Name the property, not only the client
A construction invoice bills one job at one address. A lender, an insurer, or a lien filing looks up the property, not the mailbox where the owner gets the bill. Write the job address in the notes, and write which estimate or contract this invoice draws against.
Put your license number on the invoice so it matches the contract. What a state requires on the contract itself is already on the contractor invoice template.
Six ways the same job gets billed
The buttons above load a different set of lines into the same invoice. Blank is an empty page. Parts and labor splits the crew from the materials. Contract labor is hours only, with materials by the hiring contractor. Time and materials dates each block of hours. Building maintenance is a repeat visit: filters, a closer, a lamp. Progress is one draw against a schedule of values.
The dollar amounts are round samples so you can check the addition. They are not a price for the work, and they are not from a cost guide. Replace them with your rates.
A progress draw that adds up
Application 2 of a sample contract for $24,000. Rough carpentry is scheduled at $8,000: $3,200 was billed before (40 percent) and this invoice bills $2,400, so that line is 70 percent complete. Insulation and drywall is scheduled at $6,400 and this invoice bills the first $3,200, half of it. Completed work to date is $8,800. The other $9,600 on the schedule is not on this bill. Balance to finish is $15,200.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Contract sum | $24,000 |
| Completed to date | $8,800 |
| Retainage, 5 percent of completed work | $440 |
| Previous certificates | $3,040 |
| Current payment due | $5,320 |
| Balance to finish | $15,200 |
Current payment due is completed work, minus retainage, minus what was already certified: $8,800 minus $440 minus $3,040 is $5,320. The lines on the invoice are the same number from the other direction: $2,400 plus $3,200, minus $280 of retainage on this period, is $5,320.
Those columns are the ones on AIA G702, the application and certificate for payment. G703 is the continuation sheet: the schedule of values, with previous work, this period, and the balance to finish. AIA describes both on how to complete the G702 (read October 14, 2026).
The 5 percent on the sample is the sample contract, chosen so the hold sits inside a real cap. On California public works, Public Contract Code section 7201 says retention withheld from a payment shall not exceed 5 percent of the payment, and total retention shall not exceed 5 percent of the contract price, unless the project was found substantially complex before bid (read October 14, 2026). A private job follows its own contract. If the state site does not load, the same section is on FindLaw. This page is not legal advice: invoice, lien and retainage rules vary by state and by contract, so check yours before you bill. This statute does not set that rate.
Change orders and the estimate
An extra agreed on site goes on its own line, with the date it was approved. Price it first on the change order template, then carry that line onto the next invoice.
The figure you bill should be one the client already saw. The document that walked the client through the approach and the option they picked is the contractor proposal template. Build a scope that can still change on the construction estimate example, or start from the contractor estimate template, then invoice only the part this draw covers. What the job cost you, as opposed to what you billed, is job costing for contractors.
Other forms for the same work are on the templates page.
Questions builders ask
What should a construction invoice include?+
Your business details and license number, the client, the job address as well as the billing address, the estimate or contract this bill draws against, the work finished this period, and any approved change order on its own line. A progress draw also shows what was billed before, the retainage held, and the balance left.
What is progress billing on a construction invoice?+
Progress billing asks for part of the contract as the work is finished, instead of one invoice at the end. Each bill should show the contract total, what was billed before, what this invoice bills, and the balance left. On a job that uses AIA G702 and G703, G702 is the payment summary and G703 is the schedule of values behind it.
How is retainage shown on a construction invoice?+
Retainage is the amount the contract lets the client hold back until the job is complete. Put it on its own line. This template accepts a negative rate for that line. On California public works, Public Contract Code section 7201 caps retention at 5 percent of the payment and 5 percent of the contract price, with a narrow exception for a project found substantially complex before bid. A private job follows its contract, not that statute.
Can I download a construction invoice template as Word or Excel?+
Yes. The invoice you fill in downloads as a PDF in three designs, and as a Word file and an Excel file.
Missing a line you always need? Email support@vanreceipts.app and we will add it to the template.