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Utility-scale solar · Zoho partner in the USA · Los Angeles

Utility-scale solar project software, from land parcel to COD

For developers, IPPs and EPCs: lease options, queue deadlines, permit conditions and pay applications, tied to the project they belong to.

Our Glendale-led team holds Zoho Advanced Partner certification. For ground-mount and utility-scale solar teams across the US, we set Zoho up as the project register your development, construction and finance people all read from: one record per project, with every parcel, study, permit, contract and milestone hanging off it.

Book a 30-minute discovery call Move a project through the gates
Zoho Advanced PartnerCertified Zoho consultants
You’ll talk to our senior team, not a call center.300+ projects · opened in Glendale in 2025

01The short version

What does Zoho do for a utility-scale solar company?

It becomes the register of record for each project: parcels and option dates, the queue position, open permit conditions, what the lender wants before notice to proceed and which pay application is waiting on lien waivers. Engineering, energy modeling and the detailed schedule stay in your specialist tools; Zoho holds the dates, documents and decisions around them.

Who it suits
Solar developers and IPPs carrying a pipeline of ground-mount projects, and the EPC contractors who build them
The core record
The project, with parcels, studies, permits, contracts, deliveries and milestones linked to it
Zoho apps involved
CRM, Projects, Creator, WorkDrive, Sign, Books, Inventory and Analytics, chosen per role
Stays where it is
Design and energy yield tools, GIS layers and a CPM schedule kept in a dedicated scheduler

02The tracker you have now

Where does a spreadsheet tracker let a big solar project down?

At the handoffs. A shared workbook is fine while one developer holds every project in their head; it starts losing dates once land, interconnection, permitting, procurement and the field team all edit it. Here is how each job scores, with one the spreadsheet still wins and one that comes out even.

  1. Lease option expiry dates

    Zoho registerEach parcel carries its option end date and extension terms, and the land manager gets a reminder months before it lapses.

    Spreadsheet trackerA column someone has to remember to sort; extensions get noted in a cell comment.

  2. Queue deposits and study deadlines

    Zoho registerQueue ID, deposits paid, study phase and the next response date sit on the project, with an owner for each deadline.

    Spreadsheet trackerOne tab per utility, updated after the email arrives, if the person who read it is in that week.

  3. A quick what-if on project economics

    Zoho registerHolds the inputs and the approved numbers, though building a new financial model inside it would be slow.

    Spreadsheet trackerFaster for a one-off scenario the CFO wants by Thursday. Keep the model in a workbook and store the signed-off version on the record.

  4. Permit conditions with owners

    Zoho registerEvery condition of approval becomes a task with a responsible person, a due date and the evidence attached when it closes.

    Spreadsheet trackerConditions pasted in as text, closed by turning a cell green.

  5. Sharing a status snapshot with an investor

    Zoho registerA dashboard in Zoho Analytics, filtered to the projects that investor holds.

    Spreadsheet trackerAn export does the job too, as long as someone checks it first.

03Six gates, one record

How does a utility-scale solar project move from site control to COD in Zoho?

Through six gates, each with its own paperwork and its own people. The project record travels the whole route, so nobody rebuilds the history when development hands over to construction. Scroll and the route draws itself to the next stop.

  1. Gate 1 · Site control

    Lock up the land before a competitor does

    The gate asks forOptions or leases on enough contiguous acreage, title work under way and landowners who know what happens next.

    Zoho keepsA parcel register in Zoho Creator linked to each landowner in Zoho CRM, option end dates with reminders, and the signed option returned through Zoho Sign.

    CRMCreatorSign

  2. Gate 2 · Studies

    Get into the queue and keep up with every study

    The gate asks forAn interconnection application with its deposits, then answers to each study round, plus environmental, cultural and geotechnical surveys done in the right season.

    Zoho keepsQueue ID, deposit dates and study phase on the project, each response deadline as a task with an owner, and every report filed by phase in Zoho WorkDrive.

    ProjectsWorkDrive

  3. Gate 3 · Permits

    Turn conditions of approval into owned tasks

    The gate asks forCounty land-use approval, hearing dates met, road-use and haul agreements, and a list of conditions that somebody has to satisfy before and during the build.

    Zoho keepsEach condition as its own item with a responsible person and the evidence that closes it, so the list survives the move from the permitting lead to the site team.

    CreatorProjects

  4. Gate 4 · Notice to proceed

    Prove the project is ready to build

    The gate asks forAn executed interconnection agreement, the offtake contract, the conditions your lender or tax equity partner set, and a signed EPC contract.

    Zoho keepsAn NTP checklist that can’t be marked complete with items open, and a WorkDrive data room where each outside party sees only the folders shared with them.

    WorkDriveSignCRM

  5. Gate 5 · Construction

    Run the site, the subcontractors and the money

    The gate asks forDaily progress by area, long-lead equipment received and checked, change orders signed, and pay applications backed by lien waivers.

    Zoho keepsA Zoho Creator portal where subs post reports and certificates, deliveries of modules, inverters and the main transformer logged in Zoho Inventory, and milestone invoices with retention in Zoho Books.

    CreatorInventoryBooks

  6. Gate 6 · Commercial operation

    Reach COD and hand over without losing a file

    The gate asks forCommissioning records, a closed punch list, as-built drawings, the utility’s go-ahead and an operations team ready on day one.

    Zoho keepsThe punch list in Zoho Projects, a turnover folder built while the job runs, and each inverter and transformer created as a service asset in Zoho Desk or FSM for the O&M team.

    ProjectsDeskFSM

Sample route. Gate names and documents differ by utility, regional grid operator, county and contract; we set them from yours.

04Who uses what

Which Zoho apps does a solar developer or EPC actually use?

Eight, split by who opens them. Developers live mostly in the first four; EPC project managers and accounts teams lean on the last four.

Development team

  • Zoho CRM

    Landowners, utilities, offtakers, investors and EPC bidders as contacts, with every conversation logged against the project.

  • Zoho Creator

    The custom pieces: parcel register, queue tracker, permit conditions log and the subcontractor portal.

  • Zoho WorkDrive

    One team folder per project with a fixed structure, version history and shared folders for diligence.

  • Zoho Sign

    Options, easements, NDAs, subcontracts and change orders sent from the record in signing order.

Construction and finance

  • Zoho Projects

    Development and build phases, owner-level milestones and the punch list, with baselines on the Enterprise plan.

  • Zoho Inventory

    Purchase orders and receipts for long-lead equipment, with serial numbers captured as pallets arrive.

  • Zoho Books

    Milestone invoices, retention, subcontractor bills and a separate organization for each project company if you run them.

  • Zoho Analytics

    Portfolio views by stage, megawatts by gate and an at-risk list of deadlines inside the next sixty days.

05Stage-gate board

What does each gate need before a project can pass?

Drag the sample project card to a gate, or use the buttons, and tick what you already have. The list is a starting point we refine with your team, not a legal checklist, and switching role shows what an EPC sees instead of a developer.

Your side of the project
Sample project SP-07 Ground-mount · single-axis trackers Gate 1 · Site control

Sample gate list

Site control: what this gate needs

0 of 4 ready. Tick what you already have on file.

Copies the gate and your ticks into the enquiry form below; it stays a draft there until you press submit.

06Paper trail, not paper rules

Which records should the software keep, and who decides?

Software keeps the trail: dates, versions, signatures and who did what. The decisions belong to utilities, grid operators, counties, lenders and your advisors. We build the fields and checks your counsel and tax advisor ask for, and they approve how the records are used.

Nothing on this page is legal or tax advice, and no setup makes a project qualify for anything on its own.

  • Interconnection

    Decided by

    The utility or regional grid operator running the queue

    Kept in Zoho

    Application, deposits, study results, deadlines and the executed agreement

  • Land use and environment

    Decided by

    The county and the state or federal agencies involved

    Kept in Zoho

    Permit applications, conditions, survey windows and monitoring reports

  • Federal tax credits

    Decided by

    Your tax advisor, under federal rules revised in 2025

    Kept in Zoho

    The paperwork they ask for: dated contracts, start-of-construction evidence, equipment records and the in-service date

07Build order

What do we build first for a utility-scale team?

Whatever is costing you deadlines today, which for most developers is land and the queue. Below is the order we usually follow; each piece works on its own, so a team can stop after any of them.

  1. 1

    Project and parcel register

    Every project and parcel moved in from the current workbook, owners attached, option dates checked twice during import.

  2. 2

    Queue and permit tracker

    Study phases, deposits, hearings and conditions with owners, plus a weekly digest of anything due within thirty days.

  3. 3

    Data room and signing

    A fixed folder template per project, sharing rules for outside parties and Sign templates for your common agreements.

  4. 4

    Procurement and subcontractor portal

    Purchase orders for long-lead items, delivery receipts, and a portal for daily reports, certificates and pay applications.

  5. 5

    Billing, retention and turnover

    Milestone invoices and retention in Zoho Books, then the COD turnover folder and service assets for operations.

08Zoho list prices

How much are Zoho licences for a developer or EPC?

Less than most expect, because field crews and outside parties rarely need a full seat. On yearly billing Zoho Projects runs $4 or $9 per user a month, Zoho CRM Professional $23, and Zoho Books bills per organization rather than per person.

Zoho’s official US prices, billed yearly, sales tax extra. Zoho licenses subcontractor portal access on its own terms, which we check against your headcount. Building your gates is a fixed sum in the signed BRD, set after we’ve seen your tracker.

Licence sheetPer month, billed yearly

  • Zoho Projects Premium$4 / user
  • Zoho Projects Enterprise, with critical path and baselines$9 / user
  • Zoho CRM Professional$23 / user
  • Zoho Sign Standard$10 / user
  • Zoho Books Professional$40 / organization
  • Zoho One, every employee licensed$37 / employee
  • Zoho One, chosen users only$90 / user

09Three ways in

Utility-scale solar packages

Pick by the gate where your projects pile up. Each package carries on from the one before, so a developer can start with the land and queue register and add construction tools when the first project nears NTP.

  1. Pipeline Register

    For developers with projects in early development

    • Project, parcel and landowner records
    • Option end dates with reminders
    • Queue and study tracker per project
    • Pipeline view by stage and megawatts

    The BRD lists every project and parcel we import and the single price for the register.

  2. Where most developers start

    Gate to NTP

    Pipeline Register plus everything up to notice to proceed

    • Permit conditions with owners and evidence
    • Project data rooms with sharing rules
    • Zoho Sign templates for your agreements
    • NTP checklist that blocks early sign-off

    One fixed fee in the signed BRD, which also dates each tracker and template it names.

  3. Build and Turnover

    For EPCs, and developers who self-perform

    • Long-lead purchasing and delivery receipts
    • Subcontractor portal for reports and certificates
    • Milestone billing with retention in Zoho Books
    • COD turnover folder and service assets

    Priced once in the signed BRD, phase by phase, so a mid-build change of scope gets its own written approval.

The first four steps with us

The first call is free. A portfolio spread across several utilities may need a paid scoping stage, and you approve its price before it starts.

Every step of a new project →

See our case studies →

  1. 1Discovery call

    Thirty minutes on your pipeline, the gates where projects stall and the tracker you keep today.

  2. 2One project, end to end

    We walk a single live project from parcel to its current gate and note every document it needed.

  3. 3Gate list draft

    Your gates, documents, owners and reminders written up as one list your leads can mark up.

  4. 4Signed BRD

    Scope, a fixed price and a dated schedule, signed by your project lead and the business owner.

10Developers and EPCs ask

Utility-scale solar on Zoho: common questions

Schedules, queues, project companies, portals and cost. Bring the project that gave your team the most trouble this year.

Ask about your pipelineTry the gate board →

Can Zoho replace Primavera P6 or Microsoft Project on a utility-scale build?

Not for the detailed construction schedule. Zoho Projects Enterprise handles development phases, owner-level milestones, critical path and baselines well, while EPC schedules with thousands of activities stay in a dedicated scheduler and feed their key dates onto the Zoho project record.

How do you track interconnection queue positions and study deadlines?

Each project gets a queue record in Zoho Creator with the grid operator, queue ID, deposits, study phase and next response date. Every deadline is a task with an owner, and study reports are filed by phase in Zoho WorkDrive. The tracker records results; it doesn’t predict them.

Can subcontractors and landowners work in the system without full licences?

Subcontractors post daily reports, certificates and pay applications through a Zoho Creator portal. Landowners rarely need a login: they sign options through Zoho Sign and stay as contacts in Zoho CRM.

We hold each project in its own company. Can Zoho handle several project companies?

Yes. Each project company can run as its own Zoho Books organization, on its own plan, and Zoho Analytics pulls the portfolio together for leadership at quarter end.

Does Zoho keep the paperwork our tax advisor needs for federal credits?

It can keep the records your advisor asks for, such as dated contracts, start-of-construction evidence, equipment documents and the placed-in-service date, all tied to the project. Deciding what qualifies, and for which credit, stays with your tax advisor. We don’t give tax advice and the software doesn’t make that call.

How long does a utility-scale Zoho setup take?

It depends on how many projects, gates and old tools you bring. The signed BRD carries a dated schedule for every phase, so go-live is agreed before building starts.

11Let’s talk

Tell us what you’re building. We’ll map the fix.

Book a 30-minute discovery call with Elite Tech Global. We review your Zoho, AWS, Shopify or WordPress setup, show where AI agents can save time, and agree the next step. If we work together, every requirement and a fixed price go into a signed BRD before the build starts.

Real people, one team. Led by co-founders Ikramul Karim and Khris Kakosimidi, and a 40+ member team across Zoho, AWS and AI.

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