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 auto fare and lunch from their phones, and get a payslip that already counts it all.
In short
SimpleERP is payroll software for solar companies in India. Installation crews check in from their phones at the rooftop, file expense claims with receipt photos, and monthly payslips with Basic, HRA, PF, PT and advance recovery come straight from attendance.
Illustration of a payslip with Basic, HRA, provident fund and professional tax lines and net pay of ₹27,660.
A payroll day at Marudhar Solar Energy
Marudhar Solar Energy runs two installation crews of four, a site survey engineer, an electrician who handles net meter work with the discom, and two people in the office. The crews leave the godown at eight and are usually on a rooftop in Jagatpura or Sanganer by nine.
On the first of the month the office used to rebuild attendance from a WhatsApp group: who was on which roof, who went home at noon in the June heat, who borrowed ₹5,000 before Diwali. Food and auto 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 ₹16,860 for a full month in the example above: ₹19,300 gross less ₹2,440 in deductions.
| Component | Type | Example for a senior installer |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | Fixed | ₹12,000 |
| HRA | Percentage of Basic, 40% | ₹4,800 |
| Site allowance | Fixed | ₹2,500 |
| Provident Fund, employee share | Deduction, 12% of Basic | ₹1,440 |
| Professional tax | Deduction where your state levies it | Not deducted in this example |
| Advance recovery | Deduction until settled | ₹1,000 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 auto 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 conveyance.
- 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 ₹10,000 advance be recovered over ten months?
Pay the advance with a monthly recovery of ₹1,000, 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, PF and PT payables 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 AMC billing.
See howGST billing for solar installers
Rooftop quotations priced by kW that become GST invoices for panels, inverters and installation, with instalments tracked to the last rupee.
See howInventory for solar installers
Panels, inverters, mounting structures and cable counted by godown and crew van at average cost, with transfers to each rooftop job.
See howAccounting for solar installers
Customer advances, homeowner balances waiting on subsidy, AMC income and distributor payables in one double-entry ledger for solar EPC firms.
See howPayroll
Salary structures, monthly runs and payslips with PF, PT and TDS, posted to the books.
See how
Honest limits
What SimpleERP does not do yet
- Income tax (TDS) is not computed; you set the deduction per employee
- No preset ESI or gratuity; add them as components where they apply
- 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 phone
Name, phone number and a password. No card for the seven-day trial, and email is optional.
Tell us about the business
Type your GSTIN and the state fills itself. Accounts, GST rates, units, roles and numbering are seeded for you.
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 phone.
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 ₹600 a day, set Basic at ₹15,600 for a 26-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 ESI deducted automatically?
No. There is no ESI preset. If your crew falls under ESI, add the employee and employer shares as components with the percentage that applies, and they appear on every payslip from the next run. TDS is likewise set per employee, not calculated.
Related
Keep reading
Solar installers
Enquiries to quotations, mixed panel and installation invoices, stock by warehouse and AMC billing.
Read moreGST billing for solar installers
Rooftop quotations priced by kW that become GST invoices for panels, inverters and installation, with instalments tracked to the last rupee.
Read moreInventory for solar installers
Panels, inverters, mounting structures and cable counted by godown 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 GST invoice in minutes.