How to become a solar retailer in Australia

Selling solar in Australia is easy to start and hard to do well. The barrier to entry is low: an ABN, a website and a supplier. The barrier to staying in business is high: consumer law, state licensing, scheme rules, insurance and a cash cycle that punishes under-capitalised starts. This guide covers the sequence a new solar retailer follows, in the order that avoids expensive mistakes.

It is general information. State rules differ and change, so each step names the body to check rather than quoting fees or thresholds. A word on terms: here “retailer” means the business that sells a system to a household or business. It does not mean an electricity retailer.

Step 1: decide what you are selling and who installs it

Be clear about your model before you set anything up. There are three common ones:

• Installer-retailer. You employ or are the licensed electrician and accredited installer. Margins are best, but you carry the labour.
• Retailer with employed crews. You sell and manage; employees install.
• Sales-led retailer with subcontractors. You sell and subcontract the install. Compliance risk sits with you as the contracting party, so choose subcontractors on accreditation and insurance, not on price alone.

Whichever model, the electrical work must be done by someone with the right state licence, and for STCs the system must be installed or designed by a person with current accreditation, managed by Solar Accreditation Australia. See the state licensing guide.

Step 2: set up the business

• ABN and entity. Choose a structure with an accountant: sole trader, company or trust.
• GST registration. A solar business will usually exceed the threshold quickly. Certificate sales add to taxable supplies. See RCTI, GST and ABN for STC payments.
• Business bank account and accounting system.
• Contracts. Standard terms, a quote template that itemises the STC line and a privacy policy.

Step 3: get licensed in the right states

Electrical licensing and contractor registration are state matters. The regulator names in the licensing guide are the places to start. Victoria’s Energy Safe Victoria, for example, registers electrical contractors; see the Victorian licence guide. If you plan to sell across borders, check each state before the first quote, because a licence in one state is not automatically valid in another.

Step 4: know the consumer rules

Selling to households puts you under Australian Consumer Law. That covers misleading claims about savings, payback or rebates, unfair contract terms, cooling-off rules for certain sales, and warranty obligations. Door-to-door and telemarketing sales have extra rules, and regulators have targeted solar sales practices. The ACCC and state fair trading bodies publish guidance. Read our scam guide to see how customers experience bad practice, and then make sure your own quote template cannot be confused with it.

An honest quote shows system size, product models, the STC count and the dollar value assumed. A 6.6 kW system in a zone 3 postcode creates 45 STCs, about $1,755 at $39. If your quote shows a rebate far above what the arithmetic allows, you will have a problem.

Step 5: join the right schemes

• Industry codes. The Clean Energy Council’s Approved Solar Retailer program is a voluntary code of conduct that signals quality to customers and is required by some programs. Check which ones you want.
• State programs. Solar Victoria has its own authorisation for retailers and installers on rebate jobs. NSW certificate schemes need an accredited certificate provider arrangement. See Solar Victoria installer approval and becoming an ACP in NSW.
• Batteries. The Cheaper Home Batteries Program needs a CEC-approved, VPP-capable battery and an accredited installer. Our installer guide lists what the claim needs.
• Network approvals. Each distribution network has its own connection process.

Step 6: arrange insurance

Public liability, tools and equipment, workers’ compensation where you have staff, professional indemnity if you design and, in some states, home warranty insurance for larger residential work. See what solar installer insurance costs.

Step 7: sort out certificates before the first job

Decide who creates and sells the STCs. Options are to register and manage them yourself, or to assign them to a registered agent or trader and let the trader’s compliance desk check the claim. Most new retailers choose the second path, because certificate registration, evidence rules and audits add overhead that does not make a business more profitable.

Check these before you sign with a trader: the rate and when it is locked, days to payment, any fees, who pre-checks claims and what happens if a claim is refused. Our guide to choosing a trader has the checklist. The pricing page shows how we publish ours.

Step 8: model the cash cycle

New retailers fail on cash more often than on quality. A 30-job month at 45 STCs a job is $52,650 of certificate value, and a 20-day payment term leaves about $35,000 of it outstanding at any time. Stock, wages, insurance and tax come first. Our guide to installer cash flow problems walks the model.

A launch checklist

1. Business structure, ABN and GST registration
2. Electrical licence and contractor registration in each state you sell in
3. Accredited installer on staff or contracted
4. Insurance in place
5. Scheme authorisations and codes of conduct chosen
6. Quote and contract templates reviewed
7. A trader agreed, with settlement terms understood
8. A cash plan covering the first ninety days

Common first-year mistakes

Underpricing to win volume. A new retailer often discounts hard to build a pipeline, then finds that the margin does not cover warranty, insurance and the time spent on queries. Price for a business you want to still own in three years.

Ignoring after-sales. Warranty calls, monitoring queries and a customer who cannot find the app all arrive after the money has been spent. Budget for them.

Trusting a trader’s headline rate. The rate is one part of the cost of a certificate stream. The payment time, the lock terms and the quality of the pre-check matter as much. Our answers on choosing an STC trader and whether to keep or assign the STCs explain the options.

Letting paperwork lag. The retailer who lodges within a day of commissioning is the one with predictable cash. Build the claim into the job, not into the following week.

What to do next

• Read the pillar for installers at /installers/ and our partner program for volume perks.
• Talk to an accountant about structure and GST before the first sale.
• When you have a first job, start trading and let the desk pre-check the claim.