How to Schedule Solar Maintenance and AMC Visits in CrmLeaf
Solar CRM edition. The Construction CRM edition has equivalent post-handover maintenance. The vertical is a paid add-on module that an Administrator must enable for your account.
Availability: Solar CRM edition. The Construction CRM edition has equivalent post-handover maintenance. The vertical is a paid add-on module that an Administrator must enable for your account.
Overview
Once a system is commissioned, the relationship with the customer continues as maintenance, often sold as an annual maintenance contract. CrmLeaf holds this in two layers: a maintenance schedule defines the recurring commitment for a site, and a maintenance record captures each individual visit. Together they let you see what is due, what has been done, and what is outstanding across your installed base.
How It Works
An Administrator configures the maintenance types the company offers as part of solar master data. A maintenance schedule is then created for a commissioned site, typed and given a frequency and a priority. Each visit that falls due is recorded as a maintenance record, which moves from scheduled through in progress to completed, or is cancelled.
Configure types → Create schedule → Visit falls due → Record visit → Completed
- Maintenance schedule types are preventive, corrective, emergency and inspection, each with a frequency, a priority and a status of active, inactive or completed.
- Maintenance record statuses are scheduled, in_progress, completed and cancelled.
- The next maintenance due on a job appears on the solar project tile in the projects card view.
- Where the customer pays for maintenance, it is collected as a maintenance installment on the payment schedule.
- Where a visit needs replacement parts, they can be drawn through the normal procurement and requisition route, and faulty equipment can be returned as a goods return.
Who Can Use This Feature?
Administrator
- Configure the maintenance types the company offers in solar master data.
- Create maintenance schedules for commissioned sites and set their frequency and priority.
- Set a schedule inactive when a contract lapses, or completed when it ends.
User
- Work the maintenance records that fall due.
- Move a visit from scheduled to in progress and then to completed.
- Record what was found and done on the visit.
Access depends on the modules and role assigned by your Administrator.
Prerequisites
- Maintenance types configured in solar master data. See How to Configure Solar Master Data.
- A commissioned installation, so there is a system to maintain. See How to Manage a Solar Installation Project.
- The maintenance terms agreed with the customer, including frequency.
- Technicians added as users with access to the maintenance screens.
For Administrators
Step 1: Create the maintenance schedule
What to do: Select Add and create a schedule for the commissioned site. Set the type to preventive, corrective, emergency or inspection, set the frequency the contract commits to, and set the priority.
What to verify: The schedule is active and visits appear as they fall due.
Step 2: Keep schedules current
What to do: Set a schedule inactive when a contract is suspended and completed when it ends. Do not delete a schedule whose visit history you need.
What to verify: No visits fall due against a contract that has ended.
For Users
Step 1: Open the maintenance records
Records with the status scheduled are the visits waiting to be done. Use Filter to find your own.
Step 2: Start the visit
Change the record's status to in_progress when you begin work, so the office can see the visit is under way.
Step 3: Record what you found and did
Complete the record's fields with the findings and the work carried out. Where you replaced parts, make sure the material is accounted for through a material requisition against the job.
Step 4: Complete the visit
Set the record to completed and Save. Where a visit could not go ahead, set it to cancelled and state why in the record.
Field and Option Reference
| Field / Option | Values or description | Required |
|---|---|---|
| Schedule type | preventive, corrective, emergency, inspection | Yes |
| Frequency | How often the maintenance recurs under the contract. | Yes |
| Priority | The urgency assigned to the schedule. | Yes |
| Schedule status | active, inactive, completed | Yes |
| Record status | scheduled, in_progress, completed, cancelled | Yes |
Expected Result
Each commissioned site has an active maintenance schedule with the right type, frequency and priority, and every visit is recorded and closed as completed or cancelled, giving a full service history for the installation.
Service Organisation Context
An annual maintenance contract is the closest confirmed parallel in CrmLeaf to a support retainer or a managed service agreement: a standing commitment held against something already delivered, with each visit recorded as a separate piece of work. Service organisations that sell ongoing support after a project closes will recognise the shape — a continuing obligation, scheduled work against it, and a periodic charge. Outside this edition the commitment is typically carried as a contract with renewals, the work as tickets or tasks, and the charge as a recurring invoice; see How to Set Up Recurring Invoices. The maintenance schedule and record structure itself remains a Solar CRM edition feature.
Important Notes
- Menu names and their position can differ between product editions and can be customised for your account, so your sidebar may not match these paths exactly. Use Search or your Quick Access items if you cannot find a screen.
- The schedule and the record are different things. The schedule is the recurring commitment, the record is one visit.
- Cancelled visits should still carry a reason. An installed base with unexplained gaps in its service history is difficult to renew a contract against.
- Charge for maintenance through a maintenance installment on the payment schedule so the revenue is tracked with the rest of the job.
Common Scenarios
Example: an annual maintenance contract with an emergency call-out. A commissioned rooftop system has an active preventive schedule with an annual frequency. When the customer reports a fault between visits, a corrective or emergency schedule captures the response, and the visit itself is recorded and completed against the site. The service history then shows both routine and reactive work in one place.
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Possible Cause | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| The maintenance type you need is not offered | It has not been added to solar master data | Ask an Administrator to add the maintenance type |
| No visits fall due against a schedule | The schedule is inactive or completed, or its frequency is not set | Set the schedule active and confirm the frequency |
| A technician cannot see their visits | Their permission scope is too narrow, or the record is not assigned to them | Assign the record and check the scope for their role |
| Parts used on a visit do not appear against the job | They were issued without a material requisition | Record a requisition so material is attributable to the job |
| Maintenance revenue is not tracked | No maintenance installment exists on the payment schedule | Add a maintenance installment for the charge |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a maintenance schedule and a maintenance record?
The schedule is the recurring commitment for a site, with a type, frequency, priority and status. The record is one visit against it, with its own status.
Can I record an unplanned call-out?
Yes. Schedule types include corrective and emergency alongside preventive and inspection.
How do I bill the customer for maintenance?
Through a maintenance installment on the job's payment schedule, or through a standard invoice.
Can technicians work from the mobile app?
The mobile app carries solar site-survey and approval screens and dispatch. See How to Use Field and Solar Screens in the CrmLeaf Mobile App for what is available to field users.
Related Articles
Our support team answers on business days. Reference SOL-11 so we can jump straight in.