Start here: running a solar EPC business on connected systems
A guide for owners and operations heads of Indian solar EPC and installer companies. Find your stage, pick your reading path, and see where the money leaks between quote and final payment.
- Solar EPCs lose money between the quote and final payment, not on the panels.
- Five stages from sheets and chat to assisted: move one stage at a time.
- Two tests decide any system: can you see live project margin, and will site teams use it?
- Every worked example in this guide is a labelled scenario with assumed numbers.
- We sell software builds. Where that could bias a view, we say so.
Quick answer
This guide covers how a rooftop or C&I solar EPC can run on connected systems: where margin and cash leak, how to cost projects, bill by milestone, track DISCOM approvals and subsidy claims, control procurement and warranty, put field teams on one system, and choose between sheets, a stitched stack, a configured ERP and a custom build. Find your stage on the ladder first, then read only the chapters you need.
GarunaCDX builds custom software and AI automation. This guide is our operating model, built from how project businesses run, and every number in a worked example is assumed and labelled. Where our commercial interest could bias a view, we say so.
Pick your path
| You are | Read in this order |
|---|---|
| Owner or CEO | Where money leaks, Costing and margin, Billing and cash, Choosing the system |
| COO or project head | Lifecycle, Approvals, Procurement and warranty, Field and O&M |
| Finance or accounts head | Costing and margin, Billing and cash, Approvals and subsidy |
| Engineering or site lead | Procurement and warranty, Field and O&M, Lifecycle |
Which stage are you at?
The ladder is our own way of describing where a business is. It is an opinion, not a measured benchmark.
The five-stage ladder, applied to a solar EPC
Stage 0
Sheets and chat
Quotes in one file, purchases in another, site updates in WhatsApp. Works until someone is away.
Stage 1
One clean system
One well-built workbook or tool holds the project record. Every cost has a project ID.
Stage 2
Connected
Quote becomes project; purchase, site and accounts share the same record. A fact is entered once.
Stage 3
Automated
Reminders for approvals, guarantee expiry and renewals; milestone invoices drafted when evidence arrives.
Stage 4
Assisted
Software flags margin drift and under-performing sites. People decide.
Most companies want to jump two stages. Moving one at a time is usually cheaper and safer.
The map in one picture
Where the time and money get stuck in a rooftop or C&I project
The chapters
- Where solar EPC money leaks
- The solar project lifecycle
- Costing and margin control
- Billing, cash flow and receivables
- Approvals, net metering and subsidy
- Procurement, inventory and warranty
- Field operations, O&M and adoption
- Choosing the system
Market context first? Read India solar market, October 2026.
The ladder and the chapter structure are our framework. Market figures in linked articles are as reported by Financial Express and other outlets, cited on each page.
More by GarunaCDX
Keep going with the next handbook.
Chapter-by-chapter guides from the engineers who build these systems for clients.
