A good proposal should tell you what is being recommended, why it is being recommended, what it is expected to do, what it will cost, and what assumptions sit behind the savings. It should help you make a decision—not just show equipment and a headline price.
Start with the customer's current situation
The proposal should connect the recommended system to the customer's actual electricity use, tariff, operating profile, existing solar and goals. Without that connection, it is difficult to judge why the system size was chosen.
Explain what is being proposed
The document should identify the proposed solar capacity, inverter, battery where applicable, equipment, layout or design, monitoring, relevant electrical works and anything specifically excluded.
Explain why that size makes sense
A 30 kW, 100 kW or 300 kW system should not appear simply because it fits the roof. The proposal should explain the role of daytime consumption, future growth, export limits, self-consumption and any storage strategy.
Show expected performance
A useful proposal should explain expected solar generation, likely onsite use, likely exports and, where storage is involved, how the battery is expected to be charged and discharged.
Make the financial assumptions visible
Estimated annual savings and payback depend on assumptions. These may include electricity rates, feed-in or export value, consumption, solar production, battery cycling, degradation and future price changes. Those inputs should not be hidden.
Pricing should be clear
The customer should understand total project price, GST treatment, incentives included, optional extras, finance costs where relevant, deposit requirements and important exclusions.
Equipment matters—but it should follow the solution
Panels, inverters and batteries are important. I simply do not think the proposal should begin by choosing a product and then building the customer's problem around it. First establish the energy requirement; then choose suitable equipment to deliver it.
Compare alternatives when useful
For many commercial projects, showing more than one option makes the trade-offs much clearer. Solar-only, solar plus battery, or several solar sizes can be compared using the same assumptions.
Explain what happens after acceptance
A proposal should also make the process clear. In my workflow, once the customer understands the proposal and decides to proceed, the accepted project is handed to the appropriate qualified installation partner. I remain involved in the customer relationship and follow up after installation.
Four questions a proposal should answer
- What am I buying?
- Why is this being recommended?
- What is it expected to achieve?
- What assumptions were used to reach that result?
If the customer can answer those four questions confidently, the proposal is doing what it should do.
Solar and battery performance and savings are estimates that depend on the individual site, electricity use, tariffs, equipment, installation and assumptions used. Current incentives and network requirements should be checked for the specific project before a proposal is finalised.
Want to look at your actual situation?
You do not need to know the system size first. Start with your electricity use, existing system and what you want to achieve.