Solar Installation Business Buyer Checklist — Australia
Buying a solar installation business in Australia requires a different due diligence lens than most trades. The usual checks apply — financials, staff, equipment, contracts — but solar adds a layer that most general checklists miss entirely: government rebate dependency, Clean Energy Council (CEC) accreditation requirements, workmanship warranty obligations, and a revenue structure that can look great until the underlying rebate scheme shifts.
This checklist is built for acquisition buyers in the $300,000–$1.5 million deal range considering a solar installation business in Australia. It covers preliminary screening all the way through to pre-settlement.
Why Solar Is Different
The standard due diligence checklist for buying a small business will get you 70% of the way there. The remaining 30% is solar-specific, and it matters.
Two things distinguish solar acquisitions from other trades purchases. The first is CEC accreditation — the licencing framework that allows a business to install solar and claim government rebates. If the business's accreditation depends on the owner personally (which it often does in smaller operations), losing the owner is not just a key-person risk; it's a compliance risk that can stop the business from trading altogether. The second is the STC rebate mechanism, which underpins residential solar economics in Australia. I've seen a broker describe a deal where the buyer's post-settlement revenue projections assumed STC rebates continuing at current levels for five years. The scheme's legislated wind-down date was right there in public documents (the buyer hadn't looked). That's not a mistake you want to repeat.
Understanding how much a solar installation business is worth in Australia before you start due diligence will anchor your valuation work properly. Read that first if you haven't.
What This Checklist Covers
The full checklist (below the gate) runs through seven phases:
- Phase 1: Initial screening and go/no-go criteria
- Phase 2: Valuation and revenue quality
- Phase 3: CEC accreditation, licensing and compliance
- Phase 4: Financial due diligence
- Phase 5: Operational and staffing assessment
- Phase 6: Deal structure considerations
- Phase 7: Pre-settlement and transition planning
This is covered in Module 4 of the Playbook alongside the broader valuation framework for trades businesses.
Three things to check before you spend money on due diligence:
First, ask for the revenue split between residential and commercial installs over the past three years. A business shifting toward smaller residential jobs is a different animal from one building commercial contracts. Second, find out which individuals hold CEC accreditation — and whether those people are planning to stay post-settlement. Third, ask to see the maintenance contract register. Recurring maintenance income is the thing that separates a 2.5x business from a 4x business.
The EBITDA multiples for trades businesses framework will help you put these factors into a valuation range once you've done the screening.
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