How to make an invoice for construction project

We want every small business owner to really feel like they know how to invoice as a consultant or contractor. Every independent contractor has various tasks to do outside of their actual work. Now small businesses will need to become familiar with the 1099-K form. The final row of your table is the combined total of all the subtotals, which forms the amount owing on the invoice. Many invoice formats record this figure at the top of the document as well.

Consistent formatting

If your invoice is complete, give it one final review and send it to your customer. Try to send these out as soon as possible, so people have ample time to complete their payments. Use these free email and text templates to cut down on missed and late payments from your customers. When you work in trades, invoices are used in most transactions, so learning how to write one for contractor work is essential for managing your business. If you want faster payments, you need to reduce the back-and-forth as much as possible.

• This provides an easy reference and shows exactly how the pricing is determined.
• They include features like automated reminders for overdue payments and the ability to track the status of your invoices.
• Learning how to write an invoice for construction work is essential to getting paid for your hard work and to running a successful business overall.
• For a range of reasons, construction specifications vary in their level…
• In this guide, we’ll explore the importance of construction invoices, how to create them effectively, and best practices to streamline your billing process.

Photo Documentation

• Contractors are paid for the work they document, not necessarily the work they perform.
• This feature ensures that your invoices uphold the highest standards of professionalism while also allowing for easy distribution to your customers.
• Here we’ll share not just what it’s used for and everything that should be included on it; we’ll also provide a free construction invoice template to get you started.
• Write down all the materials (fence panels, pickets, etc.) and tools involved in rebuilding or even building a fence from scratch.
• To create a bill for your services, enter the client’s information, materials quantity and rate, a description of work, a labor description, hours worked, and rate, as well as miscellaneous charges.
• Discover more about how Billing Link®️ can enhance your construction billing efforts by visiting our product page.

On other projects, vendors and subcontractors may not be responsible to adhere to the prime contractor’s invoicing standards, and can simply send over their own invoice they send across all jobs. It will then be the GC’s responsibility to adhere to the prime contract on behalf of all hired subcontractors by submitting additional documentation alongside their payment application. By leveraging technology, you can eliminate the need for manual calculations and paperwork, allowing you to focus more on the projects you have and getting more. Using technology to simplify the invoicing process not only saves you time and effort but also helps you maintain a professional image with your clients, who expect businesses to have the latest tech. TCLI’s Billing Link®️ software makes it easy to create, manage, and track construction invoices. Easily integrated into your construction billing routine, Billing Link®️ stands out as a transformative tool designed to enhance your invoicing capabilities.

How to Bill as a Contractor

Using Houzz Pro all-in-one business software specifically designed for contractors will help you create invoices more quickly and run your business more efficiently. Explore the invoicing features and more in our General Contractor Business Software. No matter the pacing of the invoices, construction invoice sending them on time is key to getting paid. The sooner you deliver the invoice, the sooner you are likely to get paid. Therefore, send the final invoice as soon as you have calculated all the costs of the project, ideally within 48 hours. The best thing is to just make sure that the payment has cleared and is in your account before issuing an unconditional release.

• Enter job date and time, job ID, job location, worker name, invoice number, and date, as well as descriptions of labor, parts, and materials, hours and rates, in order to calculate the grand total owed.
• If subcontractors are unaware that retainage will affect their payment timeline, they may halt their work until resolving the dispute, thereby blocking other aspects of the project from completion.
• You get a copy of these 1099-K forms and reconcile the amounts with your own, impeccable records.
• A construction invoice acts as a link between the physical work completed on a project site and the financial acknowledgment of that work.
• Here are a few benefits of using software vs. using a construction job invoice template.
• In the strong majority of states, conditional lien waivers can be used in order to assure a customer that they won’t have to pay twice, while also preserving the right to lien if something goes awry.

Best practices for construction invoicing success

Be certain that you’re sending a professional invoice to your clients by including these details. Retainage (or retention) is a percentage of your payment that the GC or owner will hold until the project or job is complete. The contract should provide details about the retainage percentage, which typically falls somewhere between 5–10%. The details of a construction invoice will vary based on the project unearned revenue size, the contract and who is submitting the invoice. For instance, a residential project invoice will be much less complex than the invoice a general contractor (GC) submits to the owner of a large public project. The ‘exception/exclusion’ clause in the lien waiver/release forms doesn’t apply to charges that were excluded because of a mistake.

• Or, if the job is botched, you may want to consider withholding payment until the work is brought up to snuff.
• This information plays an important role in ensuring your invoice is promptly recognized and processed by the client’s accounts payable department.
• But when you send invoices off to your clients, it’s best to send it as a PDF so that they can’t do any edits on their end.
• An important element of your construction business is to consistently write an invoice for construction work you perform.
• It’s a good idea to provide enough information to support the requested payments, but not too much where the invoice becomes illegible.
• If a particular milestone is no longer needed or if one stage takes longer than necessary, you could end up waiting longer for payment than you expected.
• Use this building construction invoice sample template to simplify your construction invoicing process for any construction service.

Assign an Invoice Number

Both mechanics lien claims and payment bond claims were specifically tailored to provide recovery options that aren’t as expensive, slow, and risky as litigation. Where a lien or bond claim isn’t available, pursuing legal action or taking to small claims court can always get the job done. Construction invoices are documents that contractors Bookkeeping for Painters use to work out how much money they’re owed by their clients and when those costs should be paid. Click here If you want to skip straight to our free construction invoice templates.