What Is Vertically Integrated Installer?

This structure sits opposite the dealer and sales-org model on the sales-versus-install spectrum. A vertically integrated installer employs or directly contracts its own install crews, meaning the same company that signs the homeowner also physically puts the system on the roof, rather than handing a signed contract off to a separate installation partner.

This structural difference changes how a company weighs its own CAC exposure and appointment-buying decisions. Vertically integrated installers preserve margin better against 2026's 40% CAC spike than dealer networks do, since they capture install-side revenue on the same job that absorbed the acquisition cost, giving them more room to invest in acquisition without squeezing rep commission the way a pure sales org has to.

For this reason, vertically integrated installers are more likely to treat purchased appointments as a supplement to existing in-house and referral acquisition channels, not a full replacement, per industry analysis, buying appointments selectively to fill capacity gaps or enter new markets rather than as the sole acquisition engine the way a dealer network might.