SolarCleaningBossPro Blog — Commercial Arrays

Warehouse and Flat-Roof Arrays: Setting Up Large Solar Cleaning Jobs in the Software

A warehouse roof is often the biggest single array a small solar cleaning company will ever touch. Hundreds of panels in long rows on a flat roof, a single hatch or a fixed ladder for access, a long hose run, and a building full of forklifts and trucks underneath. The cleaning itself is straightforward. Getting the job set up so it runs the same way every quarter is where the software earns its keep.

From First Contact to a Real Site Record

If you are still working on landing that first warehouse, start with Winning Commercial Solar Cleaning Work: Where the First Accounts Come From. This article picks up once the owner or facility manager has said yes to a look.

In SolarCleaningBossPro, the warehouse is an address under a client. If the owner has only this building, the client has one address. If they own three more down the road, the other buildings go under the same client as additional addresses. Each one gets its own panel details, its own access notes and its own pin on the map.

The Panel Details That Matter on a Flat Roof

Fill in the panel details carefully on the first visit, because they show on every job after it:

• Number of panels. Count them on the site walk. A satellite view gets you close, but rows hide behind parapets and HVAC units.
• Mount: Roof.
• Stories: warehouses are usually 1-story, but a tall single story can be a long way up. The access notes should say how high and how you get there.
• Pitch: Flat roof. That tells the next crew they are walking a membrane roof, not working off a ladder on shingles.
• Extras: inspection is a common add-on for commercial owners, and bird proofing may apply if pigeons have moved in under the rows.

On the tech's phone, that comes out as a single line under the address, something like “312 panels · Roof · 1-story · Flat roof · Inspection.”

Access Notes for Warehouses

Warehouse access is where jobs go wrong. Write down everything the next crew will need, as if they have never been there:

• Which entrance to use, and whether to park at the dock or the front lot.
• Who to check in with, and whether ID or a sign-in sheet is required.
• Where the roof hatch or fixed ladder is, and who has the key.
• Any areas of the floor that are off limits or need an escort.
• Roof tie-off points or the safe walking path, if the building has them.

Access notes live on the address and show on every visit, so a crew member who has never been there can still walk in the right door. Hatches, keys and sign-in are covered in more depth in Roof Hatches, Keys and Sign-In Sheets: Access Notes for Commercial Solar Cleaning.

Water on a Big Roof

Flat-roof arrays use a lot of water, and running a hose up the side of a warehouse is not always possible. Note where the spigot is, whether it needs to be turned on by maintenance, and whether you are bringing your own pure-water system and tank. If there is a roof-level spigot, say so. If the hose run goes up through the hatch, note how much hose you need. These little notes save the crew a trip back to the truck.

Pricing and Quoting the Warehouse

A per-panel price usually carries a warehouse quote. Add any extras, like inspection or bird proofing per panel, and a minimum charge if your service list uses one. Some companies add a line for after-hours work or for a long hose run. Whatever you charge, build it from your service list so the next quote for the next warehouse looks the same. The manager approves online, and the approved estimate becomes the scheduled job.

Making It Quarterly

Warehouse owners who see the first cleaning usually want it on a schedule. Set the plan to 90 days between visits and the warehouse will come due on the Waiting List on its own. The pin turns from not due yet to due now when it is time, and to overdue if it sits past a 7-day grace. The office drops it on the commercial truck and picks a day that works around the building's shipping schedule.

Because the panel details and access notes stay on the address, the second visit is faster than the first, and the fifth is faster than the second.

Photos for the People Downstairs

Nobody in the warehouse office is going up on the roof to check your work. Before-and-after photos of each section, taken in the tech app and saved with the job, are your proof. Take a wide shot of each row, a close shot of the worst soiling before, and the same shots after. The owner can also compare their own production app before and after the cleaning if they want to.

When the job is complete, the invoice is created. If the account is set to Monthly billing, the warehouse lands on the month's statement with its address on the line. To see how warehouses fit with every other kind of commercial work, visit the commercial solar cleaning software page.