Calendar months do not matter to the scheme. What matters is where each job is in its life and what your contract says about leaving.
Sort the jobs into three groups
Not yet lodged. For these jobs, assign the certificates to the new trader. If the customer has already signed an assignment form naming the old trader, you will need a corrected form or the customer’s fresh signature. See cancelling an STC assignment.
Lodged and unpaid. Leave these with the old trader. Chase them to settlement and keep your records. If payment slips, see what to do if a trader owes you money.
Paid. Nothing to move. The money is yours; just remember any clawback terms in the old contract still apply.
Moving certificates already in the registry
If certificates have been created and sit in a trader’s registry account, they move only by a registry transfer. That requires the holder to agree to it. In practice this is rare; most installers simply let existing claims run to payment and put new jobs through the new trader. Do not assume a transfer is possible without asking.
Check the contract before you move
- Notice period. Some terms require 30 days or more.
- Minimum volume or exclusivity. See using two STC traders.
- Open claims. Whether the clauses survive after you leave.
- Rate locks. Whether a lock on an open claim stands.
Avoid a payment gap
The risk is a stretch with nothing arriving. Plan it: lodge the last jobs with the old trader a few days before you change, and expect the first claim at a new trader to take a little longer. At Energy Merchants, the first claim for a new partner clears in 48 to 72 hours while we verify your details, then established partners move to 24-hour settlement.
What this means for installers
Make a short list: jobs in flight, jobs about to be lodged, notice terms. Then send a test claim to the new trader. Our switch page shows the steps, the onboarding checklist lists what to have ready, and the pricing page has today’s rate. When you are set, start trading.