Installer partners
We take on more work than our own crews can cover in a month. If you run a solid installation team, we'd like to hear from you — and we'd rather you knew exactly how we work before you apply.
The short version
We sell and design, you install
United Solar contracts with the customer, designs the system and stays responsible for it. You do the physical installation, maintenance and repair work to our design and standards. You never quote, invoice or market to our customers directly.
Work comes as work orders
Every job is issued on our platform with the design, site details, customer contact and scope. You are free to accept or decline — but once you accept, the timelines below apply. The appointment is non-exclusive and we don't guarantee volume.
We supply the major components
Panels, inverters and batteries come from us, delivered to you or to site. You supply the sundries — cabling to the design lengths, MC4s, conduit, glands, fixings, sealants, earthing, labels, small DB parts, consumables and PPE — and the rate card allows for them.
You get paid per commissioned job
Fees are per kWp installed, per battery, per call-out, per care visit, with a minimum per work order. One invoice a month, reconciled to the platform. We pay undisputed amounts on the terms agreed in your rate card.
How a job runs
- Work order issuedWe post the job on the platform with the design, single-line diagram, site and customer details. You accept or decline it.
- Contact and date — 1 and 2 business daysCall the customer within one business day of accepting, and confirm a date on the platform within two. If no date is confirmed in two days we may reallocate the job.
- Pre-site inspectionBefore the install, record roof type, condition and orientation, mounting positions, DB board condition and any pre-existing defects, cable routes, earthing and the existing supply — with photographs. Tell us if you think the design is wrong for the site; we decide whether to change it. If the customer then doesn't proceed, the inspection is paid; if no inspection was recorded, anything it would have found is on you.
- Install — within 10 business daysStrictly to the design. Deviations need our written approval on the platform first. Inverter programmed to our settings, connected to monitoring and showing online before you leave; commissioning plate on the DB and our label on the inverter; site left clean, drilling sealed.
- Customer sign-offDemonstrate the system and take the customer's sign-off on the platform before leaving.
- Completion pack — within 3 business daysUpload everything in the list below, including a valid CoC issued by your registered person.
- Commissioned and invoicedA job counts as commissioned only once the completion pack is accepted. One tax invoice per month, by the third business day of the following month, reconciled to the platform.
The completion pack
Due within three business days of every installation. It is what makes the job payable, and it is what protects you if anything is queried later.
- Valid CoC and test report signed by the registered person
- As-built single-line diagram marked up from our design
- Serial numbers of every panel, inverter and battery, matched to the work order
- Photographs: array, mounting, inverter, battery, DB board open and closed, earthing, CT position, commissioning plate, inverter label
- Inverter settings screenshot and the monitoring platform showing the system online
- Customer sign-off on the platform
- SSEG application acknowledgement where it applies
What we look for
- Registered company, registered with the Department of Employment and Labour as an electrical contractor
- A registered person (wireman's licence) who tests and issues the CoC on every job
- Public liability insurance, contractors all-risk cover and motor insurance
- COIDA registration for your people and a health & safety file
- PV GreenCard accreditation (preferred, and required for some work)
- Tidy, documented, on-time installs and a crew that is good with customers
Response and resolution times
Annexure E of the agreement. Measured from the moment a job is assigned to you on the platform, and averaged over each 30-day period — a single bad week doesn't count against you, a bad month does. If a repair waits on a part or a decision outside your control, you record that on the platform and the clock pauses.
| Issue | Priority | Respond | On site | Resolve |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hazard — fire risk, exposed conductors, water ingress | Critical | 1 hour | 4 hours | 24 hours |
| No power at the premises with grid available | High | 1 hour | 8 hours | 24 hours |
| System offline / no generation | High | 4 hours | 1 business day | 2 business days |
| Battery not charging or discharging | High | 4 hours | 1 business day | 2 business days |
| Reduced output, circuit fault, tripping | Medium | 1 business day | 2 business days | 3 business days |
| Damage to property | Medium | 1 business day | 2 business days | 5 business days |
| Incorrect CT placement / export | Medium | 1 business day | 2 business days | 3 business days |
| Incomplete installation or completion pack | Medium | 1 business day | 2 business days | 3 business days |
| Workmanship warranty defect | Medium | 1 business day | 3 business days | 5 business days |
| Admin — CoC, dates, documents | Low | 1 business day | — | 3 business days |
How you get paid
The rand amounts are yours alone — we agree them with you in your rate card before anyone signs, and review them every year. This is what each one is based on.
| Fee | Basis |
|---|---|
| Installation — solar PV | Per kWp installed and commissioned |
| Installation — battery | Per battery unit installed and commissioned |
| Installation — minimum fee | Per work order, where the above totals less |
| Pre-site inspection | Per inspection where the customer does not proceed |
| SSEG application | Per application, plus the authority’s charges at cost |
| Call-out | Per attendance, first hour on site included |
| Hourly rate — full team | Beyond the first call-out hour; de-installations; additional works |
| United Care service visit | Per completed visit with an accepted report |
| Additional works — materials | Cost plus 15%, quoted in advance |
| Travel | Per km beyond your service area, one way |
| Referral fee | Per customer you refer whose installation is commissioned |
All amounts exclude VAT. You absorb a small agreed threshold of minor additional works per installation (extra conduit, fixings, small DB items); anything above it is quoted to us before you do it.
What you'd be signing
An NDA first, then the installer service level agreement (v1.0) with your own rate card attached. The parts people most want to know about:
- Independent contractor. Not employment. Your people, your wages, tax, UIF and COIDA.
- Non-exclusive, no minimum volume. You may decline any work order; we may use other installers or our own crews.
- Our customers stay ours. No direct quoting, invoicing, marketing or contact details to customers; enquiries come back to us. That's in the NDA as well as the SLA.
- Our branding only. Commissioning plate and inverter label on every job; no installer branding on installations.
- Risk in our components sits with you from delivery until the job is commissioned, including the excess on a claim.
- 24-month workmanship warranty on every installation, remedied at your cost within the times above.
- Rework at your cost where the job doesn't match the design. Three reworked jobs in 12 months is a material breach.
- Performance review on customer feedback and average response times, with 30 days to put things right before work slows down.
- Either side can end it on 30 days' notice; accepted work orders get finished.
This page is a summary for your convenience — the signed agreement, its annexures and your rate card are the binding documents. We send you the full agreement to read before you're asked to sign anything.
Ready to apply?
Tell us about your company, your registered person and your cover. We reply within two working days, and nothing is binding until you've read the agreement.
Questions we get asked
How do I become a United Solar installer partner?
Apply on the installer application form with your company details, electrical contractor registration, registered person (wireman's licence holder) and insurance cover. We reply within two working days, then work through the documents, agree your rate card, audit one of your recent installations, and sign the NDA and service level agreement before you are activated.
What work do affiliated installers do?
Installations to our design, United Care service visits, call-outs and repairs, and de-installations — all issued as work orders on our platform, in your own service area. The appointment is non-exclusive and there is no minimum volume.
Who supplies the panels, inverters and batteries?
United Solar supplies the panels, inverters and batteries for every installation, delivered to you or to site. The installer supplies the sundries — cabling, MC4 connectors, conduit, glands, fixings, sealants, earthing, labels, small DB components, consumables and PPE — and the rate card allows for them.
How are installers paid?
Per kWp installed and commissioned, per battery unit, per call-out, per United Care service visit and per hour for additional works, with a minimum fee per work order and travel beyond your service area. You invoice once a month, reconciled to the platform, and the rand amounts are agreed with you in your rate card before signature.
What are the response times?
Measured from assignment on the platform and averaged over 30 days: a critical hazard needs a response within one hour, attendance within four hours and resolution within 24 hours. A system offline needs a response within four hours, attendance within one business day and resolution within two.
What insurance and registrations do I need?
Registration with the Department of Employment and Labour as an electrical contractor, a registered person who tests and issues the certificate of compliance, public liability insurance (normally at least R 5 000 000 per claim), contractors all-risk cover, motor insurance and COIDA registration for your personnel. PV GreenCard accreditation is preferred.
Can I quote or invoice United Solar customers directly?
No. United Solar contracts with the customer and stays the point of contact. Additional works are quoted to us on the platform before the work is done, and every other enquiry — quotes, upgrades, maintenance, complaints — comes back to us.
How long is the workmanship warranty?
Installers warrant their workmanship for 24 months from commissioning and remedy defects at their own cost within the agreed response times.