How Suryoday Rooftop Solutions tracks every subsidy file from survey to credit
A rooftop solar installer in Bhubaneswar replaced a WhatsApp group and five spreadsheets with one pipeline for surveys, DISCOM approvals, net meters and PM Surya Ghar subsidy claims.
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Suryoday Rooftop Solutions installs residential rooftop systems across Bhubaneswar and nearby towns. When demand rose after the PM Surya Ghar scheme launched, the team found that installing panels was the easy part. Keeping track of every customer's application, DISCOM approval, net meter and subsidy claim was not.
The challenge: dozens of rooftops and one WhatsApp group
Every rooftop moves through the same long journey, and each stage involves a different person or portal. For a while, the team tracked it all in a WhatsApp group and a set of spreadsheets: one for leads, one for installations, one for documents and one for subsidy status.
It worked until it didn't. Files waited at the DISCOM stage for days before anyone noticed. Customers called to ask about their subsidy, and the answer depended on who picked up the phone. Twice, a claim was held up because a single document was missing, and nobody knew until the customer complained.
What they changed
The team moved every active rooftop into Solar EPC Software, with each customer as a single file that moves through defined stages. Each stage has an owner, the documents it needs, and a date by which it should be done.
- Lead and site survey: roof photos, shade analysis and the recommended system size.
- Quotation and finance: the proposal, and loan paperwork where the customer needs it.
- National portal application: registration on the PM Surya Ghar portal against the customer's electricity consumer number.
- DISCOM feasibility: approval from TPCODL, the distribution company for Bhubaneswar.
- Installation and commissioning: panels, inverter, earthing and the installation report.
- Net meter: the net-metering application, meter installation and inspection.
- Subsidy claim and credit: bank details submitted, and the subsidy credited to the customer's account.
Results
Because every file sits at a visible stage with a due date, stuck applications now show up in the daily pipeline view instead of in an angry phone call. The operations lead reviews files that have spent too long at a stage every morning, and follows up with the DISCOM the same day.
Documents are checked when a file enters each stage, not at the end. Missing Aadhaar copies, electricity bills or cancelled cheques are flagged while the customer is still easy to reach.
When a customer calls, anyone in the office can open their file and give the same answer. The team also uses the free rooftop solar subsidy calculator during site visits to show customers their expected subsidy and payback.
"The DISCOM stage alone used to cost us days of follow-ups. Now we see exactly which files are stuck and why." — Rakesh Mohanty, Founder
What other installers can learn
- Track stages, not tasks. A to-do list tells you what to do today. A stage pipeline tells you where every customer stands.
- Check documents at the start of a stage. Chasing a missing document at the claim stage costs weeks.
- Give every stage an owner. Files without an owner are the ones that get stuck.