Solar installers: see what each install made — books, payroll and taxes done for you

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Find out what we’d handle and what it costs

Thirty minutes by phone; you leave with one written price.

Every month we keep your books, show what each install made after equipment, permits and the dealer fee, and run payroll; at year end we prepare the return. Bookkeeping starts at $375 a month, quoted as a flat fee in writing before we start. Based in Santa Clarita, we work with solar installers in any state.

What each install made, every month Dealer fee shown on the install it came from Payroll for crew and commission reps One team for books, payroll and taxes

Typical situations

Do you work with solar installers like me?

Yes, we take on solar installers who sell residential rooftop and battery work, run financed jobs through lenders and pay sales reps on commission.

An installer whose financed jobs fund in milestone draws

Financed installs are paid by the lender in milestone draws — the payments released as the job hits set stages — and the lender keeps a dealer fee, its charge for arranging the financing, before the money lands. The lender’s deposit gets booked as the job’s price, and the dealer fee disappears from the install. We match each draw to the install it funds and keep the dealer fee showing on the install it came from, so the fee never gets lost in the job. Monthly bookkeeping starts at $375 a month — how the monthly books run.

An installer buying panels and inverters by the pallet

Equipment for several installs comes off one distributor invoice, and the whole invoice sits in one account instead of on the installs the panels and inverters went to. We code each invoice’s equipment to its install and send a monthly job report, so the owner sees which installs carried their cost. Books plus the year-end return start at $475 a month — the same monthly service with the return included.

A company paying its sales reps by commission

Commissions get figured on a spreadsheet with nothing in writing, while some reps sit on payroll and others are paid on 1099s — the year-end forms that report what a contractor was paid. The same rep can end up paid two ways, or nothing adds up when the year-end forms are due. We run commissions through payroll for reps on payroll and track the 1099 totals for the rest (the California rule on commission agreements is in the California section). Payroll for the crew and the reps starts at $95 a month — how the payroll service works.

An installer whose sales shifted after the homeowner credit ended

With the homeowner credit gone after 2025, this year’s sales may not track last year’s. Quarterly estimates still get guessed from last year’s volume. We figure each quarter’s payment from that quarter’s real numbers, so the estimates follow this year’s sales.

A newly licensed C-46 contractor leaving a bigger installer

The C-46 is California’s solar license, and a new shop on its own means a first truck, first installs and no business bank account yet. The first lender fundings and distributor bills land in a personal account, so the first installs have no cost record. We set up the books, the install list and quarterly estimates from the start, and we look at the entity question with the owner. The return starts at $650, or $850 for an LLC or S-corp with the owner’s personal return included — how we prepare the return and how we compare entity options.

A company a year behind on the books

Distributor invoices and lender funding statements sit in a folder. Lender fundings were booked net of the dealer fee and distributor invoices were never matched to installs, so nobody knows what last year’s installs made. We rebuild the missing year first, then prepare the return from it. A cleanup starts at $750 — how the catch-up runs.

Profit by job

How do I see what each install made?

Job costing is how you see what each install made: we match every cost to what that install billed. The costs run from panels, inverters, racking and permit fees to your crew’s hours, the rep’s commission and the dealer fee.

We set up your install list and cost codes — the labels that group each install’s costs. We code every distributor invoice line to the install the equipment went to, and each permit, interconnection and inspection fee to the install it belongs to — interconnection is the utility’s charge to connect the system to the grid. We tie the commission reports and each week’s crew hours to the installs the crew worked, and we keep battery add-ons and panel-only installs as separate job types. Each lender’s funding statement lands on its install with the dealer fee showing, so the job report ties to the books.

What we do each month: the job report lands with the close, showing what every open install billed, what it cost and what it made. For the longer version, read why a busy contractor can still come up short on profit.

Subcontractors

What do I need from a sub before I pay them?

Before you pay a sub for the first time — the electrician on a main panel upgrade, the roofer working under the array, a 1099 install crew — you need two things: a signed W-9, the form where the sub gives you their legal name and taxpayer ID, and their contractor license number.

For payments made in 2026, a sub who isn’t a corporation and is paid $2,000 or more during the year gets a 1099-NEC, the year-end form that reports what you paid a sub; corporations generally don’t get one. The line was $600 for 2025, and the forms are due to the sub and the IRS by February 1, 2027. We collect each person’s signed W-9 and license number before the first payment, check the license, run payroll for anyone you put on it and track every sub’s running total so the forms go out on time. The details are in our post on when a sub gets a 1099.

Getting paid

How should deposits, lender draws and dealer fees show up in my books?

Each install’s full contract price sits on its job record, every payment against it — a property owner’s deposit, progress payment or final, or a lender’s milestone draw — is matched to that install, and the dealer fee shows on the install it came from.

We set up each install’s payment schedule at signing: the deposit, the progress payments (the payments a cash customer makes as the work moves along) and the final, or the lender’s draw schedule on a financed job. We match every draw to the milestone it pays for as it lands. And at each close we list the money still owed to you — draw by draw with each lender, payment by payment with each property owner — so a late draw shows up in the monthly note instead of at year end.

Catch-up work

What does a catch-up look like when a solar installer’s books are behind?

A catch-up rebuilds the missing months from your bank statements, distributor invoices and lender funding statements, then prepares the return and the quarterly estimates from the reconciled numbers. For a solar installer, a cleanup starts at $750.

What we ask for

Bank and card statements; the contracts for open jobs; each finance company’s funding statements showing the draws and the dealer fee taken; distributor invoices and statements for panels, inverters, racking and batteries; permit, interconnection and inspection receipts; commission agreements and reports; payroll reports; last year’s return; and the list of any subs with their W-9s.

How the cleanup runs

We trace every bank deposit to its job and its source — a property owner’s payment or a lender’s draw — and code each distributor invoice line, permit fee and crew hour to its install. The missing months are rebuilt from the bank and the job records, and any missed 1099s for subs or 1099 reps are filed as part of the work.

What you get

Reconciled books, a P&L — the profit and loss statement — a balance sheet and the job report for the rebuilt period; the return and quarterly estimates from those numbers; and a clean starting point for the monthly close.

Cleanup is billed half to start and the balance on delivery. Here is how a cleanup project is scoped.

The monthly close

What do you check every month?

Every month we reconcile the bank, match every property-owner payment and lender draw to its install, code every cost to its job and tie the job report to the books before the month is called closed.

Every bank and card account reconciled
Deposits, progress payments and finals matched to their installs
Each lender’s funding statement reconciled to the bank deposit
Every distributor bill, permit fee and crew hour coded to its install
Commission reports tied to payroll and to each 1099 rep’s total
Returned or credited equipment taken off the job it was charged to
New subs’ paperwork checked before their first payment

What we do each month: we send the P&L, the balance sheet, the job report and a short note on what needs attention.

California

What’s different for a solar installer in California?

In California, five things change for a solar installer: who can be paid as a sub, the deposit cap on residential jobs, workers’ comp, commission agreements and sales tax.

Worker status: a worker without the license the work requires is presumed to be your employee. CSLB, the Contractors State License Board, licenses solar work under the C-46 and also authorizes C-10 electrical contractors to do solar projects. We check each person’s license when they’re set up. More on weighing an employee against a sub.
Deposits and draws: a residential solar install is a home improvement contract, so the down payment is capped at $1,000 or 10 percent of the contract, whichever is less, and no payment — a lender’s milestone draw included — may run ahead of the work done or materials delivered. When we record a deposit, we flag one above the cap; contract terms and financing are for your attorney and lender.
Workers’ comp: one employee on payroll is enough to require workers’ comp, the coverage that pays when someone is hurt on the job, and CSLB requires proof of that coverage. We flag it the day the first hire goes on payroll; the policy itself comes from your insurance agent.
Commission agreements: a sales rep on payroll who is paid commission needs a written agreement saying how commissions are figured and paid, a signed copy in the rep’s hands and a signed receipt back. We keep the agreement and the receipt in the rep’s file before the first commission runs; we don’t draft the agreement.
Sales tax: racking, mounting and wiring are materials you pay tax on when you buy them; rack-mounted panels, inverters, batteries and disconnects are fixtures you sell, so you need a seller’s permit (the state registration you report sales tax under) and report tax on their selling price, and a rebate the customer assigns to you doesn’t lower it. We split each distributor invoice into fixtures and materials and keep fixture sales ready for your CDTFA return — CDTFA is the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. More on when a contractor can buy without paying sales tax.

Pricing

What does accounting for a solar installer cost in 2026?

In 2026, bookkeeping for a solar installer starts at $375 a month, books plus the return at $475 a month, payroll at $95 a month, the return alone at $650 for a Schedule C (the business page of your personal return) or $850 for an LLC or S-corp with the owner’s personal return included, and a cleanup at $750. W-2 and 1099 filing on their own, without monthly books, starts at $95. Each is a flat fee quoted in writing before we start.

Tracking what each job made, 1099 filing and license checks sit inside the quote; there’s no separate charge for them. What moves a quote: how many installs are open at once, how jobs are paid — cash customers on deposit, progress and final payments, or lenders funding in draws — the size of the crew and how often payroll runs, the number of subs and 1099 reps, the bank and card accounts, and how far behind the books are.

Books

from $375/mo

We reconcile every bank and card account
We match deposits and lender draws to their installs
We code distributor bills, fees and crew hours to each job
Subs’ W-9s, license checks and 1099s
Monthly P&L, balance sheet and job report

Books plus the return

from $475/mo

Everything in the books
The year-end return prepared from your own books
Quarterly estimates from each quarter’s real numbers
Year-round question access

The return alone

from $650

Schedule C prepared from your records
From $850 for an LLC or S-corp, the owner’s personal return included
How we prepare the return

The quote is the price.

Book my free 30-minute call

How it works

What happens after you book?

After you book, a free 30-minute call comes first, then the engagement letter and a short checklist.

The 30-minute call

About six questions: how jobs are paid, whether the crew is on payroll, how the reps are paid, where the equipment is bought and whether you hold a seller’s permit, whether the books are in QuickBooks and how far behind things are. It ends with one flat price for the work we’d take on — a flat fee quoted in writing before we start.

The engagement letter

Sent during the call and signed when you’re ready; it doesn’t expire. Signing books a short onboarding call.

Access and documents

The portal invite comes from the onboarding call. You give us read-only bank feeds or the QuickBooks file, the list of open installs and your license number, and the checklist covers the rest so nothing is missed.

Behind first, then monthly

If the books are behind, the cleanup comes first, then the first monthly close and job report.

You see the return before it’s filed

Half the return fee starts the work and the balance is due before e-file; you review the return before anything is filed, and an extension is free if April gets tight.

Communication

You’ll know where every install stands.

The person who answers the phone works from the same numbers as the person who closes your month.

The same-day rule

Call or email during business hours and you’ll hear back the same business day.

Solar installers are welcome

First installs out of a new license or a full calendar of rooftops, cash customers or financed jobs — the free call ends with a straight answer on whether we’re the right fit.

Admitted to practice before the IRS

Our team of IRS representation specialists is admitted to practice before the IRS. If an IRS letter shows up, forward it to us: how we handle IRS letters.

The N&T Tax & Advisory Group team

For a solar installer, we keep the books, run payroll and prepare the returns, so the job report and the return come from the same numbers.

Bookkeeping · Profit by job · Payroll · Quarterly estimates · Tax preparation · IRS representation · Direct line: (661) 554-4495

Reviews

Rated 5.0 on Google

★★★★★ Twelve reviews, every one five stars, every one verifiable. Read all of them on Google →

"Alex helped me resolve a complicated tax situation that had been causing me a lot of stress. He was extremely knowledgeable, responsive, and efficient throughout the entire process."

Kevin B. — via Google

"Working with Alex was straightforward. I hadn't looked at my books all year, but he made my life easy and handled the whole profit and loss at the end of the year so I could get my taxes done."

Levon B. — via Google

"I came to this company with previous tax years and bookkeeping that were done incorrectly. They're very knowledgeable about what they do and help me get everything in order at a very reasonable price."

Sayra A. — via Google

Where we work

Do you work with solar installers outside California?

Yes, we work with solar installers in any state, remotely. Contracts, funding statements, distributor invoices and commission reports come through the secure portal, and we go over the monthly job report by phone or screen share. If you work in another state, we work to that state’s payroll and filing rules and price it into your quote. And if you also run whole remodels as a general contractor, we keep a page on accounting for general contractors.

Anywhere in the US Santa Clarita Los Angeles San Fernando Valley

What we don’t do

We handle the money side of the installs: the books, payroll, quarterly estimates and the returns. Bids and estimates, change orders, lien waivers, permits and interconnection paperwork, insurance of any kind, advice on financing programs or on tax credits for your customers, legal advice on contracts or worker status, and reviewed, compiled or audited statements for a lender or bonding company are outside our work, and we don’t advise on them.

Worth reading

What can you read before you call?

Short articles from our blog, on crew pay, workers’ comp, trucks and tools, the entity question, returned equipment and vehicles.

Crew pay

What a W-2 Employee Really Costs in Taxes vs 1099 (2026)

Workers’ comp

Workers Comp Cost Contractors: What You Pay and When You Can Skip It

Trucks and tools

Contractor Equipment Depreciation: Expensing vs. Depreciating That New Machine in 2026

Entity

LLC vs S-Corp for Contractors: Where the 2026 Tax Savings Actually Come From

Returned equipment

How to Book Vendor Credits and Returned Materials Without Overstating Job Cost

Vehicles

Your Contractor Vehicle Tax Deduction in 2026: Standard Mileage vs. Actual Expenses for Heavy Work Trucks

FAQ

What should a solar installer ask before booking?

Do I have to send 1099s to the sales reps and subs I pay?

Yes, once you pay a sub or nonemployee rep $2,000 or more in 2026, unless they’re a corporation, which generally doesn’t get one. Individuals, sole proprietors, single-member LLCs and partnerships all get a 1099-NEC at that line, and the forms are due to them and to the IRS by February 1, 2027. Commissions to a rep on your payroll are wages instead — they run through payroll and land on the rep’s W-2. We total each sub and nonemployee rep through the year and prepare the forms from those totals.

Can my installers and reps be paid as 1099 contractors?

Not always. Worker status is a legal question about how the work is actually run, not a choice on a form, and California adds a license rule for anyone doing work that needs a contractor’s license. When you move a worker onto payroll, we run it. We check each person’s license and W-9 when they’re set up and send gray cases to an employment attorney; we don’t give legal advice on worker status.

How do I know what an install made after the dealer fee and commission?

You know what an install made by holding the full contract price against everything the install carried — the equipment, the permit and interconnection fees, the crew’s hours, the rep’s commission and the dealer fee the lender kept — instead of judging by what reached the bank. A monthly job report does that install by install, and we send you one at every close.

Can my customers still claim the federal solar credit?

For a homeowner, no: the federal residential clean energy credit ended with 2025, so a system whose install is completed after December 31, 2025 earns the homeowner no federal credit. Systems a business owns fall under a separate business credit with its own end dates. We don’t advise your customers on credits.

My books are a year behind. Can you catch them up?

Yes — a year behind is rebuilt as a cleanup project starting from $750, working back from what your bank, distributors and lenders already show, and the return is prepared from the rebuilt books. There’s no promised deadline; how long it takes depends on how much of the paperwork you can put your hands on.

Should a solar installer be an LLC or an S-corp?

Either can work; an S-corp is a tax choice an LLC can also make, so the decision comes down to the running costs and taxes on your own figures, and a California LLC owes the $800 annual tax. We model both on your figures before you commit to anything. The entity-selection page shows how we compare the options.

Ready to see what your installs really make?

One free 30-minute call. You’ll leave knowing what we’d handle and what it costs — whether or not you hire us.