Terms of working with us

By submitting a price and component list as a response to an Equity Solar Broker’s RFP, your company demonstrates its commitment to these mutual expectations. 

By including you, or your company in our RFP process (request for proposal), we demonstrate our commitment to these mutual expectations.

Conditions of the RFP process:

*These terms relate to most solar projects under 150kW.

1. All costs related to the approval, installation and commissioning of our clients solar system belong to the successful equity solar partner, as chosen by the client.
2. By providing a price and component list to Equity Solar Broker’s, you are acknowledging that we have provided sufficient information for you to quote. If your quote is successful in winning the RFP, any further information required to undertake the project must be acquired by you.
3. Solar Partners must ensure their quote includes adequate funds to enable a smooth install that complies with all NZ regulation. Indirect costs or work associated with the completion of the job may be priced indicatively on the quote supplied during the RFP. Examples include scaffolding and switchboard upgrades.
4. Quoted work must be completed and commissioned for the quoted price, unless indirect costs or associated work are specified otherwise on the initial quote. Extra costs invoiced to the client for indirect or associated costs must be priced reasonably and in accordance with the market. IE; solar-partner  contracted rates for switchboard work must be reasonable as compared to what the residential market usually pays for switchboard work.
5. Quotes submitted to Equity Solar Brokers must be quoted with GST inclusive. (Displaying GST exclusive numbers is absolutely fine, as per standard quotes in NZ).
6. With respect to the point above, we ensure you are equipped with sufficient information to prepare an equipment list and job description.
7. It is acceptable for a solar partner to submit a job description that matches the job description prescribed by Equity Solar Broker's.
8. Our RFP document will include, but is not limited to; installation site details such as client roof profile, roof height/number of stories, power phasing and details on load balancing, site access, indicative cable run length, trenching distance, and client battery backup expectations.
9. Where we do not provide adequate information with our quote request, we invite you to provide us feedback or seek further information. In responding to your feedback or query, we may also update the design and information included in the RFP, via the variation ‘X’ email . Variations will be shared with all our Solar partners.
10. Where a variation is required, but the finer details require a site visit, Equity Solar Brokers may invite a Solar Partner who has a proposed variation, to visit the premises. In this occasion, the terms included in these ‘Mutual Expectations’ still apply.
11. We estimate that with residential jobs, the majority of site visits undertaken by our solar partners will be on a non-paid basis. Our reasoning for this is simply that the client does not yet belong to the solar partner, but by way of the site visit, we are offering  an opportunity for the solar partner to build trust and rapport with the client. This opportunity may result in the respective solar company gaining favour with the client, which could increase the likelihood that the quote they submit is successful in gaining the clients approval.
12. Further to engaging solar partners for site visits (where required), we will remain impartial in connecting with our partners. Location to the client will the key consideration when we book a site visit.
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Awarded deals, post client deposit:

1. When a client has made a decision on which quote they wish to proceed with, Equity Solar Broker's will make contact with the successful solar partner, requesting an invoice be issued to the client.
2. At this time, either before or after the invoice has been issued, the successful solar partner is welcome to make contact with the client, and the client is also welcome to make contact with the solar partner.
3. Equity solar brokers will inform the customer by way of email, that the successful solar partner (solar company / solar installer) has been advised of their decision to proceed, and that a deposit invoice will be issued. Equity Solar Broker's will also advise the client that they are free to make contact with the successful solar partner.
4. Once the client pays the deposit invoiced by the successful Solar Partner, the successful solar partner takes responsibility for all aspects of the project.
5. Before installation commences, unless instruction is given by the client, our solar partner must successfully submit a Distributed Generation application to the clients respective lines provider. The cost of the DG application belongs to the Solar Partner.

After installation:

1. You must notify us that the installation is complete.
2. The installed system becomes your company’s responsibility and should be given the same level of warranties and after care service as you would ordinarily offer to clients not sourced through Equity Solar Broker's. This applies only to systems of the same category – IE; residential OR commercial, not both. We do not require residential systems to receive the same warranties or after care service as commercial systems, and vice versa.
3. System upgrades and the addition of batteries are entirely yours, and not liable for a broker fee from us. We will never attempt to charge you a fee for upgrades on an existing system, except when the client is engaging our broker service for a new property.

Rare occurrences:

1. On occasion, a client may stop the installation of their solar system. Where this happens, we may refund up to 90% of our broker fee. We require reasonable evidence and an understanding of the client’s objection to the installation. We also require evidence that our Solar Partner has refunded their clients deposit.
2. Further to the point above, we will only refund a portion of our introducer fee within 12 months of invoicing our Solar Partner the first half of our broker fee.
3. Where unexpected and unreasonable costs arise during or after install, we may refund up to 50% of our introducer fee. This is on a case-by-case basis and exists to demonstrate our commitment to long term partnerships. 
4. Further to the above, to avoid unexpected and unreasonable costs we expect that you read all information provided by us before providing your quote. All feedback, queries and questions are welcomed before you provide your quote.
5. Where the DG application is not accepted by the grid, and any proposed variations or limits are not accepted by the customer, we will refund you in full. Evidence such as an email trail must be provided. 

Commission / Broker fee:

*Split into two payments, half before installation and the other half after installation:

• 3 - 7.5kW - 11% of the total system price.
• 7.5 - 10kW - 10% of the total system price.
• 10 - 12.5kW - 9% of the total system price.
• 12.5 - 17kW - 8.5% of the total system price.
• 17 - 29kW - 8% of the total system price.
• 29kW - 39kW - 7% of the total system price.
• 39kW - 79kW - 6% of the total system price.
• 79kW - 119kW - 5% of the total system price.
• 119kW - 179kW - 4.5% of the total system price.

***To account for smaller margins on batteries, our commission will be discounted by $60 per kW of BESS installed. IE; if a 13.5kW Tesla is installed, the total job commission will be discounted by $810.

***Battery only sales, residentially, will incur a flat broker fee of $650.

• Equity Solar Broker's does not offer an off-grid solar-broker service.

Exclusions on commissionable work:

• Major switchboard upgrades required to ensure feasibility. This is the type of labour associated with a minimal number of RFP’s. Most RFP’s won’t qualify for this exclusion. Day to day stuff such as load shifting and putting in a small sub board for solar only, will not be classed as an exclusion from commissionable work.
  *Major switchboard work must be detailed on the quote to the client. We accept indicative costing only and will set reasonable expectations with our client.
• Scaffolding or Scizzor lift costs.
• There will be other occasions, which we will specify.

For jobs over 150kW, Equity Solar Broker's acts as an aggregator and 'introducer'.

*From time to time, there may be occasions where a job under 150kW is too complex for us to design, so we will treat those jobs in the same way as all over 150kW and charge the 'introducer fee', as reflected below.

We will:

• Delegate the lead to Solar Partner's who are capable of delivering the job (IE; 500kW jobs may not go to all of our Solar Partner's.
• Delegate the system design and engineering to our solar partners.
• Provide interval data and where possible, electrical & structural drawings.
• If the client agrees, we will do a panel layout design with ballpark savings, hoping to gain agreement with the client on system size. With their agreement, we will inform our Solar Partners, so that the client ends up with quotes that are of a similar size and scope.
• Provide the clients contact information for our Solar Partners to make contact.
• Our solar partners will treat these clients as their own leads.
• We will maintain follow up with the client to ensure the included solar companies are communicating clearly.
• Where required, we may assist the client by relaying information to each solar company.

Our fee on these jobs over 150kW will be invoiced as 'Introducer fee'.

Introducer fees:
*Split into two payments, half before installation and the other half after installation:

• 150-350kW - 3% of the total system price
• 350kW and above - 2.5% of the total system price

In the same manner as jobs under 150kW, the introducer fee will only be payable by the successful solar partner. IE; the solar partners that lose the job will not be liable to pay Equity Solar Broker's.

Timing of payments to Equity Solar Brokers:

1. The first instalment is due 7 days after the client pays their deposit to the awarded Solar Partner.
2. The second instalment is due 7 days after the installation has reached practical completion.

Equity Solar Brokers does not invoice our mutual client. We invoice our Solar partners.