How to Write a Solar Proposal: Sections That Close
By SubcontractorHub Editorial Team·Published October 2026
Quick Answer
To write a solar proposal, turn the design into a page the homeowner can accept. Name the company and license. State the site, the usage, the system size, the equipment, and production as a model with the assumptions printed. Show cash price and any monthly figure as an estimate. List exclusions, the permit and interconnection path, the warranties, an expiration date, and a signature. SubcontractorHub builds that packet in EasyQuote. Book a demo to walk a live proposal, or compare plans on /plan.
A solar system is sold at a table, often the same day as the site look. The offer is the page the homeowner can keep or sign, not the kilowatts said out loud. Financing belongs in that same document. How to present a loan, a lease, or PACE is in how to offer solar financing. This page is the document itself. The roofing twin, if your crew also sells roofs, is how to write a roofing proposal.
Proposal vs Design vs Contract
Mixing the three words up is how a job gets sold as one system and installed as another.
Design
The design is the array: layout, module count, inverter, and a production model. Keep the shade tool and the permit set in the workflow. A homeowner who is handed only a layout still does not have a price, an exclusion, or a signature line.
Proposal
The proposal is the offer. It names what you will install, on which assumptions, for which price, on which terms. If a spouse who was not on the roof cannot tell what is included, it is not finished.
Contract
The contract is the proposal after it is accepted. A thin proposal followed by a different office contract is two versions of the job. Write the proposal so a signature is the agreement, or say a separate contract will follow and do not collect a deposit against a page you plan to replace. State rules decide the required lines. This article is not legal advice.
How to Write a Solar Proposal: the Sections
Use the same order on every job so a rep cannot skip a block when the appointment runs long. The price is one line inside that order, not the whole document.
Company, license, and insurance
Put the legal name, the address, and a phone number a person answers. Add the contractor license where your state issues one, and say that you carry liability and workers' compensation, or the exemption your state allows. Homeowners and financing partners use this block to separate a company from a truck.
Site and usage
Name the roof or the ground mount, the stories, and what you saw: age of the roof, soft spots, and shade from trees or a neighbor's house. Say which utility bills you used, and for which months. A proposal built on one summer bill is a different offer from a proposal built on a year. If usage was estimated because the bills were missing, say so.
Equipment
Name the module manufacturer, the wattage class, and the count. Name the inverter type, string, microinverter, or hybrid, and the manufacturer. Name the racking and whether monitoring is included. “Tier-one panels” is not a specification. If a battery or an electrical panel upgrade is in the price, it is a line, not a verbal maybe.
Production is a model
Print the estimated production and the assumptions: tilt, azimuth, shade, and the loss factors your model used. Call it an estimate. Weather, soiling, and a tree that grows will move the result. Do not let a single kilowatt-hour number sit on the page with no sentence under it. The homeowner should be able to see why that number exists.
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Price, and the monthly figure
Show the cash price. If you show a monthly payment, label it as an estimate until the financing partner approves that customer. A loan, a lease, and PACE are not the same product. Say which one the number is. Keep your company's payment schedule on its own line so it is not confused with the homeowner's loan payment.
Incentives stay labeled
Name any incentive as an estimate, and name who confirmed that this customer may qualify. Do not subtract a tax credit from the contract price and call the remainder what they will pay, unless a qualified person has said that customer can use the credit. Rules and forms change. This guide does not print a percentage.
Exclusions
Write what is out: structural roof repair, a full reroof, tree removal, trenching beyond what you saw, a main-panel upgrade you did not price, HOA fees, and utility-side work. A roof that will not carry the array is not a surprise if you never looked, and it is not an exclusion if you never said the structure was outside the price. If the roof needs work first, the roofing workflow is a separate scope, not a footnote.
Timeline, warranties, and signature
Give a start window you can keep. Say who pulls the permit and who files interconnection. Separate the manufacturer warranty on the module and the inverter from your workmanship warranty. Say how long each lasts and what voids it. Print the issue date and the expiration date. The last block is acceptance: name, signature, date, and the option they chose.
What to Leave Off When You Write a Solar Proposal
Leave off a savings dollar that has no rate and no usage behind it. Leave off a production number with the shade tool still blank. Leave off “utility will approve this” before the utility has a filing. Leave off a battery, an EV charger, or a panel upgrade that is not in the price.
- Photos of the roof planes you priced, with the shade called out.
- The bill months you used, or a sentence that usage was estimated.
- Module, inverter, and racking by name, not by a slogan.
- Cash price and, if you offer it, one labeled monthly figure per product.
- Exclusions for roof structure, electrical, trees, HOA, and utility work.
- Who pulls the permit and who files interconnection.
- Warranty split: manufacturer versus your workmanship.
- An expiration date and a signature on the same file.
The signed proposal should be the same document the homeowner just read, not a second version typed later.
How to Write a Solar Proposal in the Visit
A digital proposal does not win because it is digital. It wins when the system, the assumptions, the photos, the financing estimate, and the signature are in one file the rep can finish before standing up. The office is not retyping, and the homeowner is not waiting two days to see what was said.
That is the workflow on the solar platform: design and price in, proposal out, signature captured, job handed to the install board. Financing sits in the same document. See solar financing software and solar proposal software. This is a claim about where the document lives, not about a close-rate percentage. Put your exclusions and expiration in the template so every rep's proposal has them.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a solar design and a solar proposal?
A design is the array: modules, inverter, layout, and the production model. A proposal is the offer the homeowner can accept: that design, the price, what is excluded, the timeline, and the signature. A permit drawing is not a proposal. If the spouse who missed the visit cannot tell what is being sold, the proposal is not finished.
What sections does a solar proposal need?
Name the company, the license, and the insurance. Describe the site and the usage you designed from. State system size, equipment, and production as a model with the assumptions printed. Show the cash price and any financed monthly figure as an estimate until a partner approves it. List exclusions, interconnection and permit responsibility, warranties, an expiration date, and a place to sign.
Should a solar proposal promise a savings amount?
Only as a labeled estimate, with the utility rate, the usage, and the production model named. A single dollar figure with no assumptions is a promise you may not be able to keep when the rate or the shade changes. Do not print a tax credit as cash off the contract price unless that customer's qualification is documented.
Where does financing belong on a solar proposal?
On the same page as the cash price, labeled as an estimate until the financing partner approves it. A loan, a lease or power-purchase agreement, and PACE where it exists are different products. Say which one the monthly figure is. The payment schedule you are owed and the homeowner's loan payment are different lines.
How long should a solar proposal stay open?
Print an expiration date you can honor. Equipment, interconnection queues, and incentive rules move. There is no single national number of days. After the date, re-issue the proposal if the job is still alive. Honoring an expired page is a margin decision. Make it on purpose.
Do digital solar proposals replace the contract?
They can, if the signed proposal contains the scope, the price, the exclusions, and the payment terms, and if your state treats that signed document as the agreement. E-sign is the close, not a decoration. Have your own counsel confirm the language. The software is not the legal opinion.
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