Last editedFeb 20222 min read
Whether you’re an architect, builder, or provide any other kind of service within the construction industry, you need to get paid promptly for all your hard work. To support you in this, you’ll need to provide your customers with a professional construction invoice. To save you time, and ensure you create a good impression, it makes sense to use a construction invoice template, which you can adapt according to a customer’s needs.
In this post we’ll look at what you need to include on a construction invoice template. We’ll also outline why construction invoice software can be an invaluable tool to help you power up your invoicing process – and ensure you get paid on time.
What should be included on a construction invoice template?
There are several ways to invoice your customers, depending on the scale project you’re working on. It also depends on your specific trade, or on your client’s preferences. You may have to offer a more, or less, detailed explanation of your services and rates.
In general however, your construction invoice template should include the following:
Company name
Invoice number
Duration of work you’re billing for
Description of work
Payment terms which can include preferred payment methods, payment options e.g. discounts for early payment
Itemized list of materials including quantities, unit prices and subtotals for each material used
Breakdown of labor costs, including hours worked, hourly rates, and total amounts for each type of labor input
A separate line item for total material costs
A line item for total labor costs
Total price including tax
Payment due date
On your invoice for construction work, you may wish to break things down even more, so your customer understands how the materials and labor costs have been divided. Your client may also want to see more detailed insights around the different hours worked on different aspects of the project, to increase transparency further.
As an example, if you’re building an outbuilding, you may want to provide quotes for electrical work – and this may incur hourly rates that differ from other aspects of the project.
Customers will want to know exactly what they’re paying for on a construction billing invoice, so creating a template that’s as detailed as possible will save you time later on.
Construction invoice software can speed up the invoicing process
It’s easy to get behind on invoicing when you’re completing invoices manually, especially considering so much information has to be included.
This is where construction invoice software could help. Construction specific software can reduce the errors that creep in when you’re using disconnected systems like World or Excel. Cloud-based accounting software is also useful when it comes to keeping accurate records. For example, when a customer queries something in regard to their invoice, you can access their invoice in just seconds.
If you opt for an accounting software that integrates with GoCardless you can make your billing process even more efficient, by using direct debit to collect payments from customers. This is a great way to enable clients to make milestone payments, for example, at various points throughout a project.
Once your client DDs are set up, you’ll avoid late payments, and guarantee cash keeps flowing. GoCardless integrates with all the invoicing software including Xero, so you can start collecting recurring payments (or one off payments) right away.
Upgrade the way you invoice for construction work
If you’re still creating and sending your construction invoices manually it could be time for a rethink. Using a construction invoice template can help you create invoices in minutes. Construction invoice software can also be an invaluable tool to enable you to deliver your invoices automatically to clients, as well as ensure you keep accurate and accessible records.
We can help
GoCardless helps you automate payment collection, cutting down on the amount of admin your team needs to deal with when chasing invoices. Find out how GoCardless can help you with ad hoc payments or recurring payments.
