Switching STC traders is less dramatic than most installers expect. Nothing about your accreditation, your jobs or your customers changes. What changes is who is named on the assignment form, who lodges the claim and how long you wait for money. Done in the right order, a switch takes about a week to set up and costs you no payment gap at all.
The mistakes come from doing it in the wrong order: changing the form mid-job, moving claims already lodged, or cancelling the old agreement before the first payment from the new one has landed. This guide walks the sequence we see work, starting with the decision and ending with the first settled claim.
Decide what you are switching for
A switch is worth the effort when the gap between traders is real. The usual reasons are:
- Slow payment. If you are waiting five to ten business days, or your trader pays on set weekly runs, that is working capital you are lending out. The how long should STC payment take guide puts numbers on it.
- Rate. A difference of a dollar a certificate is real money at volume. On 800 STCs a month, $1.00 is $800 a month.
- Fees. Processing, admin or registry fees quietly cut the rate you thought you had.
- Rejected claims. If claims keep bouncing, the trader may not be checking them before lodgement.
- Contact. If you cannot get a person on the phone, that is a service problem you will notice at the worst moment.
Write the reason down. It is your test later: after a month with the new trader, did the thing you switched for actually get better?
The sequence
1. Read your current agreement
Before anything else, find your existing terms and check four clauses: notice period, exclusivity, minimum volumes and what happens to claims in progress. Our trader contract terms check lists what to look for. Most installer agreements are short and allow you to stop sending new work whenever you like. If yours does not, you want to know before you promise anything to anyone else.
2. Ask the new trader for terms in writing
Get the rate, the point at which it is locked, the payment timing, any fees and who your contact is. The phrase to listen for is “locked on lodgement of a complete claim”. Anything that lets the rate move between lodgement and payment pushes market risk onto you. Our choosing a certificate trader checklist covers the full list of questions.
3. Set up the account
Expect to supply your ABN, GST status, bank details, accreditation details and a contact. Bank details are checked carefully, usually with a call-back, so allow a day. This step is where a first claim from a new partner picks up the extra verification time: at Energy Merchants, a first claim clears in 48 to 72 hours while details are verified, then settlement moves to 24 hours for established partners.
4. Update your paperwork
The assignment form must name the registered agent who will create the STCs. Update your template so every new job names the new trader. Our STC assignment form guide shows the fields that matter. The one rule to hold to: never change the agent on a form that has already been signed, and never send a job to the new trader with a form that names the old one.
5. Run a trial batch
Send three to five clean jobs through the new trader while the old one finishes its in-flight claims. Clean means complete photos, correct installation type and a signed form. You are testing the trader, not your paperwork. Note how long each takes from lodgement to cash, and whether the compliance check caught anything before lodgement.
6. Move everything else
Once the trial claims have settled as promised, move all new jobs across. Leave in-flight claims where they are. Chase the old trader for those under the old terms, as covered in what to do if a trader owes you money.
What happens to money in flight
This is the part that worries people, so here is a worked example. Say you do 20 jobs a month at 40 STCs and the old trader pays in seven business days.
| Day | Event |
|---|---|
| Day 0 | Last job lodged with the old trader |
| Day 0 to 9 | Old trader settles in-flight claims on its normal cycle |
| Day 1 | First trial job lodged with the new trader |
| Day 3 | First new-trader claim cleared and paid |
| Day 7 | Remaining trial jobs paid, full volume moved |
There is no month where you are unpaid. The old trader’s tail overlaps the new trader’s first settlements. A gap only opens if you cancel everything at once, so avoid that.
From the desk: do not announce the switch to your old trader before you have seen the first payment from the new one. If the old agreement contains a rate premium for volume or a loyalty clause, you do not want to lose it a week early. Quietly stop sending new work after the trial lands, then give notice if the contract requires it.
Pitfalls that cost time
- Wrong agent on the form. The Clean Energy Regulator validates against the agent on the assignment. A form naming the old trader cannot be lodged by the new one.
- Customer already signed. If a customer signed a form naming the old trader and you want to move the claim, you need a fresh form. Avoid this by switching on a clear date.
- Old trader holds your paperwork. Ask for copies of your lodged claim records for your own audit file. You are responsible for evidence for years after the install, as how STC audits work explains.
- Staff still using the old template. The most common cause of a failed first week is an office template that still names the old trader. Replace it, do not just add a new one.
What it looks like with Energy Merchants
If you move your book to us, the switch page at /switch/ lays out what changes and what does not. The desk assigns a named account manager, the rate is published daily on /pricing/ and locked when a complete claim is lodged, and the compliance desk pre-checks each claim. There are no fees. We are backed by REC Traders, who have been trading certificates since 2004.
What to do next
- Pull your current agreement and mark the notice, exclusivity and in-flight clauses.
- Write down the single reason you are switching.
- Ask the new trader for rate, lock point, timing and fees in writing.
- Update your assignment form template and retire the old one.
- Run three to five trial jobs and measure lodgement to cash.
- Move new work across once the trial settles as promised.
When you are ready, start trading or read the switch guide first. The resources hub has the forms and checklists you will use.