Building and renovation contractors
Staged jobs with crews, suppliers and an agreed contract value.
Labour · Materials · Variations
Contractor Invoice Template
Bill Labour, Materials and Variations Without Argument
A job-focused layout that keeps crew hours, supplied materials, approved variations and progress payments in separate, checkable lines.
Invoice
Project billing for contractors
Contract work is billed against an agreement, not just for time spent. The invoice has to line up with the quote the client accepted, which means labour, materials and anything added later need to be visible as separate figures rather than merged into a single sum.
Labour is usually hours at a rate, sometimes split by crew type. Materials are either at cost or at an agreed margin, and are easiest to review when described the way the supplier invoice describes them. Variations are the part that causes disputes, so each one should name what was approved and when.
On longer jobs the invoice also has to place itself in a sequence. A progress payment should state which stage it covers, what was invoiced previously and what remains. A deposit taken at the start belongs on the final invoice as a deduction, not as a silent adjustment to the total.
Who it's for
Subcontractors
Billing a head contractor who needs hours and materials to reconcile against their own claim.
Trades running fixed-price jobs
Work quoted as a package where variations are added along the way.
Anyone taking deposits
Jobs that start with a payment up front and end with a balance to settle.
What to include
- Your business name, licence or registration number if required
- Client name, site address and the job or contract reference
- Invoice number, issue date and the period or stage covered
- Labour lines with hours and rate, split by crew or task where useful
- Materials listed so they can be checked against the quote
- Each approved variation as its own line with an approval reference
- Deposits or previous progress payments shown as deductions
- Payment terms, retention if any, and bank details
A contractor invoice example
A progress claim covering completed labour, supplied materials and one approved variation.
| Description | Qty | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Site labour — crew (hrs) | 24 | 72.00 | 1,728.00 |
| Materials supplied (at cost) | 1 | 1,450.00 | 1,450.00 |
| Variation 1 — extra doorway framing (approved 14 Mar) | 1 | 380.00 | 380.00 |
| Skip hire and site clean-up | 1 | 340.00 | 340.00 |
| Subtotal | 3,898.00 | ||
| Deposit paid on commencement | -1,000.00 | ||
| Tax (10%) | 289.80 | ||
| Total due — Net 7 | 3,187.80 | ||
Common mistakes
Verbal variations
Work added on site and never confirmed in writing is the single most common cause of an unpaid line.
Merging labour and materials
One combined figure gives the client nothing to check, so the whole invoice gets queried instead of one line.
No site or job reference
Clients running several jobs cannot allocate an invoice without knowing which site it belongs to.
Forgetting previous claims
Progress invoices that ignore what was already billed lead to overpayment disputes and slow approvals.
Frequently asked questions
Should labour and materials be on separate lines?
Yes. Splitting them lets the client check the hours against the schedule and the materials against the quote, and it makes variations far easier to discuss.
How do I invoice a variation?
Add a line that names the variation and references when it was approved, for example 'Variation 2 — extra doorway framing, approved 14 March'. Keep it distinct from the original scope.
How do progress payments work on an invoice?
Invoice the stage that has been completed, state the stage and the percentage of the contract it represents, and show amounts already invoiced so the remaining balance is clear.
How do I show a deposit on the final invoice?
List the full value of the work, then show the deposit as a deduction before the total due. The client can see both the contract value and what is still owed.
Should I charge for materials at cost?
That is a commercial decision between you and the client, but whichever you agree, describe it the same way on the quote and the invoice so the figures reconcile.
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