Key takeaways

• Solution providers that add software and managed services to an existing EV charging offer can launch faster, without building every back-office process from scratch

• A strong EV charging business needs more than charge points; it depends on charge point management software (CPMS), billing, payments, support and a clear commercial model to generate ongoing revenue

• The right CPMS should support OCPP compatibility, tariff control, user access, reporting, scalable station management and monetisation

• Public EV charging can bring market-specific requirements around pricing, data and payments, so roles and responsibilities between you and your software partner need to be clear from the start

• Adding charging software and managed services to an existing offer deepens customer loyalty: a solution provider that manages a customer's charging service is harder to replace than one that only supplied the hardware

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Adding software to an existing EV charging offer is one of the more straightforward ways for solution providers to create a recurring revenue stream from customers they already have.

Whether you're an electrical installer, hardware distributor, energy provider, charge point network operator, facilities manager or real estate business, there's a way to build software into your EV charging offer and earn from it.

The chain is simple:

• A trusted partner provides the software
• You take that to market as part of your wider offer: the software is resold, not built
• Your customers are the site and charge point owners, property managers, fleets and workplaces that buy the service from you
• Their drivers are the people who plug in and charge

Throughout this article, we use CPMS  or software to describe the tool layer that connects, manages and monetises EV charging stations. You may also know this as a charging management back office,  platform or system.

How the software part of your offer works

If you already offer hardware, installation, energy services or facilities management, adding software works the same way: it becomes part of what your customers buy from you.

Some solution providers bundle software licences into a hardware project. Others use it to manage charging networks on behalf of their customers and earn a share of session revenue.

The model you choose determines how much of the customer relationship you manage and how much is managed by the software partner. Some models give you full ownership, while others share specific responsibilities, such as billing, driver support or platform access, between you and the software partner.

This differs from supplying hardware alone, where the relationship may be more limited after installation. It's also different from operating your own charging network as a charge point operator (CPO).

If you use a CPMS to manage your own network, you are operating as a CPO. If you deliver that CPMS to help your customers manage theirs, you are reselling that software as part of your wider offer.

Why more solution providers are adding software to their offer

The market context is clear. The IEA's Global EV Outlook 2026 reported that electric car sales grew by 20 per cent globally in 2025 and exceeded 20 million, equivalent to one-quarter of new car sales.

That growth doesn't make every model successful. It does, however, show why more solution providers are looking to add software and managed services to an existing EV charging offer.

For solution providers, adding software and billing can move the customer relationship beyond a one-off project to an ongoing service with recurring revenue. And this often enhances customer loyalty.

A business that manages a customer's charging service is harder to replace than one that only supplied the hardware.

Hardware distributors, for instance, can bundle software so customers get a complete solution out of the box, not just hardware they then need to figure out how to run. For facilities management or property businesses, managed EV charging can become part of a wider site service.

This works best when it starts from a real customer need: a workplace may want employee charging without manual invoicing; a residential site may need clear access for tenants and visitors; and a retail location may want to make charging available to customers while still managing revenue and support.

In each case, you're adding an operating model rather than just a product.

Choose your model before the software

Before choosing a platform, decide how the software fits into your offer:

• A software resale model may fit installers or hardware-led businesses that want to bundle charging management into their projects
• A managed-service model may suit businesses that want to run charging on the customer's behalf as part of an ongoing service

These models create different responsibilities. A software resale model keeps the engagement project-led, but it may limit ongoing involvement once the customer is set up. A managed-service model can create greater recurring revenue potential, but it needs clear support processes and a pricing model that accounts for ongoing costs.

This choice shapes everything else: contracts, pricing, onboarding, support, data access and how you explain value to your customers.

Build the commercial model early

EV charging revenue can come from several places. Solution providers may choose to earn from:

• Reselling software licences
• Building margin into a wider managed service
• Taking a share of revenue from charging sessions
• Using EV charging as a value-add that deepens existing relationships, even where it doesn't generate direct charging revenue

It's worth defining the model before the first customer proposal.

• Who pays the platform fee?
• Who sets the tariff?
• Who collects payment from drivers?
• Who invoices the site owner?
• Who handles refunds, failed sessions or support queries?

These questions sound operational, but they quickly become commercial. If billing is unclear, trust weakens. If pricing is rigid, you may struggle to serve different sites. And if reporting is weak, customers may not see the value of the service.

A CPMS with an effective monetisation layer should support the business model as well as the charging process. It should help you control tariffs, manage access, track transactions and understand site performance.

Look for software that can scale

A charging network needs more than connected hardware. It needs onboarding, monitoring, remote diagnostics, tariff setup, user management, payment flows, billing logic and reporting. If you're handling all of this manually, the model can be difficult to scale.

That's why a CPMS matters. It gives you a central place to manage the service rather than building separate processes for every customer or every site.

A strong CPMS should make everyday tasks easier: adding charge points, setting tariffs, checking charging activity, identifying errors, managing access and giving customers useful data. It should also give you visibility over the service and the data your customers need, without having to rebuild the software layer yourself.

The vaylens product overview covers access control, tariffs, automated billing, payments and station management. For you, that's the core of what needs to work every day.

Don't let hardware choices limit your offer

The hardware you recommend can lock your customers in before the software conversation has even started.

If you're tied too tightly to one hardware model, you may struggle to serve different customer sites. A workplace, residential building, retail location and depot may all need different hardware, power levels and site setups.

This is where OCPP compatibility becomes important. The Open Charge Alliance describes the Open ChargePoint Protocol (OCPP) as the global open communication protocol between charging stations and charging management software. In practical terms, it helps the software and charge points work together across different providers.

OCPP isn't a magic fix for every integration question. Versions, testing, configuration and support still matter. But it means you're not forced to recommend one hardware brand, and it reduces the risk of locking yourself or your customers into one setup.

For customers, it means they're not tied to one brand as their needs grow. For you, it makes the software you resell as part of your offer easier to adapt across different sites, sectors and markets.

Know the rules for your market

In the EU, the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR) sets requirements around pricing transparency, user information, payment methods and data provision for public charging. Article 5 requirements apply broadly to public charging except where the regulation states otherwise, as confirmed in the European Commission's AFIR Q&A.

That matters if you're supporting public charging in EU markets. It doesn't mean every private, workplace or depot charging project follows the same rules.

The practical point is simple: know the market, know your role and agree who's responsible for compliance tasks. If you're supporting public charging, you'll need to understand how pricing is shown, how payment works, how data is handled and what support drivers can access.

For cross-border operations, this becomes even more important. EU-level rules, national requirements and customer contracts all need to fit together.

Plan support before customers need it

Software is only part of your offer.

Your customers will judge you on whether charging works when drivers need it. That means support processes must be planned before launch.

Think about:

• Who answers the first support request?
• Who investigates a failed payment?
• Who checks whether a charge point is offline?
• Who contacts the installer or maintenance provider?
• Who explains a tariff to a site manager?

You don't need to do every task alone, but you do need a clear support model. The software provider, hardware provider and maintenance partner should each know where their responsibility starts and ends.

That clarity protects the customer relationship. It also protects your margin, because poorly defined support responsibilities can quickly absorb the revenue the service was meant to create.

How vaylens supports solution providers

You've defined the model, built the commercial logic and planned who handles what. The software should support the day-to-day running of the service.

vaylens gives you a CPMS with a built-in monetisation layer. That means you don't need to build billing logic, station connectivity or payment integrations from scratch. vaylens handles station onboarding, tariff setup, automated billing and real-time monitoring. You focus on the customer relationship, commercial model and service delivery.

In practice, that means onboarding your first customer sites, configuring tariffs, setting up access rules and using reporting to show customers the value of the service. As your portfolio grows, automated billing and multi-site management do the heavy lifting.

Get started with vaylens

If you're considering how to add EV charging services to your existing customer offer, set up a call with one of our specialists.

It's a short conversation. You'll cover your customer base and types of EV charging projects, the commercial model that fits your business and what getting started would look like for you.

Prefer to see the CPMS in action first? Register for a live demo to see how station onboarding, tariff setup and billing work in practice.