A job isn't finished for the company when the system turns on. It's finished when the money comes in. On financed jobs, the finance partner may pay in stages, and each stage needs its own proof. On cash jobs, the homeowner contract sets when each payment is due. Either way, funding waits on paperwork, and paperwork waits on someone owning it. This guide is for the owner or office manager who has to know which jobs are funded and which are still waiting.
What a funding milestone is
A funding milestone is a point in the job where a payment is due once certain conditions are met. The conditions are usually documents, photos, signatures, or a status from the utility or the permitting office. Your finance partner's agreement or your homeowner contract decides what each milestone is and what it needs.
Where milestones usually fall
The names and the order change by finance partner, but milestones can be tied to points like these:
- Approval. The homeowner's financing is approved and the contract is signed.
- Notice to proceed. The finance partner confirms the job can move forward, sometimes after the site survey, engineering, or permit.
- Install complete. The crew finishes the install, and photos and documents show it.
- PTO. The utility gives permission to operate, and proof of PTO is submitted.
- Funded. The final payment arrives, and the job can move to closeout.
Some partners combine steps or split them differently. Track the milestones your agreements actually use. Some companies call these milestones M1, M2, and M3. What each one requires depends on your agreement.
What notice to proceed means
Notice to proceed is the point where the finance partner, or the contract, says the job can move forward. What it takes to get there depends on your agreement. It can be a signed contract, a completed site survey, an engineering review, or an approved permit. Until it's in hand, starting work can put the payment at risk, so treat it as its own milestone with its own owner.
Where funding usually stalls
- Nobody owns the submission. The install is done, but no one is assigned to send the proof.
- Photos don't meet the requirements. A photo is missing, blurry, or doesn't show what the partner asked for.
- Signatures are missing. A homeowner form went out and never came back signed.
- A submission was sent back. The partner asked for a fix, and the request sits in one person's inbox.
- The office can't see it. Finding out where a payment stands means asking three people.
The checklist for every milestone
- Do we know exactly what this milestone requires?
- Is there one named owner for getting it submitted?
- Are the documents, photos, and signatures for it attached to the job?
- Is the submission date recorded, with a follow-up date after it?
- If it was sent back, is the fix assigned to someone?
- Can anyone in the office see whether it's paid without asking?
See this checklist on one of your jobs. Book a 30-minute demo.
Funding and rep commissions
At some companies, rep pay depends on funding. When funding status lives on the same record as the commission, reps and the office see the same answer. See our guide to tracking solar commissions. Put your commission plan in writing and have it reviewed for your state.
Signs you've outgrown a spreadsheet for funding
- The funding tracker is only right after someone updates it by hand.
- Photos and documents live in a different place from the funding list.
- You find out a submission was sent back days later.
- Month-end means calling around to learn what's been paid.
How Solar Nest tracks funding
Funding is a stage near the end of each Solar Nest project record, after PTO and before closeout. Solar Nest tracks funding milestones on the job, next to the photos, documents, and signatures they depend on, so the office can see which jobs are funded and which are still waiting. The rep's commission stays on the same record. Solar Nest doesn't lend or move money. It records where each job stands.
Read more: Solar installer software covers the whole job from sold to funded. Permit-to-PTO checklist covers the steps before funding. Commission tracking guide covers rep pay. Solar EPC software covers running every department on one record.