Contractor Invoice Template
This free contractor invoice template is built for general contractors and builders — the person holding the contract, scheduling the subs, and answering for the whole job. Contractor billing is different from trade billing in one important way: you are rarely invoicing for a finished thing. You are invoicing for a percentage of a much larger agreement, usually more than once, while the work is still going on and while money is owed in both directions. Fill it in, download the PDF, and send it against your draw schedule.
That makes clarity worth real money. A contractor invoice should restate the contract amount, show what portion this draw covers, list change orders separately from the original scope, and account for retainage the owner is holding back. Done properly it reads as a running statement of the job rather than a bill that appeared out of nowhere, which is exactly what keeps a payment moving through a homeowner, a lender, or a commercial accounts department. The generator below is pre-filled with a realistic progress draw you can edit line by line.
What this template looks like
| Description | Qty | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Demolition & disposal — 100% complete | 1 | $6,200.00 | $6,200.00 |
| Framing & structural revisions — 100% complete | 1 | $12,400.00 | $12,400.00 |
| Rough electrical & plumbing — 100% complete | 1 | $9,800.00 | $9,800.00 |
| Cabinetry & millwork — 60% of $17,000 contract value | 1 | $10,200.00 | $10,200.00 |
| Change order #2 — relocate gas line (signed Apr 2) | 1 | $1,450.00 | $1,450.00 |
A sample invoice — every field, from the line items to the tax and notes, is yours to edit in the free generator.
Get this template
How to fill out a contractor invoice
Lead with your company and CCB or license
Business name matching your bank account, address, phone, email, and your contractor license or registration number. Most states require the license number on every invoice and estimate, and in several of them an unlicensed contractor cannot sue to collect. Add your general liability carrier if you work commercially, because their accounts department will ask before the first payment clears.
Anchor the invoice to the contract
Name the client, the project address, the contract date, and the total contract amount in the header block. Every draw after the first is read against that number, and an owner who can see the original figure spends far less time working out whether this bill is reasonable. On commercial jobs, add the purchase order or job number their system expects.
Number the draw, not just the invoice
Give the invoice its own number in one running sequence, then label the draw plainly: "Progress draw 3 of 5." Add the issue date, the due date, and the period covered. Lenders releasing construction funds and commercial accounts departments both file by draw number, and an unlabeled invoice sits in a queue while somebody works out where it belongs.
Bill by percentage of each scope line
Break the contract into the same divisions you used when you priced it — demolition, framing, mechanical, finishes — and bill each as a percentage complete rather than as a single lump. Show the percentage and the resulting amount on the line. An owner can verify "cabinetry 60 percent" by walking the site; nobody can verify "progress payment, $10,200."
Keep change orders separate and signed
Never fold extra work into an existing scope line. Each change order gets its own line with its number and the date it was signed, so the original contract value stays legible underneath. Get the signature before the work happens, even by email. Unsigned extras are the single most common reason a contractor invoice stalls or gets partially paid.
Show retainage rather than hiding it
If the contract holds back five or ten percent until completion, calculate it on the invoice and show the amount withheld. Hiding it makes your total look wrong and invites a correction from their side; showing it proves you are tracking the same numbers they are. Bill the accumulated retainage as its own final invoice once the job is signed off.
Handle subs, materials, and pass-throughs
On a fixed-price contract your subs are your cost and belong inside your scope lines. On cost-plus, list each subcontractor and material invoice at cost with your agreed fee shown separately, and attach the backup. Whichever structure you agreed, follow it exactly — mixing the two is what turns a payment dispute into an audit of the whole job.
Close with terms and lien waivers
State net terms and any late interest you actually intend to charge. Note which lien waiver accompanies the payment — conditional on this draw, unconditional once funds clear — because owners and lenders often will not release money without one. List the payment methods you accept, including ACH details for anyone paying by transfer.
Billing tips for contractor invoices
Progress billing and the schedule of values
A schedule of values breaks the contract sum into line items that add back up to the total, and it is agreed at the start rather than invented at billing time. Every draw then reports a percentage against those same lines. Commercial work often formalizes this as AIA G702 and G703 forms, but the logic is identical on a residential remodel. Agree the schedule before the first invoice and your draws become arithmetic instead of negotiation.
Change orders are where the money leaks
Most contractors lose more on unbilled extras than on underpriced bids. The pattern is familiar: the owner asks for something small, the crew does it that afternoon, and it never reaches an invoice, or it appears three months later and gets disputed. Fix it with a rule rather than good intentions — nothing gets built without a written price and an acknowledgement, even a one-line email reply, and every change order is billed on the next draw while the memory is fresh.
Retainage and getting the last five percent
Retainage exists to guarantee you finish the punch list, and it is where contractor margin quietly dies. Know the amount being held from day one, keep it visible on every draw, and treat the punch list as the paid work it actually is. When the last item is done, send a final invoice for the accumulated retainage with a completion certificate and your unconditional lien waiver attached, so the owner has nothing left to wait for.
Lien waivers, exchanged in the right order
A conditional waiver takes effect only once payment actually clears; an unconditional one takes effect immediately, whether or not the check is good. Send conditional waivers with the invoice and unconditional ones only after the funds have settled. Collect the same documents from your own subcontractors before you pay them, because an unpaid sub can lien the owner's property even when the owner has already paid you in full.
Cost-plus vs. fixed price on the invoice
A fixed-price contract bills percentages against agreed scope lines and your costs stay yours. Cost-plus bills the actual sub and material invoices with your fee shown separately, and it obliges you to attach the backup every time. Neither is better, but they produce completely different documents, and clients who signed one and then receive the other assume something is being concealed. Decide at contract, then keep every invoice on that same format.
Frequently asked questions
What should a contractor invoice include?
Your company name, contact details, and license number; the client, project address, contract date, and contract total; a unique invoice number and the draw number. Then the scope lines with percentage complete, change orders listed separately with their numbers and signature dates, the subtotal, any retainage withheld, previous payments received, and the balance due. Finish with your payment terms and the lien waiver accompanying the draw.
How do I invoice for progress payments?
Agree a schedule of values with the client before work starts — the contract sum split into line items that add back to the total. Each draw then reports what percentage of each line is complete and bills that share. Show the percentage on the invoice rather than only the dollar figure, because an owner can walk the site and verify "drywall 80 percent" but has no way to check an unlabeled lump sum.
What is retainage and how do I bill it?
Retainage is a percentage of each payment — usually five or ten percent — that the owner holds back until the job is complete, as security that you will finish the punch list. Show the amount withheld on every draw so both sides track the same running total. Once final inspection passes and the punch list is cleared, send a separate final invoice for the full accumulated amount with your completion documents attached.
How should I handle change orders on an invoice?
Always as their own line, never merged into an existing scope item. Give each one a number, the date it was authorized, and a short description of what changed. Get written approval before the work happens — an email reply is enough in most cases — because an extra with no paper trail is the easiest line for a client to refuse. Bill it on the next draw rather than saving it for the end.
Do I need to send lien waivers with my invoices?
On most commercial jobs and many financed residential ones, yes — the lender or owner will not release funds without one. Send a conditional waiver with the invoice, which only takes effect when payment clears, and an unconditional one after the money has settled. Collect matching waivers from your subs before paying them, or they can lien the owner even though you were paid.
Do I charge sales tax on construction work?
It varies widely. Some states treat a contractor as the end consumer of materials, so you pay tax at purchase and charge none to the client; others require you to tax the whole contract; others distinguish capital improvements from repairs. Oregon, as in the sample above, has no sales tax at all. Check how your state classifies the specific job before billing, and set the rate accordingly.
What do I do when a client won't pay a draw?
Start with the invoice itself and find out which line they are actually disputing — it is usually one change order or one percentage, not the whole draw. Fix or document that item, then ask for payment on the undisputed remainder while it is resolved. Meanwhile watch your lien deadlines, which run from work dates rather than from the day an invoice ages, and preserve the right before you need it.
Is this contractor invoice template really free?
Yes — fill it in and download the PDF with no signup, no watermark, and no catch. Use it for one draw or for every job you run this year. If you later want to keep clients and jobs on file, see which draws are still outstanding, and rebill without retyping the schedule each time, the Paid app on iPhone does that — but you never need it to use this template.
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The app goes further
Invoice from your pocket
The free tool here makes a clean one-off PDF; the Paid app on iPhone adds what it deliberately leaves out — saved clients, estimates that convert to invoices in a tap, and tracking for what's paid and what's still owed.