[RE-wrenches] large module orders - COD??

[Bob-O Schultze]

Jeff,
Welcome to the wonderful world of big business in 2009.
Most states allow a contractor to ask for a reasonable deposit upon  
executing a contract. Often it's about 10%. On an order that size, I'd  
get whatever the law would allow upfront and COD for the big ticket  
items. It's reasonable to leave yourself on the hook for your labor  
and the smaller stuff until the job is completed so long as your  
contract clearly states a short final payment timeframe and as much  
interest and late payment fees as your state will allow if they miss  
it. Almost all clients will accept that a contractor needs some good  
faith money and go for that. Offer the same deal of 10% upfront to  
your PV supplier and they'll likely say, "And where did you say you  
would like these shipped?" Doesn't alleviate the problem of having to  
have good cash reserves or good credit, but it will help.
If either the client or the distributor doesn't get it, do business  
elsewhere. It's harsh and a bitch to have to walk away from a good job  
that you've put a lot of energy into, but it seems unwise (at least in  
the present economy) to extend yourself any further than that.
Good Luck, Bob-O


On Jul 6, 2009, at 6:57 AM, Jeff Yago wrote:

Most of our projects do not require ordering and stocking large  
quantities of solar modules, so we usually order in one pallet at a  
time quantities since most of our installs are in the 4 to 6 kW size  
range.    However, we have a firm purchase order for over $100,000  
worth of Solar World 175 modules, but the client will not pay anything  
until the modules have been shipped and received in good condition.  I  
have been able to get their agreement to pay COD, but have not found  
any supplier who handles Solar World 175's and is willing to fill this  
large order without payment in full at time of shipment.

If we cannot make this work, I will be forced to go back through the  
process of getting another module approved for this installation and  
find a supplier willing to make this work using a different module  
brand, but I hate to go through all this after getting the SolarWorld  
175's approvied by both the architect and client.  They are ready to  
purchase these today.

How do you handle these larger special orders without having to have a  
$100,000 line of credit with each material supplier?

Thanks,

Jeff Yago


_____________________________________________________________
Netscape.  Just the Net You Need.
_______________________________________________
List sponsored by Home Power magazine

List Address: RE-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org

Options & settings:
http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org

List-Archive: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org

List rules & etiquette:
www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm

Check out participant bios:
www.members.re-wrenches.org