INVOICE
| Schedule of values | Contract value | Complete % | Completed to date | Remove line |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $6,000.00 | ||||
| $34,000.00 | ||||
| $15,300.00 | ||||
| $0.00 |
Total contract value$65,000.00
Completed to date$55,300.00
Current claim$19,700.00
Amount due this invoice$19,700.00
Construction Invoice Templates
Construction invoices are not ordinary invoices. They carry a contract value, work completed to date, amounts already claimed, approved change orders, and — if you are a subcontractor — retainage held back on every payment. Pick the template that matches how your contract bills, download it as a PDF, a Word document or a working Excel file, and fill it in. No sign-up, no watermark, no limit on how many you create.
Free downloads
Download construction invoice templates
Standard
Everything a construction invoice needs, nothing you have to delete. Materials, labour, equipment and other, kept apart.
Progress Claim / Stage Payment Invoice
Contract value, work completed to date, approved variations, previously claimed, retainage — with a running retainage balance almost no template carries.
Retainage Invoice
Claim back everything withheld across the job, invoice by invoice, with a completion checklist.
Time & Materials Invoice
Labour, materials and equipment totalled separately, so a query about one doesn't freeze the whole invoice.
Lump Sum Invoice
Fixed contract price billed by milestone. No quantities to argue about — that is the point of the contract.
Cost Plus Invoice
Actual cost with the agreed margin shown as its own line, where it can be checked.
Unit Price Invoice
Priced by measured quantity, with the unit of measure and the measurement date on the invoice.
Every download is free — no email, no sign-up, no watermark.
Three formats serve three different people, not three copies of the same thing: Excel formulas are live (change quantities, percentages or tax rates and the whole chain recalculates), Word is a formal document with editable text and field labels, and PDF is ready to print and fill in. The figures, fields and layout come from the same specification, so they do not drift.
01
What a completed construction invoice actually looks like
Most template pages hand you an empty grid. Here is the same template filled in for a real job, with every line explained. The figures below are the ones already in the file — download the Progress Claim template and this is exactly what opens.
Example — Progress Claim #3, framing complete
GRANT & SONS CARPENTRY INVOICE Progress Claim #3
Tax ID: ____________ No. INV-1047 Date: 3 August 2026
Licence No.: ____________ Due: Net 14 Period: 1–31 July 2026
Bill to: Harding Constructions Project: Willow St Townhouses — Lot 4
Site: 22 Willow St
PO / Contract: HC-2261
SCHEDULE OF VALUES Contract % Complete Completed to date
Site preparation $6,000 100% $6,000
Wall framing $34,000 100% $34,000
Roof framing $18,000 85% $15,300
Blocking & bracing $7,000 0% $0
------- ---------
Total contract value $65,000 $55,300
Approved change order CO-02
Additional bracing to Lot 4 north wall (approved 18 Jul) $2,400
---------
Total completed incl. approved variations $57,700
Less previously claimed (Claims #1–2) -$38,000
---------
CURRENT CLAIM $19,700
Tax (10%) $1,970
---------
Subtotal $21,670
Less retainage held this claim (10% of $19,700) -$1,970
---------
AMOUNT DUE THIS INVOICE $19,700
Retainage previously held $3,800
Retainage held this claim $1,970
TOTAL RETAINAGE HELD $5,770 (released per contract terms)GRANT & SONS CARPENTRYTax ID: ____________Licence No.: ____________
INVOICEProgress Claim #3No. INV-1047 · Date: 3 August 2026 · Due: Net 14
Bill toHarding Constructions
ProjectWillow St Townhouses — Lot 4
Site: 22 Willow St
PO / Contract: HC-2261
Period1–31 July 2026
| Schedule of values | Contract | % Complete | Completed to date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Site preparation | $6,000 | 100% | $6,000 |
| Wall framing | $34,000 | 100% | $34,000 |
| Roof framing | $18,000 | 85% | $15,300 |
| Blocking & bracing | $7,000 | 0% | $0 |
| Total contract value | $65,000 | $55,300 |
Approved change order CO-02Additional bracing to Lot 4 north wall (approved 18 Jul)$2,400
- Total completed incl. approved variations
- $57,700
- Less previously claimed (Claims #1–2)
- -$38,000
- CURRENT CLAIM
- $19,700
- Tax (10%)
- $1,970
- Subtotal
- $21,670
- Less retainage held this claim (10% of $19,700)
- -$1,970
- AMOUNT DUE THIS INVOICE
- $19,700
Figures are an example only.
Why each line is there
INVOICE · INV-1047Progress Claim #3Sequential claim number
Progress Claim #3
Number your claims sequentially, separately from the invoice number. The general contractor reconciles claims, not invoices, and a missing claim number can send a payment application back for clarification.
Billing period1–31 JulyOnly this work window
Period
The billing period tells the client exactly which work window they are approving. Leave it off and “we already paid for that” becomes a conversation instead of a lookup.
Schedule of valuesRoof framing 85%Wall framing 100%Bracing 0%
Schedule of values
The contract broken into line items, each with a percentage complete. This is what separates a construction invoice from an ordinary one: the client is not approving a total, they are approving progress against a schedule they already agreed to.
APPROVED CHANGE ORDERCO-02 · 18 JulAdditional bracing +$2,400
Approved change order
List variations as their own line with the approval reference and date. Folding extra work into an existing line item is the fastest way to have the whole claim queried.
Completed to date $57,700Less previously claimed −$38,000Current claim $19,700
Less previously claimed
Every progress claim is cumulative-minus-what-you-already-billed. Show both numbers so the client can check your arithmetic without opening the last three invoices.
Work earned $19,700Less retainage (10%) −$1,970Amount due $17,730
Retainage
Keep it as a separate deduction, never as a reduced line-item value. You want the record to show the full amount you earned and the amount withheld, because that is the number you will be asking for at the end of the job.
Retainage from Claims #1–3$5,770Tracked until release
Total retainage held
Running total across all claims. Keeping this amount visible gives the next reviewer a direct record of what has been withheld before a release milestone.
Ready to use the example?
Edit a progress claim Build a progress claim with your own numbers.
Use the editable claim builder to add the schedule, calculate the current claim and print or save one clean PDF.
02
Which billing method does your contract use?
Pick the wrong structure and the invoice gets queried, no matter how tidy it looks.
Contract price$65,000Deposit · Frame · Finish
Lump sum (fixed price).
One agreed price for the whole scope. Invoice at completion, or against milestones written into the contract. The invoice shows the contract value, the milestone claimed, and the balance remaining.
42 hrs × rate+ materials + hireItemise every input
Time and materials.
Labour hours × agreed rate, plus materials and equipment hire, billed for the period. Itemise: T&M invoices need more detail because each hour, quantity and duration must reconcile to the work window.
120 m² × rateMeasured quantityKeep the verification
Unit price.
Priced by measured quantity — per square metre, per linear metre, per cubic metre. The invoice needs the measured quantity, the agreed rate, and how the quantity was verified.
Receipts + marginActual cost + agreed feeAttach the evidence
Cost plus.
Actual cost plus an agreed margin or fee. Attach receipts; a cost-plus invoice without supporting documentation is an invitation to dispute.
Stage 1Stage 2Stage 3 claimedClaim as work completes
Progress / stage payment.
The contract is divided into stages, and you claim as each is completed. This is a common arrangement on residential building work and the stage-payment templates above are built around it.
03
Billing as a subcontractor: what actually changes
You are invoicing a general contractor, not the property owner, and that changes three things.
The invoice needs the subcontract or PO reference and a claim number of its own, because the GC reconciles claims against a schedule, not invoices against a ledger. A missing claim number can send a payment application back for clarification.
Retainage may be withheld on each claim, rather than only at the end, when the contract uses that structure. Keep the amount earned and the amount withheld visible on every invoice.
Keep your own running balance. The other party's ledger may not show how much has been withheld from your claims. Use the Progress Claim template while the work runs — it keeps a running retainage total across every claim — and the Retainage Invoice at the end when the contract permits release.
Everything else is an ordinary construction invoice.
04
How do you bill for a job that isn't finished?
You submit a progress claim for the value of work completed to date — not the whole contract, and not a guess.
Three ways to arrive at the number, in order of how easy they are to defend:
- A completed milestone. If the contract names stages, claim the stage. Least arguable.
- A schedule of values. Assign each line item a percentage complete and claim the sum.
- A percentage of the whole contract. Only if there is nothing more granular to work from. Show your working.
Then: add approved change orders, subtract everything previously claimed, subtract retainage if your contract provides for it, and state the balance remaining.
One caution worth reading before you send it. If your contract states that payment falls due only on completion, a progress claim may be a request rather than a contractual payment entitlement. Check the contract and the rules that apply where the project is located before treating it as enforceable.
05
What to say when the client won't pay until the job is done
The situation: you have bought and paid for the materials, part of the work is done, and the contract says the money comes at the end.
Keep it factual and specific:
I've now purchased and paid for all the materials for this job and completed [scope]. I'll be issuing a progress invoice for the materials supplied and the work completed to date. The remaining balance stays due on completion as agreed. I'll attach the material receipts and a breakdown of completed work.
For the next job, the fix is in the contract, not the conversation: a deposit before materials are ordered, progress payments at named stages, and a final payment that is a fraction of the total rather than most of it.
06
Retainage, retention, holdback: same thing, different word
This is not another template type.It is a translation guide for the words already used in the contract you are billing against. Retainage, retention and holdback all describe money that is withheld from a construction payment and released under the contract's conditions.
The templates start with US field labels. The regional examples below are not one universal replacement list: an ABN is Australian only, and the label should match the country and contract you are working under.
- Money withheld
- United States: retainageAustralia, New Zealand and UK: retention or holdback. It is money withheld from a claim until the contract says it can be released.
- Approved scope change
- United States: change orderAustralia, New Zealand and UK: variation. It records an approved change to the original scope, price or work.
- Payment for work completed so far
- United States: progress invoice / progress billingAustralia and New Zealand: progress claim or payment claim. UK: application for payment.
- Business identifier
- United States: EIN or other taxpayer IDAustralia: ABN. New Zealand: NZBN. UK: use the identifier required for the business and invoice, such as a VAT registration number where applicable.
- Tax line
- United States: sales taxAustralia and New Zealand: GST. UK: VAT. Include a tax line only when it belongs on the invoice you are issuing.
The final pair is deliberately not shown as a template field: mechanics liens and adjudication are different payment-dispute processes, not interchangeable invoice language. Follow the contract and obtain local advice if a payment dispute arises.
07
What a construction invoice should include
A useful construction invoice lets the client see who is billing, which work is being claimed, how the amount was calculated and what happens next. Build it in that order.
- Identify both sides.Start with your business name, address and contact details, then add the client's name and billing address. Include a Tax ID or ABN and a contractor or builder licence number if the invoice needs one where you work.
- Connect the bill to the job. Name the project, site address and contract or PO reference. Add the invoice number, issue date, due date and billing period so the client can match this claim to the correct job and work window.
- Show what was earned. Itemise the schedule of values or the work completed. Include materials with quantities, labour hours and rates, equipment hire, and any approved change orders with their reference numbers.
- Make the payment calculation visible. Show the subtotal, a separate tax line where applicable, amounts previously claimed, retainage, the amount due, and the payment terms or instructions. Attach any supporting documents the contract requires.
Before you use the terms guide
Why retainage has different names
Retainage, retention and holdback describe money withheld under a construction contract. The guide below separates the common US, Australian, New Zealand and UK wording, so you can match the language in your contract rather than treating the labels as interchangeable everywhere.
The contract controls the rate, release conditions and timing. Use the labels that match the document you are billing against, then keep the withheld amount separate from the work you earned.
Practical answers
Frequently asked questions
Five short answers for the decisions that come up before you choose, edit or send a construction invoice.
Read the construction invoicing guideWhat is the correct construction billing format?
For a clear construction billing record, separate materials, labor, equipment and subcontractors, put variations on their own lines, then show subtotal, retention if any, and the balance due. The simple bill format above covers small jobs; the stage-payment version handles progress billing.
What's the difference between a construction invoice and a payment application?
A payment application (like AIA G702) is a formal progress-billing package used on commercial projects, tied to a schedule of values. For most residential and small commercial work, a construction invoice does the job. The [construction invoicing guide](/guides/construction-invoicing) covers when you need which.
Construction invoice vs contractor invoice — which do I need?
If you're billing a build with crews, materials and stages, use this one. If you're an independent tradesperson billing your own work, the [contractor invoice template](/templates/contractor-invoice) is the better fit.
How should I show an approved construction change order?
Give the change its own line or section, include the approved reference and date, and keep it separate from the original scope. That lets the client compare the current claim with the contract and the written change without guessing which amount moved.
Can I use a construction invoice for progress billing?
Yes, when the invoice records the contract or schedule-of-values progress for that billing period. Show completed work, approved changes, previous claims, any contract-based retainage, and the amount due this period. The contract and local requirements control the payment process.
Ready when you are
Open invoice generator Start a construction invoice from scratch.
Use the generator for a new job, or return to the templates when you want a ready-made PDF, Word or Excel layout.
Invosmith provides invoicing tools and templates. We do not provide accounting, tax, or legal advice, and nothing on this page is a substitute for advice from your own qualified adviser. Requirements for licence numbers, tax treatment and progress payment rights vary by country, state and contract.