A solar job is not finished when the panels are on the roof. The customer only gets the benefit once the utility approves the connection and, where there is one, the subsidy is paid. That depends on paperwork, and paperwork is where many jobs stall.
The same facts, many times
A typical rooftop job asks for the same information on several documents:
- The customer’s name, address, consumer or meter number and identity details.
- The system’s capacity, inverter make and rating, and panel make and wattage.
- The panel and inverter serial numbers, once they are installed.
- The installer’s details, signatures and witnesses.
In India, for example, a home system in Tamil Nadu needs the state utility’s net-metering annexures, and a subsidised system also needs a vendor agreement under the national rooftop programme. Other countries and utilities have their own forms, but the pattern is the same: one set of facts, copied into many places.
Why retyping causes delays
Every copy is a chance to make a mistake. A capacity typed as 8.2 on one form and 8.26 on another, a serial number with two digits swapped, or a name spelt differently from the electricity bill can send an application back. Each rejection means another visit or another round of signatures, and the customer waits.
Fill the forms from the job
The fix is to stop typing the same facts:
- Keep each form as a template. Use the utility’s or the scheme’s own layout, with fields marked where details go.
- Fill it from the quote. Customer details, system size and equipment come from the quote the customer agreed to.
- Add serial numbers from the installation. Panel and inverter serials are recorded once, on site, and flow into the forms.
- Keep the customer’s documents with the job. Electricity bill, identity proof, address proof and site photos are stored with the quote, not in a phone gallery.
- Show what is missing. Before printing, list any fields that are still empty.
How AIMS IQ handles it
In AIMS IQ, you upload your customer documents as Word templates with fields to fill, such as net-metering annexures, vendor agreements and equipment serial lists. Each one is filled from the solar quotation, and any fields still empty are listed so nothing goes out incomplete. The customer’s own files, such as the electricity bill, identity proof and site photos, are stored with the quote. At handover, installation produces a completion certificate and flags paperwork items that are still open.