Solar installers
Payroll software for solar installation crews
Your installers start at a different roof each morning. Let them check in from the site, claim the taxi fare and lunch from their phones, and get a payslip that already counts it all.
In short
SimpleERP is payroll software for solar companies. Installation crews check in from their phones at the rooftop, file expense claims with receipt photos, and monthly payslips with Basic, allowances, withholding and advance recovery come straight from attendance.
Illustration of a payslip with Basic salary, Allowances, Bonus and net pay of 4,440.
A payroll day at Sunset Coast Solar
Sunset Coast Solar runs two installation crews of four, a site survey engineer, an electrician who handles net meter work with the network operator, and two people in the office. The crews leave the warehouse at eight and are usually on a rooftop in Joondalup or Rockingham by nine.
On the first of the month the office used to rebuild attendance from a chat group: who was on which roof, who went home at noon in the January heat, who borrowed $500 before Christmas. Food and taxi receipts arrived in a plastic bag.
With SimpleERP each installer checks in from the site, files claims the same day, and the payroll run reads paid days and pending advance recoveries without anyone retyping them.
What goes into an installer's salary structure?
Most crews are paid a fixed monthly salary with a few allowances. Define each structure once; a raise is a new structure from a date, and the old one stays on record.
- A live preview shows gross, deductions, net pay and cost to company while you build the structure.
- Net pay of $3,680 for a full month in the example above: $4,500 gross less $820 in deductions.
| Component | Type | Example for a senior installer |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | Fixed | $4,200 |
| Site allowance | Fixed | $300 |
| Income tax withholding | Deduction, set from the installer's tax details | $720 |
| Superannuation | Employer contribution, 12% of gross | $540, not deducted |
| Advance recovery | Deduction until settled | $100 a month |
How do you mark attendance for crews who never come to the office?
Each installer has a self-service login. They tap Check in from the roof and Check out once the 5 kW system is commissioned, and SimpleERP records the time and marks a late start against the 8:00 shift.
- A half day for a crew sent home in a rainstorm counts as half a paid day.
- Unmarked days are treated as present and flagged in the run for you to check.
- A summer shift starting at 6:30 can sit beside the default and be given to the crews.
Illustration of the daily attendance sheet on a phone with a Mark all present button.
How are site expenses like taxi fare and lunch paid back?
The installer photographs the receipt, picks a category such as travel or food, and submits the claim from a phone. The owner approves it, and the accountant reimburses it from cash or bank, which posts the expense.
- Ten expense categories are seeded, including travel and repairs.
- A rejected claim carries a reason, so a missing receipt gets fixed rather than argued over.
- Claims are reimbursed apart from salary, so the payslip stays clean.
Can a $1,000 advance be recovered over ten months?
Pay the advance with a monthly recovery of $100, and every payroll run deducts it until the balance is nil. The installer sees what is left in self-service, and the advances report shows the whole crew's outstanding.
- Change the monthly amount if an installer asks to repay faster after a good month.
- Approving the run posts salary expense, deductions payable and net pay to the books.
One system
Where crew payroll connects
Attendance feeds the run, the run posts its journal, and claims post their own expenses, so the P&L shows crew cost beside the margin on panels and inverters.
Solar installers
Enquiries to quotations, mixed panel and installation invoices, stock by warehouse and maintenance contract billing.
See howInvoicing & tax
Tax invoices with VAT, GST or sales tax on every line, numbered by fiscal year and posted in one step.
See howInventory for solar installers
Panels, inverters, mounting structures and cable counted by warehouse and crew van at average cost, with transfers to each rooftop job.
See howAccounting for solar installers
Customer advances, homeowner balances waiting on rebate, maintenance contract income and distributor payables in one double-entry ledger for solar EPC firms.
See howPayroll
Salary structures, monthly runs and payslips with your earnings and deductions, posted to the books.
See how
Honest limits
What SimpleERP does not do yet
- Income tax withholding is not computed from government tables; you set the deduction per employee
- Social security, pension and end-of-service amounts are components you set, not statutory calculations
- No biometric device integration: attendance is marked on the phone or entered by HR
- No site-wise labour cost: wages are not split across rooftop jobs
- Check-in records the time, not the GPS location of the roof
Getting started
Start with payroll
Sign up with your email
Name, email and a password. No card for the seven-day trial.
Tell us about the business
Pick your country and, if you are registered, type your tax number. Accounts, tax rates, units, roles and numbering are seeded for that country.
Add your people
Add each installer, electrician and site survey engineer with a joining date and salary structure, then invite them to self-service by email.
Run the first payroll
Attendance and leave feed the run; payslips post to the books and staff see them on their phones.
FAQ
Questions, answered
Our installers work Sundays in the peak season. How is that paid?
Pay the extra days as a one-off earning when you review the month's run. SimpleERP does not calculate overtime from check-in times, so the amount is yours to enter, and it shows on the payslip as its own line.
Do helpers on daily wages need a salary structure?
If you pay them through payroll, yes. For a helper on $200 a day, set Basic at $4,400 for a 22-day month; days marked absent cut it through loss of pay. Casual helpers paid in cash for one job can be recorded as an expense instead.
Can the crew see their payslips without calling the office?
Yes. Once the run is approved, each installer opens self-service on a phone and downloads the payslip PDF. The same login shows attendance, leave balance, claims and any advance still being recovered, and nothing from your books.
Is superannuation added automatically?
For an Australian business, superannuation is seeded as an employer contribution at 12% of gross; check the rate each year. Elsewhere, add any pension contribution as a component. Income tax withholding is set per employee, not calculated.
Related
Keep reading
Solar installers
Enquiries to quotations, mixed panel and installation invoices, stock by warehouse and maintenance contract billing.
Read moreAccounting for solar installers
Customer advances, homeowner balances waiting on rebate, maintenance contract income and distributor payables in one double-entry ledger for solar EPC firms.
Read moreInventory for solar installers
Panels, inverters, mounting structures and cable counted by warehouse and crew van at average cost, with transfers to each rooftop job.
Read more
See how payroll works in SimpleERP for solar installers
Seven days free. No card. Your first invoice in minutes.