SOLAR INVOICE TEMPLATE
Free solar invoice template
A solar invoice built for milestone billing: the payment due at this stage against the system price, what's been paid before it, the system by kilowatts, panels and inverter, adders requested at install on their own lines, permit and interconnection fees at cost — and the switch-on date. Free in Word and PDF, with every line explained.
Word and PDF · Free · No email, no sign-up
The short answer
A solar invoice bills one milestone — at signing, at permit approval or equipment delivery, at installation, at permission to operate — as a share of the system price, with the price and what's been paid so far on the same page, so the homeowner can see the running total without the quote in the other hand.
Around it go the system itself — kilowatts, panel count and model, inverter, battery if any — the adders requested after the quote on their own lines, and the permit, inspection and utility interconnection fees passed through at cost.
Finish with your contractor license number where your state licenses solar installers, how to pay, and the dates that matter: inspection passed, interconnection approved, system switched on.
FREE TEMPLATE · WORD AND PDF
The solar invoice template, filled in
Below is the template filled in for Mesquite Ridge Solar, a fictional solar business, so you can see every line in use. The downloads are the same invoice with [bracketed] lines to replace — free, no email address, no sign-up.
![Free Solar Invoice Template — the blank fill-in invoice as it downloads, with [bracketed] lines to replace](/invoice-templates/solar-invoice-template-preview.png)
Example · fictional business
Mesquite Ridge Solar Tucson, AZ (520) 555-0184 · billing@mesquiteridgesolar.example AZ ROC license # 000000 (example) · ADOR-registered solar contractor | INVOICE |
Bill to Luis and Teresa Navarro 4817 E Camino Real Tucson, AZ | System 8.4 kW rooftop PV — 21 × 400 W panels, string inverter with rapid shutdown, south and west arrays System price $24,600 · paid to date $17,220 (deposit at signing, progress payment at permit approval) Installed Oct 19–20 · county inspection passed Oct 22 · interconnection application filed Oct 22 |
| Description | Qty | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milestone 3 — installation complete and inspection passed 30% of the system price, per the quote dated Aug 28, 2026 | 1 | $7,380.00 | $7,380.00 |
| Adder requested at install — consumption monitoring CTs Two current transformers at the main panel, added Oct 19 | 1 | $150.00 | $150.00 |
| Permit and inspection fees — Pima County, at cost Receipt attached | 1 | $320.00 | $320.00 |
| Utility interconnection application fee — at cost Receipt attached | 1 | $75.00 | $75.00 |
| Subtotal | $7,925.00 | ||
| Sales tax (if your state taxes solar equipment) | $0.00 | ||
| Total | $7,925.00 | ||
| Balance due | $7,925.00 | ||
Payment
Due within 7 days. Pay by bank transfer, card or check. Thank you for choosing us.
What's next
The utility usually approves interconnection in 2–4 weeks; we'll switch the system on and walk you through the monitoring app the same day.
Every figure on the example is an example, not a price guide — use your own rates. The Word file is a standard .docx you can edit in Word or any app that opens Word documents; the PDF prints as-is if you'd rather fill it in by hand.
Invoices and a website, one place
Start your solar website — invoicing is built in
Add your business name and your town, and Zarla builds your solar website from this one line. The same dashboard sends invoices like this one, with a pay-now button once you're on a paid plan.
Already have a website? Bring it across →Zarla keeps your old page addresses where it can and redirects the ones that change, helping you keep the Google standing you've built.
LINE BY LINE
What goes on a solar invoice
Every line on the template, in order, and what to write on it.
| The line | What to put there |
|---|---|
| Business name, contact and license | Your trading name, phone, email and address, and your contractor license number — most states license solar installers as electrical or specialty contractors — plus any state solar registration you hold. Homeowners comparing installers look for the license first. |
| Invoice number, dates and the milestone | A number that never repeats (the job number plus the milestone works well), the invoice date, the due date, and which milestone this is — of how many — in words the homeowner recognizes from the quote. |
| Bill to | The homeowners by name and the installation address — the address the permit, the utility account and the incentive paperwork all carry. |
| The system block | Kilowatts, panel count and wattage, inverter type, battery if any, and the arrays; the system price and what's been paid before this invoice; the install, inspection and interconnection dates. One block that answers the three questions homeowners ask. |
| The milestone line | This payment as a share of the system price, with the percentage and the quote date — so the homeowner can add it to the paid-to-date figure and land on the price they signed up for. |
| Adders requested at install | Anything added after the quote — monitoring CTs, a critter guard, a conduit run the roof needed — on its own dated line. Never inside the milestone. |
| Permit, inspection and utility fees | Passed through at cost on their own lines with receipts attached. They vary by county and utility, and homeowners understand them when they can see them. |
| Tax, total and balance due | Sales tax where your state taxes solar equipment (many exempt it — see below), the total and the balance due in bold. |
| How to pay and what's next | The due date and how to pay, then the dates ahead: interconnection approval, switch-on, the monitoring app — the note that stops the phone ringing while the utility takes its weeks. |
STEP BY STEP
How to fill out a solar invoice
Ten minutes the day the inspection passes, from the quote and the job file.
Put your details and license at the top
Business name, phone, email, address, your contractor license number and any state solar registration. Save the file once with these filled in.
Number it by job and milestone
Job number plus milestone as the invoice number, today's date, a due date a week out, and the milestone in words.
Describe the system and what's been paid
Kilowatts, panels, inverter and battery; the system price and the milestones paid so far; the install, inspection and interconnection dates.
Bill the milestone, then adders and fees
The milestone as its share of the system price with the quote date, each adder on a dated line, and permit and utility fees at cost with receipts.
Add tax where it applies and total it
Sales tax only where your state taxes solar equipment, then the balance due in bold.
Write what's next and send it the same day
Interconnection timing, switch-on and the monitoring walkthrough in the note, then email the PDF with the inspection card photo attached.
How solar installers get paid faster
Bill by milestone, and name the milestones on the quote. Deposit at signing, a progress payment at permit approval or equipment delivery, the balance at installation or at permission to operate — the schedule the homeowner saw on the quote is the schedule the invoices follow, so each one is expected before it arrives.
Show the system price and the paid-to-date figure on every invoice. A homeowner who can add this milestone to what they've paid and land on the quoted price pays the same day. One who has to find the quote waits until the weekend.
Keep adders and fees out of the milestone. The CTs added at install, the county's permit fee, the utility's application fee: each on its own line, dated, at cost where it's a pass-through. A milestone that's $545 bigger than the quote said gets a phone call; the same $545 on three labeled lines gets paid.
Don't invoice the switch-on before the utility does it. Interconnection approval is out of your hands and takes weeks; a final invoice tied to permission to operate waits on the utility, so most installers bill the balance at installation and inspection and write the switch-on in the note. How much solar installers charge has the US figures behind the system price here.
The federal credit changed. In the US the federal Residential Clean Energy Credit (Section 25D, the “30% solar credit”) ended for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025, so a 2026 invoice shouldn't tell the homeowner the system is eligible for it; the separate business credit for leased and PPA systems and many state and utility incentives continue under their own rules. Itemize equipment, labor and permits anyway — the homeowner's accountant and any state program will ask — and confirm the details with your accountant.
Licensing and deposits. In the US most states license solar installers as electrical or specialty contractors — Arizona through its Registrar of Contractors, California's CSLB with a C-46 or C-10 license — and some cap the deposit a home-improvement contractor may take: California at 10% or $1,000, whichever is less. Put the license number on every invoice and check your state's licensing board for the deposit rule where you work.
Tax depends on the state. In the US about half the states exempt solar equipment from sales tax in some form — Arizona exempts the sale and installation of solar energy devices by a contractor registered with its Department of Revenue, though not batteries — while others tax the equipment and not the labor, or both. The example above shows no tax amount because Arizona exempts it; check your state's revenue department or your accountant before you print a rate.
Outside the US. The invoice itself has rules: in Australia a GST-registered business issues a tax invoice showing its ABN, in New Zealand a GST-registered business shows its GST number, and in the UK and EU a VAT-registered business shows its VAT number and the VAT charged. Confirm the details with your accountant.
Send it from Zarla and get paid online
A Word template is a fine way to start. The catch is everything after you hit send: chasing the payment, remembering who's paid, and typing the same customer and the same line items again next month.
If you build your solar website with Zarla, the invoice tool is in the same dashboard. Pick the customer, add the job's lines, and send it. On a paid plan, with your Stripe account connected, the invoice carries a pay-now button: your customer pays online by card, and the invoice marks itself paid when the money arrives. Customers you've invoiced are saved, so next time is two taps.
Want to see the website first? Browse solar website templates or see how Zarla builds solar websites. Still setting up? Read how to start a solar company and write your solar business plan, and see how much solar installers charge.
The whole paper trail of a job, step by step: how to write a quote, then how to write an invoice, then how to write a receipt — with a free receipt template. For any other trade, start from the free invoice template. Either side of it, two more free templates in Word and PDF: a price list template for the services you sell and a work order template for the crew.
Heading into the holidays? Our free gift certificate template covers the customers who want to give your work as a gift, and the holiday hours sign template covers the door, your website and your Google profile.
Solar invoices: common questions
Your business name, contact details and contractor license number; the homeowners and the installation address; an invoice number, the date, the due date and which milestone this is; the system by kilowatts, panels, inverter and battery; the system price and what's been paid to date; the milestone as its share of the price with the quote date; adders requested at install; permit and utility fees at cost; tax where your state charges it; the balance due; how to pay; and what happens next.
By milestone, almost always: a deposit at signing, a progress payment when the permit is approved or the equipment is delivered, and the balance at installation and inspection — or at permission to operate, if you're willing to wait on the utility. Name the schedule on the quote and each invoice refers back to it.
In the system block: “System price $24,600 · paid to date $17,220 (deposit at signing, progress payment at permit approval)”. Then this milestone's line says its percentage. The homeowner can see the running total land on the quoted price without a spreadsheet.
In the US the federal Residential Clean Energy Credit (Section 25D, the “30% solar credit”) ended for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025, so a 2026 invoice shouldn't tell the homeowner the system is eligible for it; the separate business credit for leased and PPA systems and many state and utility incentives continue under their own rules. Itemize equipment, labor and permits anyway — the homeowner's accountant and any state program will ask — and confirm the details with your accountant.
As its own line, dated, in the homeowner's words — “Adder requested at install — consumption monitoring CTs, Oct 19” or “Roof work found at install — replaced 6 cracked tiles under the west array”. Say it on the day, with a photo, and the line on the invoice is already agreed in the homeowner's mind.
In the US it depends on the state: about half exempt solar equipment in some form — Arizona exempts solar energy devices sold and installed by a contractor registered with its Department of Revenue, not including batteries — and others tax the equipment but not the labor, or both. Keep equipment, labor and fees on separate lines and check your state's revenue department or your accountant. Outside the US, a GST- or VAT-registered installer shows the tax and its registration number on the invoice.
Yes. The solar invoice template on this page downloads free as a Word document and a PDF — no email address, no sign-up. Edit it in Word or any app that opens Word documents, or print the PDF and fill it in by hand.
Not from a Word file — your customer still has to pay you some other way. To take the payment on the invoice itself, send it from invoicing software. If your solar website is on Zarla, the invoice tool is in the same dashboard: on a paid plan, with Stripe connected, each invoice carries a pay-now button and marks itself paid when the customer pays by card.
Send invoices from your own solar website
Add your town and your business name, and Zarla builds the site from that one line — with invoicing in the same dashboard.
Already have a website? Bring it across →Zarla keeps your old page addresses where it can and redirects the ones that change, helping you keep the Google standing you've built.