General contracting invoice template

Download the General contracting invoice template

The same sample document in two formats. The PDF is what a finished invoice looks like; the spreadsheet has live formulas, so change a quantity or a rate and the totals follow.

No signup, no email, no watermark. Sample figures — edit everything. Opens in Excel, Numbers and Google Sheets.

See this invoice filled in, in the builder — the same sample, editable.

What a General contracting invoice needs on it

On a remodel, invoice against the draw schedule and show the running position: contract total, previously billed, this draw, remaining. Clients approve progress payments much faster when the invoice reconciles itself, and it is also the record that settles a dispute about what was already paid.

• Lien waivers for the subs paid out of the last draw, which is what protects the client title
• Which milestone this draw is against, so the client is paying for something they can see
• Allowances reconciled — selected, actual, over or under — rather than absorbed into the total
• Change orders by number, each with its own price, so they are not mistaken for cost creep
• Retainage held or released, and the balance due with your payment terms

And what every invoice needs

Send it the day the work is finished. Invoices sent within 24 hours get paid materially faster than ones that go out at the end of the month.

• A due date, not just terms — "Net 14" means less to a homeowner than a date
• Any deposit already paid, credited on the page so the balance is unarguable
• Payment instructions the customer can act on without calling you
• The estimate number it came from, so the customer can reconcile the two

General contracting line items included in this template

These load into the builder ready to edit. Prices are starting points, not our opinion of what you should charge — set your own and they save to your price book.

Rates are illustrative US figures and vary widely by market. Price your own work.

Questions

How should a remodel invoice be structured?

Against the draw schedule, showing the running position: contract total, previously billed, this draw, remaining. Clients approve progress payments much faster when the invoice reconciles itself, and it is also the record that settles a dispute about what was already paid — which on a six-month job is a real risk.

How do I invoice allowance overages without an argument?

Show the allowance, the actual cost and the difference, per category. "Tile allowance $3,000; selected $4,150; difference $1,150" is a client's own decision reflected back at them. The same money inside a larger total looks like a contractor's decision, and gets treated as one.

Should change orders appear on the invoice separately?

By number, each with its own price. A change order folded into the next draw looks like cost creep even when the client signed it, and separating them preserves the thing you built the process for: a visible record that every extra was priced and approved before the work happened.