How to Manage Solar Payment Schedules in CrmLeaf
Solar CRM edition. The Construction CRM edition has an equivalent payment schedule on its financial plan. 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 an equivalent payment schedule on its financial plan. The vertical is a paid add-on module that an Administrator must enable for your account.
Overview
A solar payment schedule breaks the price of a job into the installments the customer will actually pay, and tracks each one to settlement. It follows from the financial plan for the job, and it is the record that tells you what has been collected, what is due, and what has fallen overdue across your installations.
How It Works
Each installment is a scheduled payment with a type and a date. Types are down payment, milestone, final and maintenance, so the schedule can cover the deposit, the staged payments during installation, the balance on commissioning and any ongoing maintenance charge. Each installment starts pending and is then marked paid, allowed to become overdue, or cancelled.
Financial plan → Installments → Pending → Paid → Schedule settled
- Installment types are down_payment, milestone, final and maintenance.
- Installment statuses are pending, paid, overdue and cancelled.
- The next payment due on a job appears on the solar project tile in the projects card view.
- Financing type and any subsidy for the job come from the financial plan and the schemes an Administrator configured.
Who Can Use This Feature?
User
- Create the installments for a job with their types and dates.
- Mark an installment paid when the money is received.
- Cancel an installment that is no longer to be collected.
- Filter the schedule to find overdue installments to chase.
Access depends on the modules and role assigned by your Administrator.
Prerequisites
- A financial plan for the job, with its financing type and any subsidy scheme. See How to Configure Financing and Subsidy Schemes.
- An approved solar estimate, so the total to be collected is known.
- Currency configured for the account.
- The installation project, where milestone payments are aligned to delivery.
For Users
Step 1: Open the payment schedule for the job
Open the schedule for the job you are working. Confirm it is the correct site and customer before you change anything.
Step 2: Add the down payment
Select Add and create an installment of type down_payment with its amount and due date. This is the deposit that releases the job into delivery.
Step 3: Add the milestone installments
Add installments of type milestone for the staged payments during installation, and align their dates to the project's milestones so a payment is requested when work is actually complete.
Step 4: Add the final and maintenance installments
Add an installment of type final for the balance due on commissioning, and installments of type maintenance where the customer pays for ongoing maintenance. Save the schedule.
Step 5: Mark installments paid
When the money is received, mark the installment paid. The installment moves from pending to paid. An installment left unpaid past its date is overdue.
Step 6: Review overdue installments regularly
Use Filter to list installments that are overdue, and chase them alongside the delivery status of the job. Where an installment will never be collected, mark it cancelled rather than deleting it, so the history stays intact.
Field and Option Reference
| Field / Option | Values or description | Required |
|---|---|---|
| Type | down_payment, milestone, final, maintenance | Yes |
| Status | pending, paid, overdue, cancelled | Yes |
| Amount | The value of the installment, in the job's currency. | Yes |
| Due date | When the installment is expected. | Yes |
Expected Result
The job has a payment schedule whose installments add up to what the customer owes, each installment carries a type, amount, date and status, and paid, pending and overdue amounts are visible for the job.
Service Organisation Context
This schedule belongs to the Solar CRM edition, but its shape travels. A solar installer is a project-based delivery business, and its four installment types — a down payment, staged milestone payments, a final balance and a maintenance charge — describe how many service organisations structure an engagement fee: an advance to begin, staged amounts against deliverables, a balance on acceptance, and a continuing charge afterwards. Service firms outside this edition operate the same pattern with project milestones and milestone invoicing, and hold the continuing charge as a recurring invoice instead — see How to Set Up Recurring Invoices in CrmLeaf.
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.
- Cancel rather than delete an installment that is no longer to be collected, so the schedule remains a reliable record.
- Align milestone installments to real project milestones. A payment requested before the work is done is the most common cause of a disputed solar invoice.
- Recording a payment on a customer invoice and marking an installment paid are separate actions. Keep both current so the schedule and the finance records agree.
Common Scenarios
Example: a four-installment residential job. The customer pays a down payment on signing, a milestone payment when the panels are mounted, a second milestone payment on inspection, and the final installment on commissioning. Maintenance is billed separately as a maintenance installment each year. The card view shows the next payment due against the project, so the office knows what to chase without opening every job.
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Possible Cause | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| The schedule cannot be created | No financial plan exists for the job | Create the financial plan first |
| Installments do not add up to the job value | The estimate changed after the schedule was built | Revise the installments to match the current approved estimate |
| An installment shows overdue after payment | The payment was recorded elsewhere but the installment was not marked paid | Mark the installment paid on the schedule |
| The next payment does not show on the project card | No pending installment exists, or the card view is not permitted for that user | Confirm a pending installment exists and check the user's permissions |
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the installment types for?
They separate the deposit, the staged payments during installation, the balance on completion and any maintenance charge, so the schedule reflects how solar jobs are actually paid.
What makes an installment overdue?
Passing its due date without being marked paid.
Can I still use ordinary invoices?
Yes. Invoicing, recurring invoices and payment recording are core in every edition. See How to Create and Send Invoices.
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