Free Contractor Invoice Template

This free invoice template for contractors handles the jobs a general contractor, remodeler, handyman or specialty sub bills every week: your business name, address, phone and license number, the customer and job address, invoice number and date, labor and materials line items, subtotal, tax and total, deposit and payment terms, warranty notes and a signature line. Fill it in on the page, then print it or save it as a PDF from your browser. The CSV download opens in Excel or Google Sheets for your records and price list.

What's on the template

Header. Business name, address, phone, license number, invoice number and invoice date. Add a due date in the terms.

Customer and job. Customer name and billing address, plus the job address. For commercial work, include the customer's PO number or job number in the notes, because accounts payable will often hold an invoice that doesn't have one.

Labor. Description, quantity, unit, rate and amount. Bill by the hour, by the day, by the unit (per square foot of tile, per linear foot of trim) or as a flat price per phase.

Materials. Same columns. Lumber, drywall, fixtures, tile, hardware, rentals and dump fees. If you mark up materials, decide whether to show the marked-up price per line or a single markup line, and be consistent.

Totals. Subtotal, tax and total, with deposits or prior payments subtracted.

Terms and notes. Deposit and payment terms, warranty and notes, and a signature line.

How to fill it in

1. Number every invoice. One running sequence for the whole business. Your accountant will thank you.
2. Tie it to the estimate or contract. Reference the estimate or contract number in the notes so there's no question which scope this invoice covers.
3. Describe the work by phase or room. "Demo and haul-off, master bath," "Install cement board and tile, 85 sq ft." Specific descriptions get paid faster than "labor."
4. Bill change orders as their own lines. "Change Order #2: add recessed niche, approved 9/14." Never fold a change into an existing line. If the customer didn't sign the change, get it signed before you invoice it.
5. Subtract what's been paid. Show the deposit and any earlier draws with dates, then the balance due.
6. Handle tax correctly. Whether labor, materials or both are taxable depends on your state and on whether the work counts as repair or a capital improvement. Splitting labor and materials makes that easier to get right.
7. State the terms. Due date, accepted payment methods, and any late fee allowed in your state.
8. Add the warranty. Your workmanship warranty in plain words, and a note that products carry the manufacturer's warranty.
9. Save a PDF for the customer, a CSV for your files.

Progress billing on bigger jobs

On a kitchen remodel or an addition, one invoice at the end is a cash-flow problem. Most contractors bill in draws tied to milestones: deposit at signing, then demo complete, rough-ins inspected, drywall and cabinets set, final. Use one invoice per draw, label it ("Draw 3 of 5"), list the work completed for that stage, and show the running total paid against the contract price. On commercial jobs, expect retainage (a percentage held back until completion) and lien waiver requests with each payment. Note the retainage amount on the invoice so your books match theirs.

Getting paid faster

Send the invoice the day the work is done, while the customer can still see the finished job. An invoice that shows up two weeks later competes with every other bill on the counter. Text or email the PDF with a one-line note and the amount due in the message itself, so the customer doesn't have to open an attachment to know what they owe. Give at least two ways to pay, and if you take cards, say so on the invoice. For a remodel or a sub working under a GC, put the payment terms in the signed contract too, so the invoice is a reminder of an agreement rather than the first time the customer hears about Net 30.

Common mistakes

• No due date. "Payment terms: Net 30" without an invoice date leaves room for "we just got it."
• Change orders billed without a signature. The quickest path to a dispute.
• Not showing deposits. The customer remembers the check they wrote. Show it on the invoice.
• Vague descriptions. "Labor, 3 days" on a remodel invites questions. Say what got done.
• Missing PO numbers on commercial jobs. Invoices without them often sit in a pile.
• Mixing markup methods. Marking up some materials per line and others in a lump looks sloppy and raises questions.

When to switch to software

A template works for a handful of jobs a month. It gets expensive in time once you're running several jobs, billing draws, tracking change orders and chasing late payments from memory.

Invoicing software ties estimates, change orders and invoices to one job, sends reminders automatically, and takes card or bank payments. As of October 2026, Joist's Basics plan is $10/mo ($8.34/mo billed annually), QuickBooks Online Simple Start is $38/mo for one user, Jobber Core is $29/mo billed annually, and Contractor Foreman's Basic plan is $49/mo, billed annually only, for one user. Card processing fees apply on top of any of them.