- Fast beats cheap. A rooftop buyer talks to three or four installers. The first clear, correct quote often wins, because speed reads as competence.
- Accuracy protects margin. Quote from a current rate card, never last month’s prices. A stale number wins the job and loses the money.
- A great quote has nine parts. Correct sizing, ALMM bill of materials, clear subsidy maths, correct GST, milestones, validity, warranty, AMC and a clean PDF.
- Run two quotes. Q1 before the survey wins interest; Q2 after the survey locks the price. Nothing goes to procurement until Q2 is accepted.
- Set the subsidy expectation. It is capped at ₹78,000 and paid to the customer by DBT — not deducted by you. Say so on the quote.
Solar quotation best practices are the habits that make a quote win the job while protecting your margin: respond fast, price from a current rate card, size the system correctly, show the subsidy and GST clearly, and send a clean professional PDF. In Indian rooftop solar, the quote is where most jobs are won or lost — long before a single panel reaches a roof. Get it right and you spend less on leads, because you close more of the ones you already have.
This guide is for the founder-operator quoting rooftop and C&I jobs across India. It is not theory. It shows what a great quote contains, how to run the two-quote cycle, the mistakes that quietly cost you jobs and margin, and how to handle the two things Indian buyers ask about most — the PM Surya Ghar subsidy and GST. Read it once and your next quote will be sharper.
- Why the fast, accurate quote wins — not the cheapest
- What should a great solar quote contain?
- The two-quote cycle: Q1 pre-survey, Q2 post-survey
- Common quoting mistakes that lose the job or the margin
- How to show the PM Surya Ghar subsidy in a quote
- How GST works on a solar quote
- Quoting faster with SuryaHub
- FAQs
Why does the fast, accurate quote win — not the cheapest?
The winning quote is the one that is fast, accurate and clear — not the one with the lowest number. A rooftop customer is usually comparing three or four installers at the same time. Speed and clarity make you look like the serious, capable firm. The cheapest quote often makes the buyer nervous, not eager.
Think about what a quote signals. A fast reply says you are organised and you want the job. An accurate, clear quote says you know exactly what you are doing. A rock-bottom price, by contrast, makes a careful buyer wonder what corner you plan to cut — a cheaper module, a thinner structure, a subsidy promise you cannot keep. Price matters, but trust closes.
There are two jobs a quote must do at once, and they pull in opposite directions.
First clear reply is remembered. Speed reads as competence and intent.
Right sizing and current rates mean the price you win at is the price you can deliver at.
The trap most EPCs fall into is treating these as a choice. They either quote fast from memory and bleed margin, or quote carefully over two days and lose the job to someone quicker. The fix is not to work harder. It is to build quotes from a maintained rate card, so a correct number takes minutes, not a night with a calculator.
What should a great solar quote contain?
A great solar quote contains nine things, and a buyer notices when any one is missing. A number scribbled on WhatsApp is not a quote — it is a guess. A professional proposal answers every question the customer has before they have to ask it. Use the checklist below on every job.
- 1. Correct system sizing. The kW figure matched to the customer’s load and roof, with expected generation — not a guessed round number.
- 2. ALMM/DCR-compliant bill of materials. Named, ALMM-listed modules, inverter, structure and balance of system, so a subsidised job will clear.
- 3. Clear, itemised pricing. Per-item and total, so the buyer sees what they are paying for — and cannot accuse you of hiding costs.
- 4. Subsidy maths shown separately. The gross price, then the expected PM Surya Ghar subsidy as its own line, with the DBT caveat.
- 5. Correct GST. The right rate applied to the right items, so the total holds up and the invoice will match later.
- 6. Payment milestones. How much is due at order, at dispatch, and at commissioning — so cash flow is agreed up front.
- 7. A validity date. How long the price holds, protecting you when module prices move.
- 8. Warranty & AMC terms. Product and performance warranties, plus what your maintenance contract covers after handover.
- 9. A professional PDF. Branded, clean, and consistent — the document itself is a trust signal.
Notice how few of these are about the price. Most are about clarity and trust. A buyer choosing between four installers rarely picks on price alone. They pick the quote that makes them feel safe — the one that shows the subsidy honestly, names the exact modules, and reads like it came from a company that has done this a hundred times.
The two-quote cycle: Q1 pre-survey, Q2 post-survey
Best practice is to send two quotes per job: an indicative one before the site survey, and a firm one after it. This is how most disciplined Indian rooftop EPCs work, and it solves the speed-versus-accuracy problem cleanly. Q1 wins the customer’s attention fast; Q2 locks a price you can actually deliver.
| Quote | When | Based on | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 — indicative | Within hours of the enquiry, before the survey | Electricity bill + roof photos + rate card and rough sizing | Win interest fast and earn access for the site survey |
| Q2 — firm | After the technical survey | Confirmed load, roof, structure and final bill of materials | Lock the final price and unlock the sales order |
The discipline is in that last line. Nothing moves to procurement until Q2 is accepted. Order material against an unconfirmed Q1 and you tie up cash on a job that may still change size or fall through. The two-quote cycle keeps you fast for the customer and safe for your working capital — both at once.
This is also where a quote stops being a lonely document and becomes part of your pipeline. When Q1 lives on the lead record and Q2 flows from the survey, your solar CRM shows exactly which quotes are out, which are accepted, and which need a follow-up call today. For the full picture of running that pipeline, see our solar CRM guide for India.
What quoting mistakes lose the job or the margin?
Four quoting mistakes cost Indian EPCs jobs and margin, and every one is a process gap you can close. None of them are about the market. They are about how the quote is built and sent. Fix these and your win rate and your margin both climb.
The common thread is that a quote made by memory and hurry is fragile. A quote built from a maintained rate card, with every cost shown and the subsidy stated honestly, is both faster and safer. You stop choosing between winning the job and keeping the margin.
How should you show the PM Surya Ghar subsidy in a quote?
Show the PM Surya Ghar subsidy as a separate line, and set the expectation plainly: it is capped at ₹78,000 and paid to the customer, not deducted by you. The subsidy is the first thing a home buyer asks about. Handle it clearly and you look honest and expert. Handle it loosely and you invite a dispute at the worst possible time.
So on the quote, show the gross system price, then the expected subsidy as its own line, then a one-line caveat that the customer receives it by DBT after commissioning. Never present a “net of subsidy” figure as if you will hand back the difference — you will not, and pretending otherwise breaks trust when the money lands in the customer’s account, not yours.
How does GST work on a solar quote?
A full solar EPC job is treated as a works contract with a deemed 70:30 goods-to-services split, and since 22 September 2025 the modules side is taxed at 5%. Your quote must apply the right rate to the right items so the total holds up and the later invoice matches. Getting GST wrong on the quote means an awkward correction after the customer has already said yes.
| Item | GST rate | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Solar cells, modules, complete solar power systems | 5% | Cut from 12% on 22 Sept 2025 |
| Full EPC works contract (blended) | ~8.9% | Via the deemed 70:30 goods-to-services split |
| Standalone inverters, batteries, mounting structures | 18% | When billed separately, not as part of the system |
The practical rule for your quote: apply the works-contract treatment for a full turnkey job, show CGST and SGST (or IGST) correctly, and never hardcode an old rate into a template. When your quotation and invoicing share the same tax logic, the number you quote is the number you bill. Our finance and GST module keeps that logic consistent from quote to invoice, so nothing drifts between the two.
How does SuryaHub help you quote faster?
SuryaHub builds quotes from a maintained rate card, runs the two-quote cycle, and lets you share a clean quote on WhatsApp — so a correct number goes out in minutes, not a night with a calculator. The quotation engine sits inside the same record as the lead and the job, so a quote is never a stray file — it is a stage in the pipeline you can see, track and follow up.
On a live quote, SuryaHub gives you:
- Rate-card quoting — current module, inverter, structure and balance-of-system prices, so the price is fast and accurate at once.
- The two-quote cycle — Q1 before the survey and Q2 after it, with Q2 acceptance unlocking the sales order.
- Clear subsidy and GST lines — the subsidy shown separately and the tax logic shared with your invoicing.
- WhatsApp sharing — send the quote where the customer already is, and see when the pipeline needs a nudge.
Here is the honest part. SuryaHub has no native PV design, shading or 3D array engine. We do not auto-design your system like a dedicated design tool — we capture a structured technical survey and quote from your rate cards, so you bring your own design tool and let SuryaHub handle the commercial quote, the workflow and the follow-up. We are also pre-revenue, building alongside two pilot EPCs, Suryantra Energy and RGESPL. We will not show you invented win-rate numbers or a logo wall of customers who do not exist. What we can show is how the quoting workflow runs on your real jobs. This sits inside our solar quotation software.
- The winning quote is fast, accurate and clear — not the cheapest. Speed reads as competence; accuracy protects margin.
- A great quote has nine parts: correct sizing, ALMM bill of materials, itemised price, subsidy line, correct GST, milestones, validity, warranty and AMC, and a professional PDF.
- Run the two-quote cycle: Q1 pre-survey wins interest, Q2 post-survey locks the price. Nothing goes to procurement until Q2 is accepted.
- Avoid the four costly mistakes: stale rates, hidden costs, over-promised subsidy and slow turnaround.
- Show the ₹78,000-capped subsidy as a separate DBT-to-customer line, and confirm the current GST rate before you quote.
Frequently asked questions
What are solar quotation best practices?
Solar quotation best practices are the habits that make a quote win the job while protecting your margin. In short: respond fast, price from a current rate card, size the system correctly, show the subsidy and GST clearly, list an ALMM-compliant bill of materials, and send a clean, professional PDF with validity dates and payment milestones. Speed reads as competence; accuracy protects your money.
How fast should a solar EPC send a quote in India?
Aim to send an indicative solar quote within a few hours of the enquiry, and same day at the latest. A rooftop customer is usually talking to three or four installers at once. The one who replies first with a clear, correct number often wins, because a fast quote signals a serious, capable company. Slow quoting loses jobs you were qualified to win.
What should a solar quotation include?
A complete solar quotation should include the correct system size in kW, an ALMM-compliant bill of materials, a clear per-item and total price, the PM Surya Ghar subsidy shown separately, the correct GST, payment milestones, a validity date, warranty and AMC terms, and your firm details. Presenting all of this in one professional PDF is what separates a winning proposal from a rough figure on WhatsApp.
What is the two-quote cycle in solar sales?
The two-quote cycle is the practice of sending an indicative quote before the site survey and a firm quote after it. Quote 1 uses the electricity bill and roof photos to give a fast ballpark that wins the customer interest and survey access. Quote 2 uses the confirmed load, roof and bill of materials to lock the final price. Nothing moves to procurement until Quote 2 is accepted.
How should the PM Surya Ghar subsidy be shown in a quote?
Show the PM Surya Ghar subsidy as a separate line, never buried in the price. State the gross system price, then the expected Central Financial Assistance, capped at ₹78,000 for a 3 kW or larger home system. Add a plain caveat: the subsidy is paid to the customer by DBT after commissioning, not deducted by you, and it is figured on the MNRE benchmark cost. Setting this expectation early prevents disputes.
What GST rate applies to a solar quotation in India?
Since 22 September 2025, solar cells, modules and complete solar power generating systems are taxed at 5% GST, down from 12%. A full EPC job is treated as a works contract with a deemed 70:30 goods-to-services split, giving a blended rate of about 8.9%. Standalone inverters, batteries and structures can still sit at 18%. Rates change, so confirm the current position with your accountant or the CBIC notification before you quote.
What are the most common solar quoting mistakes?
The most common solar quoting mistakes are pricing from stale rate cards, which loses margin; hiding costs that surface later and break trust; over-promising the subsidy the customer will actually receive; and being too slow, so a faster rival wins. Add unclear PDFs and missing validity dates and you have the full list. Every one of these is a process gap you can close, not a market problem.
Written by SuryaHub Team. The team works with Indian rooftop and C&I EPCs on sales workflows, quotation and pricing, DISCOM and subsidy operations, and AMC. Reviewed for scheme and tax accuracy against MNRE, PM Surya Ghar portal and CBIC sources.
Methodology: the winning-quote checklist, two-quote cycle and quoting-mistake framework are SuryaHub’s own operating frameworks, developed with pilot EPCs Suryantra Energy and RGESPL; subsidy figures are from the PM Surya Ghar National Portal and GST figures from the CBIC notification effective 22 September 2025. Any illustrative price or percentage is an example, not a quote. Subsidy slabs, GST rates and DISCOM timelines change — always verify with the National Portal, your accountant, or the CBIC notification for each job.
Sources: PM Surya Ghar National Portal · MNRE · CBIC (GST). Last updated July 2026.
Change log: July 2026 — first publication, reflecting the 5% GST on solar modules effective 22 September 2025 and the current ₹78,000 PM Surya Ghar subsidy cap.
Keep reading
Want to send a fast, accurate, on-brand quote in minutes — and track every one to a yes?