A solar sale can look complete in the CRM while the installation team is still missing the information needed to act. The proposal is accepted, but an equipment change sits in a text message. A customer expects next Friday, although nobody has confirmed that date. Operations inherits the job and starts asking questions the sales team thought it had already answered.
A useful handover makes those gaps visible before they become customer problems. It gives operations an agreed scope, traceable information and a clear owner for anything unresolved. The checklist below is a suggested internal workflow, to be adapted to your network area, contracts and technical review requirements.
Define the record operations will accept
Choose one place for the handover: a structured CRM record or a controlled job folder linked from it. Avoid asking staff to reconcile a spreadsheet, several email threads and a salesperson's memory every time a job moves forward.
Start with these fields. They describe a practical internal record, not every document required for a particular installation.
| Handover field | What the receiving person needs |
|---|---|
| Customer and site | Correct contact details, installation address and the source used to verify them |
| Accepted scope | The accepted proposal version, included work, exclusions and recorded variations |
| Equipment | Proposed model references and a clear flag for any substitution or unresolved choice |
| Site information | Available photos and records, their dates and any further inspection or evidence requested |
| Connection status | Relevant network, application reference, recorded status and source document |
| Customer commitments | What was promised, by whom, and whether another person must confirm it |
| Outstanding decisions | The question, responsible person, next action and review date |
Attach source records rather than repeatedly retyping their contents. If two records disagree, mark the discrepancy. A blank field should never quietly become a guess.
For example, an administrator can check whether the proposal and CRM show different addresses. Deciding which address belongs to the installation requires clarification from the appropriate source. The system should preserve that distinction.
Separate customer promises from network decisions
Use separate fields for the customer's preferred installation date, a provisional scheduling window and a confirmed booking. Apply the same discipline to network applications: drafted, submitted, awaiting information and approved are different states.
For work in Energex's area, its installer guidance says proposed installations require approval before installation. It also stresses accurate customer information and says the party making the application takes responsibility for liaising with the customer and network. Record who performs that role. Energex connection information for installers.
This creates a useful handover question: “Which source supports this status?” A salesperson's note that approval should be straightforward is not the same record as an approval. If the source is missing, operations should see an open action instead of a green tick.
Use the applicable distributor's process for other network areas. A Queensland checklist should not silently become a national rulebook.
Give unresolved items a proper owner
Some jobs legitimately move forward while questions remain open. The problem is moving them without deciding which next activities are permitted.
Consider a hypothetical sale with an unclear switchboard photo. Operations might be able to confirm customer contact details while the appropriate technical person requests better evidence. That does not mean the job is ready for every later step.
For each open item, record:
- The specific question that needs an answer.
- The person authorised to resolve it.
- The evidence or decision they must provide.
- The activities waiting on that answer.
- The date the coordinator will follow up.
“Technical team to review” is too vague if several people share that inbox. Give the action a named owner or an assigned queue with someone accountable for it. Set follow-up dates that reflect the job's priorities and customer commitments.
Keep technical decisions with the responsible people
Sales staff and administrators can assemble records and identify missing information. They should not turn a tidy handover into an implied technical approval.
The Clean Energy Regulator describes accreditation, licensing and design responsibilities for solar systems eligible for STCs. Use that guidance and the applicable professional requirements to determine who must do the technical work. An administrator's completeness check does not discharge those responsibilities. Our PV design support guide explains how preparation, review and sign-off fit together. CER rooftop solar installers and designers.
In your handover form, identify the responsible reviewer and link to the current design information. Label a preliminary sales layout accordingly. If new evidence changes the proposed equipment or scope, route the change to the appropriate person before treating it as settled.
Make acceptance a short conversation
Try a simple acceptance process between the salesperson and receiving coordinator. The salesperson submits the record; the coordinator checks the agreed fields and either accepts it or returns a specific query.
Keep return reasons consistent: missing accepted proposal, conflicting equipment details, unsupported connection status or unrecorded customer commitment. These labels help the team spot repeated problems without turning every handover into a long meeting.
After acceptance, record who owns the next customer update. This prevents a familiar failure: sales assumes operations has called, operations assumes sales is still handling it, and the customer hears nothing.
Control changes after the handover
A handover remains useful only if later changes reach the people doing the work. Record the change, its source, the affected documents and the person who must review it. Preserve the earlier version so the team can understand what changed.
A Filipino solar administrator can maintain this record, chase missing information and alert the responsible people. Agree the role's authority and escalation limits first. Give the administrator access to the information needed for the workflow, together with a clear route for questions.
Pilot the checklist on a small group of jobs. Review how many handovers were accepted first time and which fields caused repeated queries. The solar job dashboard guide gives a practical definition of first-pass completeness. Improve the form where it removes avoidable chasing, then make it the normal handover method.
If your sales and operations teams keep reopening the same jobs, talk with Nexus about solar administration support. A defined handover is a practical place to begin.
