SolarCleaningBossPro Blog — Quotes & Estimates

Entering Panel Details Once When a Solar Cleaning Quote Becomes a Job

Everything you learned while quoting, the panel count, the roof height, the pitch, the bird problem, the spigot behind the side gate, is exactly what the tech needs on cleaning day. The worst thing that can happen to that information is that it stays in the quoter's head or a text thread. The best thing is that it goes on the job once and shows up on every visit after.

The Handoff From Office to Truck

From Approved Estimate to Scheduled Job: What Happens After the Customer Says Yes walked through the whole path from approval to schedule. This article zooms in on one step in that path: entering the panel details on the job so the tech has everything without calling the office.

Why the Details Are Entered on the Job

In SolarCleaningBossPro, an approved estimate becomes the scheduled job, with the services the customer approved. The panel details are a separate thing. They describe the property and how to work it, and they are entered on the job by the office once the estimate is approved. They do not copy over from the estimate on their own, so make entering them part of your routine every time a quote turns into a job.

The good news is you only do it once. After that, the details stay with the job and show on every future visit. A twice-a-year customer you quoted in March shows the same panel count, pitch and gate code in September and every year after, without anyone typing it again.

What to Enter

Each job has a short set of panel details. Fill in all of them:

• Number of panels. The confirmed count from your quote.
• Mount. Roof, ground mount or carport.
• Roof stories. 1-story, 2-story or 3+ story.
• Pitch. Low pitch, steep pitch or flat roof.
• Extras. Bird proofing, critter guards or inspection, if they were approved.
• Access notes. Spigot location, roof access side, gate code and dog.

Together these show under the address on the lists and on the tech's phone in one line, like “24 panels · Roof · 2-story · Low pitch · Bird proofing,” with the access notes on the job card.

Writing Access Notes the Tech Can Use

Access notes are where good intentions go wrong. “Spigot in back” is not much help at 7am. A good note says exactly what the tech needs:

• “Spigot on the left side of the garage, behind the trash cans.”
• “Best roof access from the back patio, east side. Ladder on the concrete, not the flower bed.”
• “Side gate code 4471. Keep it shut, the dog gets out.”
• “Friendly dog, usually inside on weekdays.”

Write it the way you would explain it to a new hire standing in the driveway. That is exactly who will read it someday.

Keep personal details out of access notes that do not need to be there, and keep notes short enough to read at a glance. A tech reads them standing next to the truck with a phone in one hand. Three clear lines beat a paragraph. If something is unusual, like a skylight next to the array or a fragile gutter, put it first so it is the thing the tech sees before climbing.

Who Enters Them, and When

The cleanest routine is simple: whoever handles the approved estimate enters the panel details on the job the same day, before it goes on the dispatch board. A few habits that help:

• Use your quoting notes. The answers to your quoting questions are the details. If you asked about the spigot, the gate and the dog, the access notes write themselves.
• Check the extras against the approval. If the customer approved bird proofing, it goes in the extras so the tech brings the materials.
• Do not schedule a job with blank details. Make it a rule. A tech showing up to a 3+ story steep roof with the wrong ladder costs a whole stop.

Keeping Details Current

Details change. Panels get added, a new dog arrives, the gate code changes, the customer reroofs. When the tech sees something different on site, they note it on the job from the phone, and the office updates the details so the next visit is right.

If you are moving customers over from spreadsheets with a CSV import, the addresses are placed on the map automatically. Plan an afternoon to add panel details to your recurring customers' jobs, starting with the ones coming due soonest on the Waiting List.

Entering details once is a small discipline that pays off on every visit for years. Related reading: Common Mistakes When Quoting Solar Panel Cleaning. To see how estimates, jobs and panel details fit together, visit the solar cleaning estimate software page.