Multi Branch Solar Business: How to Run Sales Across Offices

Running a multi branch solar business starts to hurt soon after the second office opens. Take an illustrative month: the new branch posts 45 leads and 6 wins, the old branch 120 leads and 8 wins. At the owner's table, 8 beats 6, and the old branch gets the praise. Yet the new branch closed 13 of every 100 leads and the old one 7. Nobody saw it, because nobody compared the numbers on the same footing.

Two offices drift apart in three ways: the price a customer is quoted, the meaning of words like "visit done" and "proposal sent", and the way leads are shared, so one hoarding number rings at both offices. Add a second state and the DISCOM (distribution company) process, the state subsidy and the tax registration change as well. Our guide on scaling a solar team from 5 to 50 covers the stage where zones appear. This post starts after that, with the operating rules.

This guide gives you a plain way to run it. We call it the Lock, Fence, Free split: what the centre locks, what a branch head may adjust inside a fence, and what is left to the branch. Then come a lead-split rule that runs on labels and filters, a fair branch scorecard, a monthly review agenda, and a sourced section on state differences. It is for an EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) owner or ops head with two or more offices.

The Lock, Fence, Free split: what the centre decides and what branches decide

The Lock, Fence, Free split sorts every sales decision into three tiers by one test: would a customer, or your accounts, see a difference between branches? If yes, Lock it at the centre. If the right answer depends on a local cost or rule, Fence it: the branch head chooses inside limits the centre sets and logs. If neither, leave it Free.

Our own framework, shown with illustrative limits. Change the cut-offs to suit your business.

Two rules keep the split honest. Anything that moves from Free to Lock needs a written reason, because every Lock takes some judgement from a branch head. And anything Fenced must leave a trace on the lead: a discount approved on an unlogged call is just a Free decision. Branch heads still hire, schedule and build referral networks. What they lose is the ability to quietly change what the numbers mean.

Locked: one price list and one margin floor

Lock your price list and margin floor because customers compare price across offices and it decides your profit. One admin sets the component rates and the margin, and reps quote from those numbers. When rates change, the admin updates once and every new quote follows. Our guide on keeping every rep's quotation up to date covers that routine.

In Quickest Solar CRM the admin sets panel, inverter and balance-of-system rates along with the margin and admin cost, as described on the solar pricing calculator page. We do not claim a separate price list for each branch. If you need one, ask in a demo before you plan around it.

A branch can genuinely cost more to serve: a hill town, a far village, a crew that must stay overnight. Do not answer that by letting the branch head change margin. Use a named, capped add-on in rupees per kW that the centre approves and dates. The base list stays one list, and the extra cost shows as its own line.

The margin floor is one number written at the centre: the lowest price a rep may sign without the owner. Discount bands sit above it, and our solar discount approval rules guide has the card. For branches, the only addition is that the branch head approves inside the lowest band, logs it on the lead, and the centre reads the average discount per branch each month. We do not claim a discount-approval workflow in Quickest Solar CRM, so treat approval as a rule and a log line, not a button.

Locked: stage definitions and a label code that every branch uses

Lock your stage definitions because every scorecard ratio counts leads that reached a stage. If a stage means different things in two offices, the ratio compares nothing. Write one entry test per stage, with the evidence that proves it. The logic in our solar pipeline stages guide is a good base. This is the shape of a definitions card.

Illustrative card. Adjust the wording, but write it once and give every branch the same copy.

Quickest Solar CRM lets you customise lead stages and apply labels, and you can filter leads. We would build the code like this, using the labels as your branch and source tags:

• Branch label: BR- plus a short name, for example BR-HQ, BR-NORTH. Every lead has exactly one.
• Source label: SRC- plus the source, for example SRC-ADS, SRC-REF, SRC-WALK, SRC-EXPO. Every lead has exactly one. Our guide on solar lead source attribution goes deeper on what to count.
• Transfer label: FROM- plus the branch the lead came from, added when a lead is moved. This is how you see leads one branch generated and another worked.

The code is boring on purpose. A rep who has to think about a label will skip it, so keep the list fixed and let only the admin add one. Then run one filter a week for leads with no branch label or no source label, and fix them the same day. A lead without a label is invisible to your scorecard.

The proposal template and specialist leads: one locked, one fenced

Two items in the table need a closer look. The first is locked, the second is fenced: the centre sets a limit and the branch works inside it.

Proposal template (Lock). Quickest Solar CRM supports proposal templates with your logo, items, product photos and terms and conditions. Use one template set for the company. Branch-level changes are the contact name, phone and office address only, so the warranty wording, payment terms and layout match whichever office the customer meets. If you hold separate GST registrations in different states, keep one template per registered entity (more on that below).

Specialist leads (Fence). If one branch has the commercial and industrial desk, write the size cut-off (we used 50 kW in the table; pick your own) and one message format for the handover. The card in our solar telecaller lead handover guide works here too.

How to split leads between branches without territory software

Split leads with a written rule every rep can read in a minute, plus the labels from the code above. You need an order of questions that settles ownership before a dispute starts, not dealer or territory software. We do not claim territory management in Quickest Solar CRM, so the rule lives on paper, labels and filters. Stop at the first rule that answers the question.

1. 1

   The relationship rule

   An existing customer, or someone that customer referred, goes to the branch that serves the customer.

2. 2

   The specialist rule

   An enquiry above your cut-off (say a 150 kW factory roof) goes to the named specialist desk, whatever its PIN code.

3. 3

   The PIN code rule

   Otherwise the PIN code of the customer's site decides, not where the ad ran. Keep a one-page PIN code table per branch, signed by the owner.

4. 4

   The overflow rule

   If the owning branch has leads waiting over a day for a first call, the sales head may move new ones to the nearest branch with room, with a FROM label and a note.

5. 5

   The first-logged rule

   If one phone number appears at two branches, the lead logged first stays. The second branch adds a note and opens no new lead. Check the number in your lead list before opening a lead.

Rules at work on invented enquiries. Branch names, cut-offs and the one-day limit are examples, not a standard.

Credit follows the work. The branch that held the visit and signed the order gets the sale on its scorecard. The branch that generated the lead gets it counted as a lead it produced, so it is not punished for sending a good customer across a PIN code line. Put that sentence in the rule, or branch heads will hide leads rather than hand them over.

The weekly check is a filter on the transfer label: how many leads each branch sent and received. A branch that only receives is either under-marketing or taking leads it should not. For older duplicates, see duplicate leads from IndiaMART, JustDial and Meta, and for wider patterns solar lead routing rules. We do not claim duplicate detection, so the check is by phone number and by eye.

The branch scorecard: compare offices on ratios, not totals

Compare branches on ratios per lead, per visit and per rep, because raw totals mostly measure size. A branch with twice the reps and leads beats a smaller one on wins even if it converts worse. Totals show how big an office is. Ratios show how well it sells. Every figure in these tables is illustrative, from three invented branches in one month.

Illustrative month. By raw totals, Branch A looks best on every row that counts.

Same month, same invented branches. "Thin" marks a ratio built on fewer than 20 items in the base, which we suggest reading with caution.

Branch B, the small one, closes twice the share of its leads that Branch A does and moves visits to proposals at about the same rate. Its edge is two thirds of leads getting a visit. Branch A's problem is that over half its leads never see one, a different fix from what the totals suggest.

Three habits keep this honest.

Mark thin ratios. Branch C closed one job from five proposals. One more win would move its "wins per 10 proposals" from 2.0 to 4.0. With bases this small, read a three-month rolling figure. The threshold of 20 is a default we picked, not a statistical rule, and kW per win is thin in any single month because it rests on wins.

Check the lead mix. Branches get different sources, and referral leads usually close better than cold ads. Compare like with like using the source label.

Illustrative split of the same month, rounded to whole numbers. Wins: A 3, 3, 2; B 1, 4, 1; C 1, 0, 0.

Read the table the way a good ops head would. Branch B's overall lead comes largely from its referral mix: 27 of its 45 leads were referrals. Inside referrals the two branches are close (17 against 15, and Branch A's figure rests on only 18 leads). Inside ads, Branch B looks better, but on only nine leads. The fair verdict is that Branch B's asset is its referral flow (60% of its leads against 15% at Branch A), not a better way of closing. Branch A's gap sits in its 84 ad leads, so check how fast they get a first call before blaming the reps.

Add context beside the numbers. Note reps, branch age, season and local events such as a flood week. Context does not excuse a result; it tells the review which question to ask. For branch targets, monthly targets for solar sales reps shows how to adjust for ramp and lead supply, and the 15-metric solar sales scorecard lists every metric worth tracking.

A monthly branch review agenda that finishes in 90 minutes

A monthly branch review is a 90-minute meeting of the owner or ops head and every branch head, run on one scorecard and a set of exception lists. It does not replace each branch's weekly pipeline review, where deals are decided one by one. The monthly meeting reads the system, not the deals. Send the pre-read two days before: scorecard, exception lists and state sheet changes.

With five or more branches, split the review into two sessions.

Keep the decision log in one place, one line per decision with an owner and a date, and open it first next month. Rotate who presents the "win to copy", so the meeting swaps methods rather than ranking people. If branch heads also send daily numbers, the daily sales report format can feed the same sheet. For a new branch head, add the Lock, Fence, Free table, the lead-split rule and the state sheet to the plan in the first 30 days of a new solar sales rep.

State differences that change the sale: DISCOM, subsidy and registration

State differences change the sale in four places: how fast the DISCOM moves, which metering model the regulator allows, whether the state adds its own subsidy, and which vendor registration you need. National rules set a floor; the state and the DISCOM decide what happens in your branch's districts. The Ministry of Power amended the Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules in February 2024, per its PIB release of 23 February 2024 (read 31 October 2026).

The MNRE's PM Surya Ghar guidelines for residential CFA (central financial assistance), the July 2025 upload, add a caveat: until regulators and DISCOMs have put the 10 kW provision into practice, the consumer uploads the feasibility documents "wherever required as per extant state regulations". So branches in different DISCOM areas can see different paperwork for the same 5 kW home.

Sources: PIB, Ministry of Power, 23 Feb 2024; MNRE PM Surya Ghar CFA guidelines, July 2025 version. Read both yourself before relying on this table.

The subsidy row is where a branch most often quotes wrong, so here is one real example. On 31 October 2026, the Delhi Solar Portal of the Delhi Power Department listed a Delhi state capital subsidy for homes on top of the central one: up to ₹26,000 per kW for plants up to 3 kW and nothing extra above 3 kW up to 10 kW, with the state subsidy being the lower of the bid cost minus the PM Surya Ghar subsidy or ₹26,000 times the capacity, capped at ₹78,000. The portal's summary note, titled "2nd Amendment to Delhi Solar Energy Policy, 2023", adds conditions such as first-come, first-served.

The same day, a second Delhi government page, the policy page of the EE&REM Centre, still said the capital subsidy was ₹2,000 per kW up to ₹10,000 per consumer. The portal's note suggests the second page is the older one, but a branch head should settle that by asking the department, not guessing. We are not giving a state-by-state subsidy table: it would go stale, and for most states we have no official page to cite. Where a rep cannot name an official source, the right sentence is "check your state". If your state has a top-up, the branch head puts the official page, amount and date on the state sheet.

A state sheet is one dated page per state, kept by the branch head. It holds the DISCOM names and application route, the metering model and limits, the subsidy position with its source link, vendor registration status and the average days each step has taken. Branch heads bring changes to the monthly review. For the steps themselves, see our guides on the DISCOM approval process, how to apply for net metering and the net metering DISCOM list (we have not re-audited them for this post, so check dates), and our PM Surya Ghar vendor portal guide.

GST registration across states: a pointer for the owner and the accountant

GST registration is state-wise: a business generally needs a separate registration in every State or Union territory where it is liable to register. This section is a general compliance pointer, not tax advice. Your chartered accountant decides how it applies to you.

Under section 25 of the CGST Act, 2017, as shown on the CBIC tax repository (read on 31 October 2026), every person liable to register must apply "in every such State or Union territory in which he is so liable". One registration is granted per State, though a person with multiple places of business in a State "may be granted a separate registration for each such place of business, subject to such conditions as may be prescribed". Sections 25(4) and 25(5) treat each registration, and establishments in different States, as "distinct persons".

For several registrations in one State, Rule 11 of the CGST Rules, 2017 (the CBIC copy, last updated 26 December 2022 as the page states) adds that separately registered places of business must pay tax, and issue a tax invoice or bill of supply, on supplies to another registered place of business of the same person. Rules change, so ask your accountant for the current version.

A sales head can act on this in three small ways.

• Know which entity is on the paper. A branch with its own registration needs that entity's details on the proposal, terms and invoice.
• Do not move stock informally. Panels or inverters sent from one registered branch to another may be treated as a supply between distinct persons under the Act. Ask the accountant how to document transfers before the first one, not after.
• Keep a GST line in the state sheet: registration number, who files, and the date of the last review.

How QuickEstimate fits

The choice is one shared company account or a sheet per branch.

We do not claim a branch-level module or dealer or territory management in Quickest Solar CRM. What it gives a multi-branch EPC is a set of shared building blocks. You decide the rules; these store them and show you the result.

• Sales reports: a dashboard and team report give the owner one team view. Check in a demo which splits exist, and keep the rest of the scorecard on a sheet.
• Team members with permissions: add each branch head and rep and set what each can do. Confirm in a demo what each level can see.
• Customisable stages, labels and filters: set the stage list once, use BR-, SRC- and FROM- labels, and filter leads by label for the weekly clean-up and the monthly counts.
• Admin price list with margin: one admin sets the rates and margin, and every new quote follows.
• Proposal templates: your logo, items, product photos and terms in one template the whole company uses.

The Free plan is one user with 10 proposals a month and no card, enough to try the label code and stage list alone. A team of branch heads and reps needs Pro, at ₹6,999 per user per year with a 3-user minimum (₹20,997 for three users), billed yearly with a GST invoice. To see your own branches set up, book a demo and bring your label code and stage definitions.

What to do in the next 30 days

You can put all of this in place in a month without buying anything.

1. Week 1: write the one page. Fill in the Lock, Fence, Free table with your own cut-offs, and the stage definitions card. Every branch head signs it.
2. Week 2: fix the data. Set up the BR- and SRC- label code, label every open lead, and publish the lead-split rule with the PIN code table.
3. Week 3: build the scorecard. Count last month's leads, visits, proposals and wins per branch, work out the ratios, and mark thin ones.
4. Week 4: hold the first review. Use the 90-minute agenda, with one dated state sheet per branch.

Frequently asked questions

How do you run sales across multiple branches in a solar business?

Sort decisions into three tiers. Lock what customers and your accounts notice: price list, margin floor, stage definitions, label names and the proposal template. Fence what depends on local cost: discount bands and add-ons. Leave the rest to branch heads. Then share leads by a written PIN code rule, compare branches on ratios, and review monthly. We call this the Lock, Fence, Free split.

How do you compare branch performance fairly?

Use ratios: visits per 100 leads, proposals per 10 visits, wins per 10 proposals, wins per 100 leads and wins per rep. Mark ratios built on fewer than 20 items as thin, read a three-month rolling figure for small branches, and compare within one source label, since referral and cold ad leads convert differently.

How do you split leads between branches without territory software?

Write a short rule and apply it in order: existing customers and their referrals stay with the serving branch, specialist leads go to the named desk, otherwise the customer's PIN code decides, overflow may move to a neighbour with the sales head's approval, and the first-logged lead wins on duplicates. Record the owner with a branch label and moves with a transfer label.

Do I need a separate GST registration for each state?

Generally yes. Section 25 of the CGST Act, 2017 requires a person liable to register to apply in every State or Union territory where liable, and treats registrations in different States as distinct persons. This is a general pointer, not tax advice. Ask your chartered accountant how it applies to your branches, stock transfers and invoices.

Do state subsidies differ, and should reps quote them?

They can. MNRE's PM Surya Ghar guidelines say state and Union territory governments may supplement the central assistance. Amounts, eligibility and dates differ, and official pages can disagree. A rep should quote a state top-up only from the branch's dated state sheet with its source link. Otherwise the rep says "check your state".

Can Quickest Solar CRM manage several branches?

It has team members with permissions, customisable lead stages, labels, filters, a dashboard and team report, an admin price list with margin, and proposal templates. We do not claim a branch-level module or territory management, so branches are handled with labels and filters. Ask in a demo what each permission level can see and what the reports can split by.