A rooftop solar project can take weeks, sometimes months, from the first phone call to the moment the warranty documents change hands. Along the way, sales, the project engineer, the installation crew, the warehouse and accounting all touch the same job at different times. If the project's status is not written down in one place, the same question keeps landing on the same desk: "Where are we with this one?" This article breaks a rooftop project into 13 stages, explains what to record at each stage and shows where projects most often get stuck.
Why split a project into stages?
"In progress" tells a manager nothing. The same project might be waiting for the customer to approve the quote, waiting for an answer from the distribution company, or sitting with all its material in the warehouse while the crew is busy on another site. Each of these situations needs a different person to act. When you split the project into clear stages:
- Every stage has an owner, so nobody argues about whose turn it is.
- Start and finish dates are recorded, so you can see which stage is dragging.
- What you tell the customer is based on records, not guesswork.
- You can compare dozens of parallel projects at a glance.
The 13 stages in four groups
The structure below follows the typical flow of a grid-connected rooftop project and groups it into Sales, Official process, Execution and Commissioning. Stage names vary between companies; what matters is that each stage has a clear start and finish condition.
| Group | Stage | Finish condition (example) |
|---|---|---|
| Sales | 1. Initial Meeting | Customer needs and budget expectations noted |
| Sales | 2. Site Survey | Survey form completed, photos uploaded |
| Sales | 3. Design | Panel layout and inverter selection finished |
| Sales | 4. Quote | Quote approved by the customer |
| Official process | 5. Contract | Contract signed, first payment received |
| Official process | 6. Grid Application | Application file submitted to the distribution company |
| Official process | 7. Project Approval | Written approval received |
| Execution | 8. Procurement | All material in stock or shipped to site |
| Execution | 9. Installation | Mounting structure and modules in place |
| Execution | 10. Electrical & Testing | DC/AC connections and measurements complete |
| Commissioning | 11. Meter & Acceptance | Bidirectional meter installed, acceptance done |
| Commissioning | 12. Commissioning | System producing, net metering started |
| Commissioning | 13. Project Handover | Warranty documents and project file handed over |
Sales stages: Initial Meeting, Site Survey, Design, Quote
1. Initial Meeting
In the first conversation, try to understand why the customer wants solar: lower bills, an investment, or an irrigation problem to solve? Record contact details, address, building type, approximate monthly bill, the budget the customer has in mind and who actually makes the decision. The owner of this stage is usually the sales representative.
2. Site Survey
On site you collect roof, electrical and consumption information. A careless survey affects every later stage: if the cable distance to the main panel is wrong, both the quote and the bill of materials will be wrong. We cover what to measure in detail in our rooftop site survey checklist. Record the survey date, the person who did it, photos and sample bills.
3. Design
Panel layout, shading review, inverter selection and stringing happen here. Note which version of the design went into the quote, so that if the customer later changes the module count there is no confusion about which design is valid.
4. Quote
Keep the quote date, revision number, validity period and the customer's response on record. For the details of preparing a quote, see our solar quote preparation guide. The Sales group ends with customer approval; without approval the project should not move into the official process.
Official process: Contract, Grid Application, Project Approval
5. Contract
The technical component list from the approved quote should carry over to the contract unchanged. Record the contract date, signatories, payment plan and expected delivery time. In most companies this stage belongs to the sales manager or the owner.
6. Grid Application
For grid-connected rooftop systems an application is made to the distribution company. Required documents, submission channels and timelines depend on current regulations and on the distribution company, so check the company's current process and document list for every application. Record the submission date, application number, documents submitted, any requests for missing documents and when those requests arrived.
7. Project Approval
This stage tracks the approval or the correction requests that come back. If corrections are requested, note what was asked and when you responded. The outcome is often outside your control, but following up regularly is entirely within it.
Execution: Procurement, Installation, Electrical & Testing
8. Procurement
Check whether modules, inverters, mounting structure, cables and protection devices are in stock; if not, record the order date and expected arrival. Starting procurement in parallel with the official process saves time, but weigh the financial risk of tying up a lot of material before approval arrives.
9. Installation
Record the crew, planned date, actual date, days lost to weather and material returned from site. Photos taken during installation are valuable both for quality control and for any later dispute, such as a roof leak claim.
10. Electrical & Testing
DC and AC connections, grounding, protection devices and measurements belong here. String open-circuit voltages, insulation measurements and grounding test results should go into the project file, together with who measured and when.
Commissioning: Meter & Acceptance, Commissioning, Project Handover
11. Meter & Acceptance
Installing the bidirectional meter and the acceptance procedure are carried out together with the distribution company. Record appointment dates, any corrections requested at acceptance and the date of the acceptance report.
12. Commissioning
Once the system is producing, set up the inverter monitoring account, give the customer app access and confirm that net metering has started. Checking a few days later whether the first production figures look as expected helps you catch an overlooked string fault early.
13. Project Handover
Hand over warranty certificates, datasheets, the single-line diagram, test results and maintenance recommendations. The handover date marks the start of the warranty and maintenance calendar, so recording it accurately matters for after-sales service.
What to record at every stage
Whatever the stage, keep these four pieces of information:
- Status: not started, in progress, completed or on hold.
- Owner: one person responsible for moving the stage forward. "The team" is not an owner.
- Start and finish dates: keeping planned and actual dates separately makes delays visible.
- Notes and documents: correspondence with the distribution company, photos, reports, test results.
With these four in place, an overall progress percentage becomes meaningful. Everyone in the weekly meeting sees the same difference between a project with 7 of 13 stages done and one with 3.
Where do projects typically stall?
Grid application and approval
Missing or incorrect documents are the most common reason an application bounces back. Use your own internal checklist before submitting and compare it with the distribution company's current document list. After submission, assign someone to check the status at regular intervals; waiting for "them to call us" can leave a project idle for weeks.
Material supply
A particular inverter model or module wattage can be unavailable for a while. Identifying equivalent products at quote stage and including a clear clause on substitutes in the contract reduces this risk. Running stock separately from project tracking can also lead to material being used on another job and coming up short.
Meter and acceptance
A system that is fully installed but cannot produce because the meter has not been fitted is the hardest situation for customer satisfaction. The customer sees panels on the roof but no change on the bill. Regular written updates at this stage are the most effective way to manage expectations.
Linking payments to stages
Tying the payment plan to project stages makes both cash management and customer communication easier. A plan might look like this (example percentages):
| Payment | Linked stage | Share (example) |
|---|---|---|
| Down payment | 5. Contract | 30% |
| Material payment | 8. Procurement (when material ships to site) | 50% |
| Balance | 11. Meter & Acceptance | 20% |
| Total | 100% |
The percentages depend on your cash needs and your agreement with the customer. What matters is that each payment trigger is written clearly in the contract and that the payment request goes out without delay once the stage is complete. When stage tracking and payment tracking live on the same customer record, slips such as "installation finished but nobody asked for the second payment" are far less likely.
Project tracking with PVAGE
PVAGE includes 13-stage project tracking for every customer: Initial Meeting, Site Survey, Design and Quote (Sales); Contract, Grid Application and Project Approval (Official process); Procurement, Installation and Electrical & Testing (Execution); Meter & Acceptance, Commissioning and Project Handover. For each stage you can record status, owner, start and finish dates and notes, and see the project's overall progress percentage.
Project tracking sits on the customer card as its own tab, alongside survey, quotes, modelling, contract, payments, work schedule and notes. In the payments tab, entering the amount, date, receipt number and payment method calculates the remaining balance automatically, so you can compare stage and payment status on the same screen. See the solar project tracking feature page for details.