A job that pays out before it pays back
A solar installer buys equipment, pays crews and pulls permits before the customer sees a bill saving anything. Add the wait for a utility to approve a system to run, and the cash cycle on a single job can stretch across weeks of outlay before the final payment lands. A busy month does not make this easier. More signed jobs usually means more money going out at the same time.
California's solar market has been shaped by public policy. Wikipedia's overview of solar power in California lists programs the state has used: a property tax exemption, cash incentives, net metering, streamlined permitting for residential solar, and a requirement that new homes have solar panels. The California Energy Commission, which describes itself as the state's primary energy policy and planning agency, lists among its responsibilities developing renewable energy and encouraging energy efficiency. Each of those shifts how many jobs come in and how they are priced, which is why installer cash flow can change when policy does.
The cash timeline of one install
| Stage | Cash out | Cash in |
|---|---|---|
| Sale and design | Sales time, design work, site visit | Often a deposit, depending on contract |
| Equipment order | Panels, inverters, racking, possibly batteries | Not yet |
| Permits | Fees, staff time | Depends on the contract structure |
| Installation | Crew payroll, truck and tool costs | Often a milestone payment |
| Inspection and interconnection | Rework if something fails, idle crews waiting | Final payment is commonly tied to approval |
The last row is where the stress concentrates. If final payment depends on permission to operate, any delay by an inspector or utility holds money that you have already spent on materials and labor.
Why battery storage changes the math
The same Wikipedia overview notes that California's current net metering policy, called the Net Billing Tariff and known as NEM3, rewards systems with battery storage more than systems without it. For an installer, that means more jobs include a battery, which is a larger equipment purchase per job and a bigger amount of cash tied up before the customer pays.
For illustration only: if an average job used to need $15,000 of equipment and a battery adds several thousand dollars on top, a month with ten jobs in progress needs noticeably more working capital than the same month did before, even if revenue per job rises to match. The margin may be fine; the float is what grows.
Three habits that protect the float
Stage deposits against equipment orders
Where your contracts allow it, structure the customer deposit so it covers the equipment purchase for that job.
Track jobs waiting on approval
Keep a simple list of finished installs that are waiting on inspection or interconnection, with the amount still owed on each. That number is the money you have already spent but not collected.
Separate seasonal from structural gaps
A slow month can be seasonal, in which case working capital bridges it. A job mix that always leaves you short is a pricing problem, and cash will not fix it.
When working capital is a fit
Working capital suits an installer with steady deposits who needs to buy equipment ahead of a run of signed jobs, to cover payroll while several systems await approval, or to replace a van or tool set that has failed. It suits less well an installer who is not yet collecting on the work already done. We look at about three months of business bank statements, not tax returns, and sole proprietors can apply.
The application takes about five minutes. You will need roughly three months of business bank statements; no tax returns are required, the credit check is a soft pull, and a FICO of 500 or above is considered. Funding runs from $25,000 to $5,000,000 and can arrive in as little as 24 hours once everything is in. Start at the application page.