At Archdesk, we spend a lot of time speaking to construction companies about the challenges they face – not least when it comes to creating effective and professional invoices. Whichever billing method you choose, you and your client need to be clear exactly when payment will be made and how it will be calculated. Here, the contractor will charge the client’s account directly for any materials and simply add a standard hourly/daily rate on top for their labour. But the importance of percentage completion, costs of services or outstanding balance very much depends on how many instalments you’ll be paid in and how they’re calculated.

General Contractor Construction Invoice Sample Template

It also protects you in case the client decides to cancel the project after starting work. We’re not saying you can’t do that on Excel, but if you value your free time and sanity, you’re much better off with a specialist construction accounting software tool. It could also create stress down the line as customers paying for materials can occasionally have unhelpful or inconvenient views on which to use.

• You don’t want to pay for work that wasn’t expressly authorized or was performed by someone else.
• An invoice is a document a contractor, sub, or supplier sends to their customer when payment is owed for work performed.
• The schedule of values is usually created during the creation of the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) of the project.
• Be sure to maintain an organized record of all things related to the invoice.
• Margins are tighter than ever in this industry, and it shouldn’t take discounts and incentives to be paid fairly.
• Longer payment terms lead to higher debt ratios which can be fatal to a company’s finances.
• One of the most common problems in approving construction invoices is double payment.

Time & Materials Contract Invoice Template

These invoices also keep record of materials delivered and smaller jobs completed. Payment applications and invoices are both a part of the invoicing process in a construction project. This will, of course, affect the invoicing between all parties. In this article, we explore the construction invoicing process, including how to prepare an invoice or pay application and best practices for billing. If you know how much time you are about to spend and the cost of the materials involved, this is for you. Just make sure your client or customer understands it’s an estimate, as construction jobs can be quite unpredictable.

What Is a Notice of Commencement? Your Guide with Form Downloads

A GC will send a https://www.bookstime.com/articles/operating-cycle payment application to the owner along other documentation providing evidence to the labor, time, and materials they are billing for. You can use an invoice management system to store all your customer contacts and documents securely in your account. This makes it easy to keep track of clients you’ve worked with and contact them again in the future for additional jobs. Another benefit of using an invoice management system is that you can get customer payments in real time, via email.

Conversely, some companies opt to include late payment penalties. Only 43% of companies incentivize early payments or penalize late payments. This is a simple tweak construction invoices to your payment terms that can expedite payments.

Having an invoice template that’s easy to reference (since it looks the same as all the others you’ll be using) allows for easier tracking. You can quickly scan dates and contract numbers to see which are outstanding, and which might need a payment reminder. This free invoice template can be used on projects where you are working under a cost plus contract. In the products area, enter the number of items purchased for the job, a short description of what they are, their cost per item, and the total amount per item-type (quantity X unit price). Repeat this for all of the items that the client will be charged.

• On a simple build — say, a two-story house — it’s fairly straightforward to coordinate what needs to be built where and when.
• Finally, round out the construction invoice template with a section dedicated to payment details.
• Clients will be more likely to pay their bills immediately if they are offered a clear timeline detailing payments.
• Sometimes invoices will be sent before the work has even begun.

• Punch list work might seem minor, but it has an improportionate impact on payment.
• These documents provide additional support for the amount billed.
• Other times, subs and suppliers may attempt to use invoice sleight of hand.
• These are typically a bundle of documents with all the relevant information to support the release of payments.
• Construction management software can often integrate directly with accounting software to simplify and even automate the exchange of project and financial data.
• 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.

Submitting an invoice for the work or materials you provide is only one small step — it’s not a “send it and forget it” scenario. There are a number of steps construction businesses should take before, during, and after any project to ensure payment is fast and smooth. A successful construction invoice provides a client with a detailed breakdown https://www.facebook.com/BooksTimeInc/ of materials, labor, and miscellaneous costs.

Short (but reasonable) payment terms

Scheduled due dates also give your clients a sense of urgency, which can help to motivate them to pay on time. When requesting a deposit before starting work, you’re asking for a commitment from your client. This helps to ensure that both you and your client are on the same page, and that the client is serious about working with you.