Contractor invoicing has a few wrinkles other trades don’t: progress payments across a long job, materials billed separately from labour, and sometimes retention held back until completion. Get these right and you’ll keep cash flowing on bigger jobs.
Separate labour, materials and other costs
List labour (hours or a fixed amount), materials, equipment hire and any disposal or permit fees as separate lines. Clients and their accountants find the breakdown easier to approve, and it makes variations simpler to add.
Progress payments and milestones
For long jobs, invoice in stages tied to milestones (for example deposit, first fix, second fix, completion) rather than waiting until the end. Reference the stage and the contract on each invoice so it’s clear what’s being billed.
Retention, variations and tax
If the contract holds retention, show it as a deduction and note when it’s released. Add approved variations as their own lines. Apply the right tax for your country — US sales tax rules differ for materials vs labour by state; UK/AU/CA add VAT/GST once registered (watch for construction-specific VAT rules in the UK).
Create a contractor invoice free
Use our free invoice generator to itemise labour and materials, add a job reference and due date, and produce a clean PDF — no sign-up.