The world is shifting from harmful fossil fuels to renewable energy, and solar has emerged as one of the best energy alternatives. The demand for solar energy has led to an increase in solar service businesses and contractors.
With more competition in the industry, solar contractors are looking for solutions that will give them a competitive edge, like solar project management software.
In this post, we’ll look at all you need to know about solar project management software and how it can boost your business’s productivity and ROI.
What Is Project Management?
Project management is an ongoing process that handles the project from start to end. Quality, cost, and time form the cornerstones of project management.
It’s vital to have an effective strategy that addresses each phase of your solar projects.
Some of the core components of project management include:
Listing project requirements
Developing and implementing a management plan
Managing issues and changes to the project
Monitoring progress against the detailed timeline
Maintaining communication between stakeholders and the team
Why Is Project Management Important for Solar Projects?
Solar projects tend to be short-term (running for a few days or weeks). To that end, they can benefit a lot from practical project management. Solar project management details the steps of each phase, including planning, scheduling, and managing resources like materials and labor.
As a solar project manager, you should fully understand the project’s technical aspects like procurement, engineering, integration, and commissioning. Solar project management is vital to every project because it lets you:
Have a competitive advantage in a crowded market
Gain visibility into the entire project, from sales to production
Increase efficiency since you tend to focus on a single phase at a time
Estimate the time and cost of the project
Best Solar Project Management Software Features
The market is full of solutions that claim to be the best solar project management software. But, testing each solar platform you come across can consume time and finances.
Understanding the key features of solar project management software will save you time. Here is a list of features to ensure you get the best solar project management software for your company’s needs.
SaaS and Cloud Capabilities
Software as a Service (SaaS) is a model that allows your team to connect and provides the required information to complete a job. The information ranges from local industry codes to metrics such as utility rates.
The information is loaded into a cloud-based platform, making it easy for your team to access the latest resources regardless of location. Cloud-based platforms also handle all updates or downtime. You can save a lot of time with SaaS, allowing you to focus on core business functions.
Integration
Solar project management software should be able to integrate with other technology. With integrations, you can synchronize data from different platforms.
This ensures the software stays up to date and generates accurate results. With a central platform for all your different tools, you can manage your business to profit.
Estimates and Proposals
Since most solar projects are unique to each client, project costs will vary. Estimating costs and proposals can be challenging, particularly for new solar contractors. But the right tool makes estimates and proposals into simple tasks that take only a few seconds.
Solar project management software should come with customizable invoice and proposal templates. They should also be easy to adjust to meet your client’s requests. To increase accuracy, the software should allow you to attach data sheets and other documents right to the invoice.
Financial Tools
Financial tools allow your team to access updated information about estimates, invoicing, billing, payments, financing, and more. Your clients get the correct information from the get-go, which helps you close more deals.
Financial reporting tools are also a great source of business insights and help you understand the financial details of each project. You can even limit which workers have access to different reporting tools.
Sales Force Automation (SFA)
Sales force automation helps contractors and businesses keep track of anything that interacts with the project’s workflow, including supplies and customer relationship management.
Sales force automation details each step, ensuring your team does everything correctly every time. The automation should focus on delivering better client service while making work easy for your team. For better sales efficiency, check out this blog on how to sell solar panels for a profit.
Grow Your Solar Business with JobNimbus
If you’re looking to get into the solar business or your revenue has slowed down, leveraging solar project management software can give you an edge in a highly competitive market.
JobNimbus software helps solar contractors manage all their projects from beginning to end. Our Calendar, Boards, and Tasks features are especially beneficial for project management.
What do you need most in a solar project management software? Let us know your favorite features below.
