Quoting ₹2.24 Lakh Against a ₹1.85 Lakh Rival, a Cash Deal and a One-Week Subsidy Promise
You run a two-person solar firm in a Punjab district town. A farmer with a 2 kW sanctioned domestic connection (four hours of grid supply a day) wants a 3 kWp hybrid system to back up six LED lights, two fans, a refrigerator and a 1 hp tubewell pump for two hours daily. Your landed material cost is ₹1,72,000 - ALMM-listed mono PERC modules, a hybrid inverter, a 5 kWh LFP battery, galvanised structure, DC/AC cabling, ACDB/DCDB, earthing and a lightning arrester. Labour and transport is ₹28,000, and you need a 12% margin plus GST at the prevailing rate. A competitor has quoted ₹1.85 lakh turnkey with non-ALMM modules, no battery, no lightning arrester, no net-metering paperwork and a one-year warranty. The farmer wants to pay ₹40,000 in cash 'without bill' to bring your price down, insists the system be tied to his existing 2 kW single-phase meter, and wants you to guarantee that the ₹78,000 rooftop subsidy will reach his account within a week.
1. Build the headline quote from the given costs and set out the line items you will and will not trim. Justify each decision technically, not emotionally.
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The arithmetic
- Cost = 1,72,000 + 28,000 = ₹2,00,000.
- Margin at 12 % = 2,00,000 × 1.12 = ₹2,24,000, plus GST at the prevailing rate shown as a separate line. Never bury GST inside the lump sum; the customer will compare your gross figure with a rival's net one and you will lose an argument you should win.
Non-negotiable items
- ALMM-listed modules - required for the subsidy and for net metering; non-ALMM modules make the file ineligible and the customer finds out months later, at your door.
- Battery and hybrid inverter - he asked for backup; the competitor's ₹1.85 lakh has no battery, so the two quotes are not the same product. Say this on one page of paper.
- Earthing and lightning arrester - Punjab has violent pre-monsoon storms; without an LA and a good earth pit the inverter and the subsidy both disappear in one strike.
- Net-metering and subsidy paperwork - this is skilled labour, not paperwork; it takes visits to the DISCOM office.
Can be trimmed with the customer's informed consent
- Module make within the ALMM list, cable brand, structure galvanising thickness above the minimum, monitoring dongle, and the length of the free O&M period.
Value argument: 3 kWp × ~4.5 kWh/kWp/day × 365 ≈ 4,900 kWh/year; over 25 years with 0.8 average derate that is roughly 98,000 kWh for ₹2.24 lakh - about ₹2.3 per unit against a grid tariff of ₹6–7. Put that on the quotation.
2. The farmer wants to pay ₹40,000 cash without a bill, connect 3 kW to his existing 2 kW single-phase meter, and have the subsidy in a week. Address all three.
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Cash without a bill - refuse, and explain why in his terms
- An unaccounted ₹40,000 means the invoice does not match the installed capacity; the subsidy claim and the net-metering application both require a GST invoice and serial-numbered material that match the site.
- Module warranty is not transferable without proof of purchase; a burnt inverter in month 14 becomes his loss.
- It is also a tax offence that can cost you your registration, which means you cannot serve him in year 5 when the system needs service. Offer instead: staged payment (advance, post-structure, post-commissioning), or a smaller scope he can upgrade later.
3 kW on a 2 kW sanctioned load
- Net metering is granted against the sanctioned load, and the inverter AC capacity must not exceed it. Either he applies for load enhancement to at least 3 kW first, or you install a smaller system - there is no third route.
- A 1 hp pump plus a fridge on a 2 kW single-phase connection also needs a load check for simultaneous running; the hybrid inverter's pass-through limit will trip the house if the pump starts while the fridge compressor is on.
- Confirm with the DISCOM whether they permit 3 kW export on single phase at this feeder, and get it in writing before you order material.
Subsidy in a week - no
- Under the national rooftop scheme the residential subsidy is currently ₹30,000/kW for the first 2 kW, ₹18,000/kW for the third, capped at ₹78,000 - so his 3 kW figure is plausible, but the money is credited to his bank account directly after commissioning, inspection and net-meter installation, and the timeline is set by the DISCOM and the portal, not by you.
- Also confirm whether the battery portion is covered - generally the subsidy is for the grid-connected rooftop component.
- Promise only this: 'I will file correctly and follow up; the sanction is the DISCOM's, the credit is the government's, and I will show you the portal status at every stage.' Put that in writing on the quotation so it cannot be misremembered.
3. How do you handle the 'your competitor is ₹39,000 cheaper' objection, and what documentation do you hand over at completion?
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Handling the objection
- Do not match the price. Sit down with both quotes and build a like-for-like table: battery yes/no, module certification, lightning arrester, earthing, net-metering filing, warranty years, local service response. The gap usually shrinks to a few thousand rupees once the battery is priced in.
- Quantify the risk: an unbranded inverter with a one-year warranty means a ₹20,000–₹30,000 replacement in year 2 - more than the difference being argued about.
- Offer choices, not discounts: same price with a smaller battery, or a 3 kW grid-tied stage now and battery later. Give him control of the trade-off.
- Offer proof: two nearby installations he can visit, with the owners' phone numbers.
- Walk away politely if he still insists on a price that only an unsafe installation can meet. A loss-making job becomes a warranty liability you fund for five years.
Handover file
- GST invoice itemising make, model and serial numbers of modules, inverter and battery; warranty cards in the customer's name.
- Single-line diagram, array layout drawing, earthing and LA details.
- Commissioning test sheet (string Voc/Isc, insulation resistance, earth resistance, thermal images), net-meter sealing certificate and portal application number.
- O&M schedule with cleaning frequency, battery watering/checking interval, and your emergency contact; a signed handover checklist and a feedback request after the first bill cycle.