EV charging installers: how to quote, schedule, and certify a charge point job

Qualify the enquiry before booking the survey

When an enquiry comes in, gather three facts before committing to a survey date: whether the installation is residential or commercial, which grant (if any) applies, and roughly what the property's existing supply rating is. Residential installations may be eligible for the OZEV Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS) grant of up to £500 - but only when the installer holds current OZEV approval and the property meets the eligibility criteria (flats and rental properties under the current scheme). Commercial and workplace installations fall under the Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS), which as of 1 April 2026 offers £500 per socket covering up to 75% of eligible costs, with a maximum of 40 sockets per applicant. OZEV has described 2026/27 as the final grant-supported year under this structure, so commercial customers moving quickly will get access to funding that may not be available next year. Qualifying at this stage means no surprises at quote, and it means the survey can be booked with the right paperwork ready.

Survey the site and assess the electrical supply

The survey determines everything downstream. Check the property's fuse rating - typically 60A, 80A, or 100A - and the current maximum demand. Note any existing high-load appliances: heat pumps, solar PV, electric showers over 9 kW, or existing EV chargers all contribute to cumulative demand that the DNO will assess. Identify the cable route from the consumer unit to the proposed charger location and check for any cable containment or groundwork requirements. Note the charger make and model the customer wants, its power rating in kW, and whether it is an OZEV-approved model (required for grant claims). Record everything in a format that feeds directly into the DNO notification and the quote - a photo log, a load assessment form, or a structured field record rather than handwritten notes that need transcribing later.

Submit the DNO notification at survey stage - not after job acceptance

This step is the one most likely to cause schedule problems when it is left too late. Any charger over 3.68 kW (16A) - which covers virtually every 7.4 kW domestic model on sale in 2026 - requires a formal DNO notification under the Distribution Connection and Use of System Agreement (DCUSA). The notification form asks for the property address, charger make and model, its power rating, the installer's NICEIC or NAPIT registration number, fuse rating, and details of any other high-load appliances. For a standard 7.4 kW charger on a 100A fuse, approval is automatic and typically free - the Energy Networks Association (ENA) reports that 95% of notifications are approved within five working days. Manual reviews, needed when the property has existing high loads, take 10 to 15 working days and attract a fee of £20 to £30. Submit at survey stage rather than after the customer accepts the quote. This means the approval timeline is known before the job is booked, and a DNO-required fuse upgrade (needed in roughly 3 to 5% of cases, costing £300 to £600) surfaces before - not during - the installation.

Build and send the quote from the survey findings

A quote built from survey data is defensible. A quote built from a phone conversation is not. The quote should include: the charger unit and any accessories, cable and containment materials, labour, the DNO notification fee if applicable, any additional circuit or consumer unit work identified at survey, and - for commercial jobs - the WCS grant deduction applied correctly so the customer sees the net cost. State the charger model and OZEV approval status explicitly so the grant eligibility is visible on the face of the document. Include a note on the DNO notification status and the expected approval date so the customer understands the installation timeline before they accept. Quote validity periods matter here too: equipment prices and grant amounts can move, and a quote that sits open for six weeks without a validity clause can create a dispute. The quotes feature supports quote versioning and customer acceptance tracking, so the accepted version is unambiguous when the job starts.

Raise the job record and order equipment

Once the quote is accepted, open a job record that carries every piece of information from survey to completion: survey notes, the DNO notification reference and approval date, the grant application reference, the charger model and any accessories, installation date, and the engineer assigned. Equipment lead times vary by charger brand - popular 7.4 kW units from established suppliers typically ship within three to five working days, but some commercial rapid chargers require two to four weeks. Order against confirmed DNO approval, not against quote acceptance, to avoid taking delivery of equipment before the notification is cleared. Linking the purchase order to the job record means materials costs are tracked against the job from the moment they are committed. The jobs feature is where this single record lives from survey to invoice.

Schedule the installation

Book the installation date after DNO approval is confirmed and equipment delivery is verified. For residential jobs, coordinate access with the customer and confirm whether the consumer unit location requires any preparation work. For commercial and workplace jobs, check whether the site has access restrictions, permit-to-work requirements, or preferred working windows that affect the engineer's schedule. Where cable routes involve groundwork - burying a duct from a sub-station kiosk to a car park charger post, for example - the groundwork trade must complete before the charger installation, not on the same day. Build a realistic programme that accounts for all predecessors before confirming the date to the customer.

Install, test, and commission to BS 7671 Section 722

The physical installation covers the dedicated circuit from the consumer unit, the cable run via the agreed route and containment, the charger unit itself, and any additional protective devices. Testing follows BS 7671 Section 722, the section of the IET Wiring Regulations specific to EV charging equipment. This includes insulation resistance testing, earth fault loop impedance testing, and a functional test of the charger's smart charging capability where the Smart Charge Point Regulations require it. Document every test result at the time of the test. Any deviation from the survey-stage assumptions - a longer cable run, a cable route change, an additional circuit - should be recorded as a variation against the job record before the engineer leaves site, not mentioned verbally and forgotten.

Issue the certificate, complete the grant claim, and invoice

An NICEIC or NAPIT-registered installer self-certifies the work under Part P of the Building Regulations, removing the need for a Local Authority Building Control notification. The Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC), issued under BS 7671, must cover the dedicated circuit and all associated works. For OZEV grant claims, the EIC reference and the DNO approval reference are both required documents - they belong in the handover pack alongside the charger manufacturer's commissioning certificate, the user guide, and any smart charging app setup instructions. Where the WCS applies, submit the grant claim through the OZEV portal with the complete documentation set before issuing the final invoice. Issue the invoice after the claim is submitted, not before, to avoid the sequence becoming a chasing exercise across three separate processes. A handover document template that captures the EIC reference, DNO approval confirmation, grant claim status, and commissioning certificate in one place keeps this stage repeatable. The document templates feature is built for exactly this kind of standardized, multi-document output.