What to put on a contractor invoice
- Your details. Business name, phone, e-mail, and license number if your state requires one on documents.
- Customer and job address. Who is billed and where the work was done.
- Invoice number. Unique and in order (for example 1042). It is how you and the customer find the invoice later.
- Invoice date and due date. Write the actual due date, not only "net 30".
- Itemized labor and materials. Quantity, unit price and amount per line, matching the accepted estimate. Added work should match a signed change order.
- Tax. Show it as its own line if it applies. Whether labor is taxable differs by state.
- Deposit or payments received. Subtract them so the customer sees the balance due.
- Total and balance due. One clear number at the bottom.
- How to pay. Check payee name, bank transfer details or a payment link, whatever you actually accept.
- Terms and late fee. One sentence, ideally agreed on the estimate before the work started.
A worked example
A bathroom faucet and drain repair, billed after the job, with a deposit paid at booking:
| Labor: 8 hours × $70 | $560.00 |
| Materials: faucet $184.40, drain kit $62.00, fittings $66.00 | $312.40 |
| Subtotal | $872.40 |
| Tax on materials: 8% × $312.40 | $24.99 |
| Total | $897.39 |
|---|---|
| Deposit received | −$250.00 |
| Balance due | $647.39 |
The numbers are illustrative; tax rules for labor and materials vary by state.
Payment terms: pick one and write the date
| Term | Meaning | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Due on receipt | Pay as soon as the invoice is received | Small jobs, repairs, one-day work |
| Net 15 | Pay within 15 days of the invoice date | Mid-size residential jobs |
| Net 30 | Pay within 30 days of the invoice date | Larger jobs, commercial customers |
| Milestones | Invoice at set stages (for example deposit, rough-in, completion) | Long or expensive projects; plan them with the payment schedule calculator |
Late fees
If you charge one, agree it in writing before the work, usually on the accepted estimate, and repeat it on the invoice, for example: "Balance due by June 15. A late fee of 1.5% per month applies to overdue balances." Rules on maximum rates and required wording differ by state, so check yours. See the late payment fee calculator to see what a fee comes to.
Common mistakes
- Sending an invoice that does not match the estimate, with no change order for the difference.
- Forgetting to credit the deposit, then having to send a corrected invoice.
- Writing "net 30" without the date, so nobody knows when it is late.
- Leaving out how to pay, which adds days to every payment.
- Waiting weeks to invoice. Send it the day the work is done or the milestone is reached.
Make the invoice in two minutes
The free Estimate & Invoice Maker turns an estimate into an invoice, adds tax, deposit and balance due for you and saves a PDF. No sign-up; your data stays in your browser. Prefer a template? Try the free invoice template. Not yet estimating? Read how to write a contractor estimate.
Illustrative figures for planning only. This is not accounting, tax or legal advice.