They turned on their own lights for the first time in July 2020, and VictoryPower, a residential solar energy company, already has a presence in 32 states, including 20 of the most active solar markets in the U.S.
The business is focused on matching homeowners with a solar solution that protects the environment while reducing their out-of-pocket energy costs.
To date, the company has installed more than 150 megawatts of solar panels — which means they service approximately 28,500 homes, according to the Social Energy Industries Association.
Juggling solar deals across states while wearing seven hats
As an executive administrator for the fast-growing solar startup, Tori Price has her work cut out for her. By her count, she wears something like seven different hats every day — including coordinating projects and making sure salespeople are paid.
“Once we get a deal done, it’s my job to make sure that all the documents and utility bills have been submitted, make sure there aren’t any liens on the houses and that trees don’t have to be cut down — anything that needs to be done to get from sale to glass on the roof is something that I help coordinate,” Tori explains.
She’s also responsible for payments.
“Our reps are 100% commission-based, so once a project is done, I need to make sure commissions come through from our install partner so we can divy up the funds and pay out our team,” she continues.
Challenge: Ensuring fast and accurate commissions when every deal is different
As a company relying on a team of commission-based sales contractors to grow their footprint, VictoryPower needs to make sure that everyone is paid promptly and accurately on every deal they make. Unfortunately, selling solar isn’t anywhere near as straightforward as selling most other products — which creates additional challenges.
“One house might have a 7.8-kilowatt system and another house might have a 7.6-kilowatt system, and that 0.2 kilowatt difference changes the whole deal,” says Tori. “Deals also vary on a state-by-state basis. No two deals are ever the same.”
Solution: Everee, a modern payment platform built for contractors
VictoryPower had been using spreadsheets to facilitate contractor payments. Quickly, they learned that the system couldn’t keep pace with their growth.
Seeking a better way forward, the team began looking for a scalable, purpose-built payment solution that would ensure sales contractors were paid correctly and on time.
As Tori joined the company, the leadership team was in the process of moving to Everee. As a result, they’ve been able to process complex commission payouts rapidly and without error — much to the delight of the contractors they rely on.
Results: Lightning-fast payments and happier contractors
At a foundational level, Everee has given VictoryPower the peace of mind that comes with knowing their commission-payment process is streamlined, accurate and predictable.
Here are some of the benefits they’re already enjoying due to their decision to invest in Everee.
Rapid results
Thanks to the platform’s intuitive design, Everee is incredibly easy to use. As such, the VictoryPower team was immediately productive on the platform, which gave them confidence they made the right decision right out of the gate.
“It’s so easy to onboard. It’s easy to remove people. It’s foolproof,” Tori says. “It would be very difficult for someone to not understand how to use it, even if they’ve never seen it before. If someone can log into their email, they can process pay. It’s really that easy.”
Simple and efficient
With Everee, VictoryPower is able to make sure the workers who are owed money each week get paid quickly in a process that “doesn’t take any time at all.”
“It really takes us less than five minutes to submit payments,” Tori explains. “I love it — it’s super easy. I don’t have to ever make people wait for their money, which is nice because commission-based workers don’t want to or can’t afford to.”
Accurate payments
Wednesday is payday at VictoryPower. Tori puts payments into the system by Monday so she can send out commission reports to contractors ahead of time, which they can review for accuracy.
“If there are any discrepancies, contractors can let us know, and we can come back and edit payments before we ultimately approve them and send them out,” Tori continues.
This ensures VictoryPower doesn’t overpay or underpay workers — and gives them exactly what they’re owed instead.
Faster commissions for new hires
As everyone who’s ever worked a commission-based job knows, it’s easy to feel like you’re going to fail when you’re just starting out. Maybe you’ve sold one or two deals in three weeks and your bills are coming due, for example.
Thanks to Everee, the VictoryPower team is able to pay new hires who might be struggling the day after the company gets paid — which improves the new hire experience.
“If we receive commissions on Thursday, and I know someone’s recently started and is really struggling and needs confidence, I’ll pay them Friday with Everee,” Tori says. “That gets them paid five days earlier, which can really make a huge difference in someone’s day or week — and feel like their new company cares about them.”
Increased contractor engagement and better performance
Many folks who work commission-based jobs are used to getting paid in one lump sum at the end of the month. By paying contractors weekly — right after the company gets paid — the VictoryPower team benefits from a more effective salesforce that’s excited by weekly payouts.
“As soon as we get paid, that’s when other people get paid,” says Tori. “It’s a profit-share.”
Everee also enables VictoryPower to increase contractor engagement through incentives.
“We might tell the sales team that the first person who gets three deals in on Friday will get an extra $150, for example,” Tori continues. “It’s nice that, at the end of the day, I can go into Everee and say, hey, you’ve earned $150, and it’ll be in your account on Monday.”
That’s compared to the way most companies pay commissions: once a month or more. By paying out incentives and other bonuses promptly, VictoryPower is able to further increase engagement.
Strong customer support
These days, it’s not uncommon for companies to hide contact info and seemingly do everything possible to direct people to chatbots or resource centers instead of connecting them with actual humans.
That’s not the case with Everee, which offers exemplary customer support, according to Tori.
“I’ve reached out to Tyler (head of customer success) probably more times than he’d like me to — I’m sure he’s constantly thinking, ‘You know, we have a help desk.’” Tori says. “But he’s always quick to answer me, and he gives me great responses. He finds the answer and sends it to me, which is really helpful.”
Any last words on Everee’s customer service?
“Everybody there is a real person. They’re easy to work with, they’re helpful, and they’re very responsive,” Tori concludes. “We’ve never waited more than 24 hours to get a response.”
For more information on how your team can use Everee to make sure that contractors and employees are paid promptly and without any hassles, request a demo today.
