Manual site surveys and scattered BOQs delayed installations by weeks.
Solution
Unified survey-to-AMC pipeline with automated scheduling and alerts.
Tools
Zoho CRMZoho CreatorZoho DeskZoho Analytics
Rooftop Solar EPC
How a Rooftop Solar EPC Firm Cut Installation Cycles by 62%
A mid-sized solar EPC company running 80+ residential and commercial rooftop installations per quarter was losing weeks between site survey and commissioning. Disconnected spreadsheets, WhatsApp-based scheduling, and zero visibility into post-installation AMC pipelines were draining revenue and eroding customer trust.
Zoho Apps
4 integrated
Go-Live
8 weeks
Users
35 field + office
Payback
Under 5 months
The Problem
Scattered Site Survey Data
Field engineers captured roof measurements, shadow analysis, and structural notes in a mix of Excel files, paper forms, and WhatsApp photos. Design teams spent 2-3 days just assembling a single BOQ.
Manual Scheduling Chaos
Installation crew assignments relied on phone calls and memory. Double-bookings were routine, and project managers had no live view of crew availability or material readiness across sites.
AMC Revenue Leakage
Annual maintenance contracts expired without follow-up. No one tracked warranty timelines, inverter health check-ins, or panel cleaning schedules, leaving lakhs in recurring revenue on the table.
The Solution Stack
Zoho CRMDeal Pipeline + Site Survey Module
Lead-to-Survey Pipeline
Custom module for rooftop site surveys linked to Zoho CRM deal pipeline, capturing roof type, sanctioned load, shadow-free area, and panel orientation
Mandatory field validation ensures no survey moves to BOQ stage without structural feasibility sign-off
Automated stage transitions: enquiry to site visit to feasibility to proposal to won
Zoho CreatorBOQ Generator + Installation Tracker
Automated BOQ and Project Tracking
Zoho Creator custom app pulls survey data from CRM and auto-generates bill of quantities with panel count, inverter specs, mounting structure, cabling, and net metering hardware
Installation milestone tracker with photo-verified checkpoints: structure mounting, panel laying, wiring, inverter commissioning, and DISCOM meter sync
Crew scheduling engine with drag-and-drop calendar showing team availability, travel time between sites, and material procurement status
Zoho DeskAMC Ticketing + Warranty Tracker
Post-Installation Support and AMC Pipeline
Every commissioned system auto-creates an AMC record with warranty expiry dates, scheduled cleaning visits, and inverter health check intervals
Zoho Desk customer portal for homeowners to raise tickets, track service visits, and view generation reports
Renewal workflow triggers 60 days before AMC expiry with escalation to sales if unactioned for 15 days
Zoho AnalyticsOperations Dashboard
Real-Time Visibility Across the Pipeline
Unified Zoho Analytics dashboard blending CRM deals, Creator project milestones, and Desk AMC data into a single operations view
Crew utilisation heat map showing idle days, site overlap, and average installation throughput per team
Mapped the full project lifecycle from lead capture through commissioning and AMC renewal. Catalogued existing data across 14 spreadsheets, 3 WhatsApp groups, and a legacy billing tool. Defined field validation rules and mandatory checkpoints.
2
CRM + Creator Build
Weeks 3-5
Configured the CRM deal pipeline with custom site survey module and automated stage transitions. Built the Creator app with BOQ auto-generation, crew scheduling calendar, and milestone photo-verification workflows.
3
Desk + Analytics Integration
Weeks 5-7
Connected commissioned projects to Desk for AMC lifecycle management. Set up renewal automation, customer portal, and the unified Analytics dashboard pulling data from all three apps.
4
Training and Go-Live
Week 8
Ran hands-on workshops for field engineers (mobile survey capture), office staff (scheduling and BOQ), and the service team (Desk ticketing). Parallel-ran with the old process for one week before full cutover.
Results
0%
Faster site-to-install cycle
0x
More AMC renewals captured
₹0L
Annual revenue leakage recovered
Before vs After KPIs
Operational Maturity
Key Takeaway
Solar EPC margins live and die in the gap between site survey and commissioning. When that gap shrinks from 26 days to 10, you are not just saving time. You are fitting more installations into every quarter, catching AMC revenue before it slips away, and giving homeowners a reason to refer you to their neighbours. The technology is straightforward: a connected pipeline from field survey to post-installation care. The payoff compounds with every rooftop. See more Zoho implementation case studies for similar results.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Creator app maintains a product catalogue with current panel wattages, inverter capacities, and mounting structure variants. When site survey data (sanctioned load, shadow-free area, roof type) flows in from CRM, the BOQ logic matches the optimal panel-inverter pairing based on available roof space and required system capacity. The output includes quantities for panels, inverters, DC cables, AC cables, earthing kits, mounting rails, and net metering hardware, all mapped to current supplier pricing.
Yes. The CRM deal record includes custom fields for MNRE subsidy eligibility, application status, and disbursement tracking. The Creator project tracker has a dedicated DISCOM approval milestone where the team uploads the net metering application, test report, and bi-directional meter installation confirmation. Analytics flags any project where subsidy claims or DISCOM approvals are overdue beyond configurable thresholds.
Complaints raised via the Zoho Desk customer portal or email auto-create a ticket linked to the installation record. The ticket inherits warranty status, system specs, and installation date. SLA rules route inverter-related issues to the electrical team and panel/cleaning issues to the field maintenance crew. If the system is under warranty, parts replacement triggers a vendor RMA workflow. The homeowner receives automated status updates at each stage.
Field engineers typically need 2-3 days of hands-on training to get comfortable with the mobile survey capture and photo-verification steps. Office staff (schedulers, BOQ reviewers) are productive within a week. The service desk team adapts fastest since Zoho Desk’s interface is straightforward. Most teams run the old and new systems in parallel for one week before switching over completely. Full adoption across all user groups usually takes 3-4 weeks after go-live.
