Industries
Crews, materials and labor costs for solar installers
A home solar install can keep a roof crew on site for two days and an electrician for a third, and the next site may be an hour’s drive away. HiVis puts every installer’s hours and every panel, inverter and rail issued from stock on the same project, so you see what the install cost in labor and materials.
| Multi-day installs split across several crews | Assign everyone who works on the install to one project. Hours are recorded per person, job and day, so the project adds up labor across crews, and reports break it down by person. See crew timesheets. |
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| Panels, inverters and racking leave the warehouse unrecorded | Issue stock to the project with its unit cost. The project’s Materials tab shows the net material cost, with returns subtracted, and stock can’t go below zero. See tool and stock tracking. |
| Not knowing how many labor hours a kW takes | HiVis doesn’t record kW, but each project shows its total hours and labor cost. Divide them by the system size, or log kW per day in the solar installer timesheet. See job costing. |
| Vans covering long distances to remote sites | Each van has its service, tire and insurance records, due by date or mileage. Update the mileage by hand, and HiVis marks anything due within 30 days or 1,000 km and emails the people who manage vehicles. See van reminders. |
| Accepted quotes retyped into a new job | Put panels, inverter and labor on the quote as line items. When the customer accepts it online, convert it into a project with the customer and site details filled in. See quotes. |
A typical week in HiVis for a solar installer
Monday: the quote is accepted
The customer accepts the quote for a rooftop system with a battery. Convert it into a project and assign the roof crew and the electrician.
Tuesday: load the van
Issue the panels, inverter, rails and cable to the project with their unit cost. The warehouse balance drops, and the project’s Materials tab shows the cost.
Tuesday to Thursday: the install
Each evening the office enters hours per installer on the project. If anyone on an active job has no hours for a day, the people who log time get an email the next morning.
Friday: returns and costs
Unused rails and connectors go back as returns against the original issue. The project shows labor against its budget, if it has one, and the net material cost.
Month end: mileage
Update each van’s mileage from the odometer. Services and renewals due soon are marked, and the people who manage vehicles get an email.
Free tools for solar crews
Not ready to switch? Start with these, free and without signing up.
- Solar installer timesheet: kW and panels installed per day next to hours, to work out labor hours per kW.
- Labor burden calculator: what an installer’s hour really costs, before you price the next install.
What HiVis doesn’t do
- No kW, panel count or system design fields: HiVis tracks hours, labor cost and materials per project.
- No permitting, grid connection or system monitoring workflows.
- Vehicle positions and trips require a Traccar connection and manual sync. Vehicle-record mileage is still entered by hand.
- The labor budget covers labor only, with materials shown separately. No invoices or payment collection.
Questions and answers
See your crews, hours and costs in one place
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