What makes scheduling residential solar different from generic service trades?

Three differences. First, residential solar runs a long pipeline with multiple appointment types — site survey, structural assessment, install, electrical inspection, PTO. Each has different crew requirements. Second, every appointment needs the rendered roof, system size, projected savings, and homeowner contacts in one place. Third, deposit-paid leads are confirmed bookings, not estimates — the scheduler treats them as such.

Does Solar Launch include a scheduler?

Yes. Every lead in Solar Launch can be scheduled directly from the lead card across multiple appointment types (site survey, install, inspection, PTO). The appointment auto-fills with the rendered roof, system size, ITC + 25-year savings math, and homeowner contact info. Crews and inspectors drive to the job with full context.

Do I need ServiceTitan or Sunbase for solar scheduling?

For year 1-3 installers, Solar Launch's built-in scheduler is sufficient. For multi-crew installers running 15+ installs per month with complex sub-coordination (electrician + roofing crew + inspector across multiple jurisdictions), ServiceTitan or Sunbase Data add value on the dispatch + sub-management side. Solar Launch handles acquisition → deposit → install scheduling; the enterprise tool handles deep dispatch ops.

Scheduler for Solar Installers

Most contractor scheduling tools were built for the rhythm of on-demand service trades — a customer calls in, a tech gets dispatched, the appointment is one of dozens that day. Residential solar runs differently. The pipeline stretches 30 to 90 days from deposit-paid to PTO, involves multiple distinct appointment types, and requires coordination between in-house crews, subcontracted electricians, and AHJ inspectors.

What's different about solar scheduling

Five appointment types, one pipeline

A single residential solar customer generates 5 scheduled appointments minimum: site survey → structural assessment (sometimes) → install day(s) → electrical inspection → PTO commissioning. Each requires different resources and lives at different stages. Solar Launch's scheduler models each as a distinct event type tied to the same lead.

Every appointment is anchored to the rendered roof

The crew driving to a solar install needs to see what they're installing. Generic calendar apps store an address and a note. Solar Launch's calendar entry pulls the rendered roof with panels placed, system size in kW, production estimate, electrical-service tier, and the homeowner's contact info — automatically. The crew opens the appointment on their phone and sees the system they're delivering.

Deposit-paid site surveys are confirmed bookings

When a homeowner pays a refundable site-survey deposit through the customer portal, the survey isn't a tentative slot — it's confirmed. The scheduler treats it that way, and no-show risk drops sharply. Compare to generic broker-lead workflows where 30-40% of "booked" site surveys flake.

Permit + interconnection holds are first-class

Solar installs are routinely held waiting on AHJ permits or utility interconnection approval. Solar Launch's scheduler surfaces these holds explicitly — you see which installs are blocked by what, instead of permit delays disappearing into a CRM note nobody reads.

How Solar Launch's scheduler works

A homeowner scans a postcard and pays a site-survey deposit through the customer portal.
The lead moves to Deposit-Paid stage, and a "Schedule site survey" action appears on the lead card.
You drag the lead onto an open date. The appointment auto-fills with the rendered roof, system size + savings math, and homeowner notes.
The surveyor opens the appointment on their phone with all the context — roof type, shading concerns, electrical-panel age if known.
After survey + proposal + contract, install day(s) get scheduled separately. The same lead carries the full timeline.
Inspection and PTO appointments get scheduled as the milestones land. The customer sees timeline updates on their portal automatically.

Map view by utility territory

Solar Launch's CRM includes a map view that shows every lead clustered by utility territory and stage. A dispatcher glances at the map, sees three deposit-paid leads on the same utility's net-metering territory, and batches site surveys for the same day. Drive-time gets amortized; permits get filed in batches per AHJ.

When you need more than a built-in scheduler

For solar operations running 15+ installs per month across multiple jurisdictions with deep sub-coordination requirements (in-house electricians + structural engineers + AHJ-specific permit handlers), Sunbase Data or Solo's deeper dispatch + project-management features start to matter. The common move at that scale is to layer one of those alongside Solar Launch — Solar Launch handles acquisition + deposit + scheduling, the enterprise tool handles project ops.

Below that scale, Solar Launch's built-in scheduler is sufficient for most installers — and it ships with the rendered-roof + savings + deposit-paid context that no generic calendar app provides.

What this replaces

Google Calendar with copy-pasted notes. No context attached, no map view, no pipeline visibility.
Generic CRMs with calendar bolted on. Force-fits the data; doesn't surface utility-territory clustering or the multi-appointment pipeline.
Spreadsheet schedulers. Common in year-1 installers, breaks down at scale.
Phone-call confirmations the night before site surveys. Replaced by deposit-paid bookings.

The scheduler that knows which roof your crew is installing.

Free account, free rendering, $1 per mailed solar quote. Calendar, map view, and deposit-paid bookings ship in the same workflow.

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