as they save their way towards payback/cost recovery in 5-7 years. While solar systems are maintenance free, annual check-ups are recommended.

Moreover, as customers’ energy needs change over time e.g. buying an EV or change in electric rates, they might need to upgrade the solar array or add energy storage. A good solar business keeps customers happy to win all follow-on business and also win referrals from such happy customers.

Growing and scaling a solar business requires a strategic approach that balances immediate opportunities with long-term sustainability. Start by developing a clear growth strategy, setting long-term goals, analyzing market trends and identifying areas for diversification. 

For instance, expanding into commercial solar projects or other services like energy storage systems and EV charging stations can unlock new revenue streams and attract a broader customer base. Geographic expansion is another powerful growth lever; entering new regions or underserved markets can increase your reach, but it’s essential to research local incentives, regulations and competition to ensure success.

Investing in technology is key to staying competitive. Advanced solar design software and monitoring platforms — such as the Enact software for installers — and cutting-edge installation tools can improve efficiency and elevate your business. The Enact software streamlines the solar design and proposal generation process, empowering installers to create customer-ready proposals in seconds.

Streamlining and optimizing operations —such as standardizing processes, refining supply chains and focusing on quality control — can reduce costs and maintain consistency as you scale. Simultaneously, ramping up your marketing efforts through digital campaigns, SEO and brand-building activities can amplify your reach and attract new customers. To fund these initiatives, explore options like securing investors, applying for loans or reinvesting profits. With a well-rounded approach, your solar business can grow sustainably while remaining competitive in the fast-evolving renewable energy market.