Subcontractor Invoice Template

What a subcontractor invoice needs that a normal one doesn't

The standard blocks stay — your business, an invoice number, dates, terms. What changes is who reads it: a GC's bookkeeper who is matching your bill against a subcontract, a schedule and a stack of other subs' paperwork. Give them the match:

• The subcontract or PO number, top right. This is the single field that most decides how fast you're paid. No reference, no match; no match, the bottom of the pile.
• Project and phase — job name, site address, and which phase or scope this bill covers: _"Riverview Apartments — Building B, rough-in plumbing."_
• This claim's work, itemized — the scope lines you completed this period, quantity or percent complete, at the subcontract prices. If the GC gave you a scope breakdown, mirror its wording — their office approves faster when your lines match their columns.
• Contract summary block — three numbers that let the GC verify without opening a spreadsheet: total subcontract value, billed to date including this claim, remaining.
• Retention held — if the contract holds retention (commonly 5–10%), show it as a visible negative line on every claim: the GC is keeping it either way; showing it means _your_ records and theirs agree all the way to release.
• Change orders — extras go on their own lines with the change-order or approval reference. An extra with no CO reference is, to a GC's office, an extra that didn't happen.
• Tax — a single amount field you fill in yourself, if it applies to your billing.
• Amount due this claim, terms, and how to pay.

Example: a progress claim with retention

Second claim on a framing subcontract worth 48,000, 10% retention:

The bookkeeper can approve this without a phone call: the reference matches their subcontract, the CO has a number, the retention math is visible, and the summary line reconciles their ledger against yours in one glance.

Billing situations subs actually hit

Progress billing. Most subcontracts pay monthly against percent complete. Invoice the same period every month, reference the same subcontract number, and keep the contract summary block current — the three numbers are your running reconciliation, and the first claim where they disagree with the GC's records is the claim to sort out _before_ submitting.

Retention release. When the project reaches the release milestone, the retention comes back on its own invoice: one line, _"Release of retention held — subcontract #S-1142"_, for the accumulated amount. Subs lose retention money mainly by never invoicing for it — the GC's system pays what's claimed, and held retention nobody claims just sits.

Change orders without paperwork yet. Verbal go-aheads happen on site. Do the work if you must, but get the reference before the invoice: even an email reply or a text screenshot number ("per J. Ramos site instruction 14/6") in the line description converts a favor into a claim.

Paid-when-paid clauses. Some subcontracts tie your payment to the GC being paid. Whatever the clause says, your invoice's job is unchanged: submit on time, referenced, reconciled — a claim in their system is the only thing that can age in your favor. What the clause means for you legally is a question for your contract, not something an invoice changes.

Billing the GC vs billing the owner. You bill the party your contract is with — almost always the GC. An invoice sent straight to the owner over the GC's head isn't a shortcut; it's a relationship decision, and usually the wrong one.

Common subcontractor invoice mistakes

• No subcontract number. The number-one reason sub invoices sit unpaid. It's a copy-paste; do it every time.
• Lines that don't match the GC's scope breakdown. Right work, wrong words, slow approval. Mirror their schedule of values.
• Invisible retention. If you don't track what they're holding, the release milestone arrives and nobody — including you — knows the number.
• Extras without references. "Additional works: 850" gets queried; "CO-03, approved 12 June: 850" gets paid.
• Skipping the claim in a slow month. Small progress is still progress; an unbroken monthly claim history is also what your cash-flow forecast and, if it ever comes to it, your dispute file are made of.