Zoho CRM for a Solar Installer: One System from Enquiry to Installation

Designing a CRM around the business

The project began with a complete redesign of the sales process in Zoho CRM. Separate layouts were created for residential and commercial customers across Leads, Contacts, Deals and Properties, so each division captures what its own sales process needs while everyone works in one CRM.

Lead qualification was standardised with Blueprints, so every sales rep follows the same process. A lead can only move on once the mandatory information is in, which improved data quality straight away.

Clean data from the start

Custom functions check and format Irish Eircodes and phone numbers automatically, so errors are caught at entry instead of corrected later.

When a lead is converted, another function creates or links a Property record. Each property is a single record, so addresses are never duplicated, and later automation has a reliable base to build on.

A complete history for every property

Staff can see a property’s installation history and the equipment already fitted, and spot chances to offer EV chargers, battery storage or heat pumps. It gives the business a customer profile it can use for future campaigns.

Simpler quotes

The Deals module has a bespoke pricing table, with Client Scripts that fill in details automatically and filter the available products based on earlier choices.

A button on the deal then uses Mail Merge to create a brochure-style PDF quote and attach it to the record, optimised so the file stays sharp but small.

Surveys, jobs and documents, automated

Dedicated Surveys and Jobs modules manage pre-installation surveys and installation work. When a deal is marked Closed Won, workflow rules create these records, and a custom function first checks whether they already exist. If a survey happened before the sale, it creates the next one and numbers it correctly.

Each new job also gets a structured set of around twelve folders for its mandatory documents. If the job already exists, the existing folders are linked instead, and the deal, survey and job are connected for full traceability.

Departments kept in step

Workflow rules keep key details, such as installation dates and project status, the same across related records, so surveyors, installers and operations always see up-to-date information without typing it twice.

Digital site surveys

Zoho Forms replaced paper surveys. Surveyors capture technical details, photos and customer signatures on site, and each form syncs straight to the right CRM record.

Duplicate enquiries caught early

People in the same household sometimes sent separate enquiries, and more than one rep would quote for the same property. A duplicate check on the Eircode now flags these early.

Commission without the chase

A Commission module creates a record when a customer’s deposit is received, and a Blueprint guides approval, checking and payment, so management can see where every payment stands.

The website, connected

Finally, Zoho Flow connects the company’s WordPress website to Zoho CRM. New enquiries arrive in the CRM automatically, and sales can start qualifying straight away.