Construction Invoice Template

Download the construction invoice template

We checked the top “construction invoice template” results. Most are a general invoice with a construction picture, several ask for your name, phone and email before the download, and few handle percent-complete billing or change orders as their own lines. This template does:

• Job and site details: owner or customer, project name, job site address, contract number and date, the billing number and the date the work is billed up to.
• Progress billing: a schedule of values with previous %, % to date, previously billed, this period and completed to date.
• Change orders: their own block, so the revised contract sum is clear.
• Retainage, only if you use it: a rate you set (or 0%), the amount held this period and the total held to date.
• Labour vs materials: the T&M tab and the Word file keep labour, materials, and equipment, disposal and permits in separate sections with their own subtotals.

Make a construction progress invoice in your browser

Type each part of the contract with its value, what was billed as complete last time and how far it is now. Signed change orders go in as their own lines. The invoice below updates as you type.

How to fill out a construction progress invoice in the spreadsheet

1. List the contract as a schedule of values. On the Progress invoice tab, break the contract price into parts of the job (demolition, framing, rough-ins, finishes) with a value for each. The values should add up to the contract price.
2. Add signed change orders. Put each approved change order in the change orders block with its own number, description, date signed and price. Leave out anything not yet signed.
3. Carry over last period. Copy last invoice’s % to date into Prev. % for each line. On the first invoice leave it at 0.
4. Enter this period’s percent complete. Type how far each line is now in % to date. The sheet works out previously billed, this period and completed to date.
5. Set retainage and tax, if they apply. Enter the retainage rate from your contract (0% if there is none) and a tax rate if tax applies. The summary shows the amount due this invoice.
6. Fill in the job details and send it. Add the owner, job site, contract number, invoice number and the date the work is billed up to. Save it as a PDF and email it.

What to include on a construction invoice

• Your business: name, address, phone, email, and your license number if your trade or area needs one on paperwork.
• Who pays and where the work is: the owner or customer’s billing address and the job site address, which are often different.
• The contract: project name, contract number or date, so the invoice ties to what was signed.
• Invoice number, invoice date, due date and, for progress billing, the date the work is billed up to.
• The work: either the schedule of values with percent complete, or labour, materials and equipment lines with quantities and prices.
• Change orders: each signed one with its number, what changed and its price.
• Deposits and earlier payments, retainage if any, tax if it applies, and the amount due.
• How to pay, and any lien or warranty notice your contract or local law requires.

Construction progress billing: how percent complete works

Progress billing means invoicing a larger job in stages as work gets done, instead of one bill at the end. You split the contract price into a schedule of values and, each billing period, bill the share of each line that is newly complete.

For each line: completed to date = value × % to date. Previously billed = value × previous %. This period = completed to date − previously billed.

Worked example (the sample in the file). A $35,000 contract plus a signed $1,200 change order makes a revised contract sum of $36,200.

Completed to date is $22,200, previously billed is $10,000, so work this period is $12,200. With 5% retainage, $610 is held back and the amount due is $11,590. Retainage held to date is $22,200 × 5% = $1,110, and $14,000 of the contract is left to bill.

Percent complete should match work actually in place. If the owner, a lender or an architect checks each payment request, agree how progress is measured before the first invoice.

How to bill change orders

• Bill a change order only once the customer has signed it. Put the number, what changed and the date signed on the line.
• On a progress invoice, add it to the schedule of values as its own line so the revised contract sum goes up and you bill it by percent complete like any other line.
• On a time-and-materials invoice, list it in its own section rather than mixing it into labour or materials, so the customer can match it to the paperwork.
• A credit (work removed from the job) is a change order with a negative amount.

Retainage on a construction invoice

Retainage (called holdback in much of Canada) is a share of each progress payment that the payer keeps back until a later point, usually completion, as security that the work gets finished. It is still money you have earned; it is just paid later.

• It comes from the contract or the law, not the invoice. Only show retainage if your contract or local law calls for it, at the rate it sets. Many residential jobs have none; enter 0% (in Ontario the 10% basic holdback applies to most jobs, renovations included).
• Rates and rules vary. On US federal construction contracts, the Federal Acquisition Regulation says retainage is used when satisfactory progress has not been achieved and “shall not exceed 10 percent” of the approved amount, and that retained amounts are paid promptly once the contract is complete (48 CFR 32.103). In Ontario, the Construction Act requires each payer to keep a 10% basic holdback (explained by Lerners LLP). States and provinces set their own rules on rates and release.
• How the template works it out: retainage this period = work this period × the rate. Retainage held to date = completed to date × the rate. This assumes one rate for the whole job; if your contract lowers it later, change the rate and check the figures.
• Billing it at the end: when the contract says retainage is due, send an invoice for the amount held to date as its own line.

This is general information, not legal advice. Check your contract and the rules where the job is, or ask a construction lawyer.

Time and materials vs fixed-price construction invoices

T&M worked example (the sample in the file). Labour: carpenter 16 h × $65 = $1,040 and labourer 16 h × $40 = $640, so $1,680. Materials $905. Dumpster $450. Change order CO-1 $180. Subtotal $3,215.00. Tax at 5% is $160.75, total $3,375.75. Less a $1,000 deposit, the amount due is $2,375.75.

Keeping materials apart from labour lets the customer check receipts against the bill, and lets you see what each job really cost. For pricing a job before you start, see the roofing calculator, the square footage calculator and the margin calculator.

What BrickByClick does for construction billing, and what it does not

BrickByClick serves local service businesses in 30+ industries, including builders and remodelers. Here is what it does today, plainly:

• BrickByClick Free ($0 a month): a customer list, invoices sent by email with a pay link, and card and bank payments through your own Stripe account (Stripe’s processing + 0.5% per card payment, max $25).
• Starter ($99 a month): estimates the customer accepts online, a deposit invoice from the accepted estimate and a final invoice that credits it, jobs, scheduling, a crew app and job costing. See estimate and invoice software.
• Not built: percent-complete progress billing against a schedule of values, and retainage. For those, use the spreadsheet on this page.

Questions people ask