CAR WASH INVOICE TEMPLATE
Free car wash invoice template
A car wash invoice for the washes you bill rather than ring up at the bay: a business's fleet on a monthly account, a dealership's lot, a mobile route to an office park — each vehicle by unit and plate, the washes by service level and date, waxes and interiors apart, the on-site visit fee, due in 15 days. Free in Word and PDF, for fixed-site and mobile car washes.
Word and PDF · Free · No email, no sign-up
The short answer
A car wash invoice bills a period of washes to one account: the vehicles by unit number and plate, the washes by service level — exterior, full with interior, express detail — with the count and the dates, and the add-ons on their own lines: wax, tire shine, a pet-hair interior, a bed wash.
Around it go your business details, the account and its contact, an invoice number, the period covered and a due date — net 15 is usual for fleet accounts — and the on-site visit fee if you wash at their yard.
Finish with the total, how to pay, and the next visit, so the fleet manager can see the month in one page and the account renews itself.
FREE TEMPLATE · WORD AND PDF
The car wash invoice template, filled in
Below is the template filled in for Blue Bay Hand Car Wash, a fictional car wash business, so you can see every line in use. The downloads are the same invoice with [bracketed] lines to replace — free, no email address, no sign-up.
![Free Car Wash Invoice Template — the blank fill-in invoice as it downloads, with [bracketed] lines to replace](/invoice-templates/car-wash-invoice-template-preview.png)
Example · fictional business
Blue Bay Hand Car Wash Mesa, AZ (480) 555-0192 · accounts@bluebaycarwash.example | INVOICE |
Bill to Desert Peak Plumbing LLC Attn: Dana Ruiz, office manager · ap@desertpeakplumbing.example 1840 S Country Club Dr, Mesa, AZ | Fleet 6 service vans — units 1–6, plates on the wash log attached Washed on site at your yard: Oct 7 and Oct 21 (6:30 – 8:30 am) Van 4 brought to the bay Oct 14 for an interior after the drain job |
| Description | Qty | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exterior hand wash and dry — fleet rate 6 vans × 2 visits; wheels and door jambs included | 12 | $22.00 | $264.00 |
| Full wash with interior vacuum and windows Van 4, Oct 14, at the bay | 1 | $38.00 | $38.00 |
| Express wax — fleet rate Vans 1, 2 and 3, Oct 21 | 3 | $25.00 | $75.00 |
| Tire shine All six vans, Oct 21 | 6 | $6.00 | $36.00 |
| On-site visit — your yard, Mesa Two visits; water and power from our rig, wash mat used | 2 | $40.00 | $80.00 |
| Subtotal | $493.00 | ||
| Sales tax (if your state taxes car washes) | $0.00 | ||
| Total | $493.00 | ||
| Balance due | $493.00 | ||
Payment
Net 15 — due Nov 16. Pay by bank transfer, card or check; please reference the invoice number.
Next visit
Nov 4 and Nov 18 at your yard, 6:30 am. Van 2's bed liner is holding the wash well; van 5 has tar on the rockers we'll treat next visit.
Every figure on the example is an example, not a price guide — use your own rates. The Word file is a standard .docx you can edit in Word or any app that opens Word documents; the PDF prints as-is if you'd rather fill it in by hand.
Invoices and a website, one place
Start your car wash website — invoicing is built in
Add your business name and your town, and Zarla builds your car wash website from this one line. The same dashboard sends invoices like this one, with a pay-now button once you're on a paid plan.
Already have a website? Bring it across →Zarla keeps your old page addresses where it can and redirects the ones that change, helping you keep the Google standing you've built.
LINE BY LINE
What goes on a car wash invoice
Every line on the template, in order, and what to write on it.
| The line | What to put there |
|---|---|
| Business name and contact | Your trading name, phone, email and address — or “mobile” with your service area — and a city business license number where your city issues one. |
| Invoice number, dates and the period | A number that never repeats (the month plus the account works well), the invoice date, the due date — net 15 for fleets — and the period the washes cover. |
| Bill to and the fleet | The company with its accounts-payable contact, then the fleet: how many vehicles, their unit numbers and plates (a wash log attached does it for a big fleet), where and when they were washed, and anything unusual this period. |
| Washes by service level | One line per service level with the count — exterior wash and dry, full wash with interior, express detail — and what each includes. The fleet manager counts the line against the vans in the lot. |
| Add-ons | Wax, tire shine, a bed wash, a pet-hair interior, a headlight restore — each on its own line with which vehicles, so the base wash stays the fleet rate they signed up for. |
| Details | A full interior or exterior detail on its own line by vehicle and date, with hours if you bill by time. It's a different job from a wash and it reads that way. |
| On-site visit fee | If you wash at their yard, one line per visit for bringing water, power and the wash mat. Said at setup, shown on the invoice. |
| Tax, total and how to pay | Sales tax where your state taxes car washes (several do — see below), the total in bold, the due date and how to pay. |
| Next visit | The next dates and anything to flag on a vehicle — the tar on van 5, the sealant that's due — so the account renews itself. |
STEP BY STEP
How to fill out a car wash invoice
Five minutes on the first of the month, from the wash log.
Put your details at the top
Business name, phone, email, address or service area, and your city license number where issued. Save the file once with these filled in.
Number it by month and account, set net 15
Month plus account as the invoice number, today's date, a due date 15 days out, and the period covered.
Name the account and the fleet
The company and its accounts-payable contact, the vehicles by unit and plate, where and when they were washed, anything unusual.
Bill washes by service level, then add-ons and details
Each service level with the count and what it includes, each add-on with which vehicles, any detail by vehicle and date, the on-site visit fee per visit.
Add tax where it applies and total it
Sales tax only where your state taxes car washes, then the total in bold.
Write the next visit and send it to accounts payable
Next dates and anything to flag on a vehicle in the note, then email the PDF with the wash log attached, on the same day every month.
How car washes get fleet accounts paid faster
Bill monthly, on the first, with the wash log attached. One invoice per account per month, the vehicles and dates on a log the fleet manager can check against the vans in the lot, due in 15 days. The account that gets the same invoice on the same day pays it in the same payment run.
Quote a fleet rate and show it on every line. “Exterior hand wash and dry — fleet rate, 6 vans × 2 visits” at the per-wash price you quoted. A fleet manager who sees the quoted rate pays; one who sees the walk-up price asks for the discount they were promised.
Keep add-ons and details apart from the wash. Wax, tire shine and the one interior after a messy job on their own lines, by vehicle and date. The base line stays what the account expects, and the extras are visibly extras.
Charge for coming to them. A mobile rig's water, power and time are real costs; one on-site line per visit, said at setup, is accepted without a word. Bury it in the wash price and the fleet rate looks high.
Flag vehicles in the note. “Van 5 has tar on the rockers we'll treat next visit” tells the fleet manager you're looking at their vehicles, not just hosing them — and sells the detail before you've quoted it.
Wash water. In the US the Clean Water Act and most cities' stormwater rules say wash water can't run to a storm drain; mobile washers use a wash mat or berm and a recovery pump, and some cities require a permit or a wastewater arrangement for a mobile rig. Check your city's stormwater office before your first on-site account — and say “wash mat used” on the invoice, as the example does.
Tax depends on the state. In the US a car wash is an untaxed service in most states, but several tax it — Connecticut, New Jersey and New York among them, New York when staff wash, wax or vacuum the car; New York and New Jersey exempt coin-operated self-service bays, Connecticut taxes those too. Arizona, where the example sits, doesn't tax a staffed hand wash. Check your state's revenue department or your accountant before you add a tax line.
Outside the US. The invoice itself has rules: in Australia a GST-registered business issues a tax invoice showing its ABN, in New Zealand a GST-registered business shows its GST number, and in the UK and EU a VAT-registered business shows its VAT number and the VAT charged. Confirm the details with your accountant.
Send it from Zarla and get paid online
A Word template is a fine way to start. The catch is everything after you hit send: chasing the payment, remembering who's paid, and typing the same customer and the same line items again next month.
If you build your car wash website with Zarla, the invoice tool is in the same dashboard. Pick the customer, add the job's lines, and send it. On a paid plan, with your Stripe account connected, the invoice carries a pay-now button: your customer pays online by card, and the invoice marks itself paid when the money arrives. Customers you've invoiced are saved, so next time is two taps.
Want to see the website first? Browse car wash website templates or see how Zarla builds car wash websites. Still setting up? Read how to start a car wash business and write your car wash business plan.
The whole paper trail of a job, step by step: how to write a quote, then how to write an invoice, then how to write a receipt — with a free receipt template. For any other trade, start from the free invoice template. Either side of it, two more free templates in Word and PDF: a price list template for the services you sell and a work order template for the crew.
Heading into the holidays? Our free gift certificate template covers the customers who want to give your work as a gift, and the holiday hours sign template covers the door, your website and your Google profile.
Car wash invoices: common questions
Your business name and contact details; the account and its accounts-payable contact; an invoice number, the invoice date, the due date and the period; the fleet by unit and plate with where and when the vehicles were washed; washes by service level with counts; add-ons and details by vehicle; the on-site visit fee; tax where your state charges it; the total; how to pay; and the next visit.
For any account that pays later or for many vehicles: a business's fleet of vans on a monthly account, a dealership's lot washed weekly, a rental branch, a mobile route to an office park, or a company paying for its staff's washes. A customer at the bay gets a receipt from the register; an account gets an invoice.
One invoice per month: the vehicles by unit and plate (a wash log attached for a big fleet), each service level as a line with the count — vehicles × visits — at the fleet rate, add-ons and details by vehicle, the on-site fee per visit, due in 15 days. Send it to accounts payable on the first with the wash log.
Yes — one line per visit for the rig, water, power and wash mat, said when the account is set up. It keeps the per-wash price at the fleet rate the customer compares to a fixed site, and it's accepted without a word when it's visible.
On the same monthly invoice, as its own line by vehicle and date — “Full wash with interior vacuum and windows — van 4, Oct 14” — or a full detail with the hours if you bill by time. The wash lines stay at their usual count, so the manager sees exactly what the extra cost.
In the US most states treat a car wash as an untaxed service, but several tax it — Connecticut, New Jersey and New York among them (New York when staff wash, wax or vacuum the car; New York and New Jersey exempt coin-operated self-service bays, Connecticut taxes them too). Products you sell, such as air fresheners or detailing supplies, are taxable goods almost everywhere. Check your state's revenue department or your accountant. Outside the US, a GST- or VAT-registered car wash shows the tax and its registration number on the invoice.
Yes. The car wash invoice template on this page downloads free as a Word document and a PDF — no email address, no sign-up. Edit it in Word or any app that opens Word documents, or print the PDF and fill it in by hand.
Not from a Word file — your customer still has to pay you some other way. To take the payment on the invoice itself, send it from invoicing software. If your car wash website is on Zarla, the invoice tool is in the same dashboard: on a paid plan, with Stripe connected, each invoice carries a pay-now button and marks itself paid when the customer pays by card.
Send invoices from your own car wash website
Add your town and your business name, and Zarla builds the site from that one line — with invoicing in the same dashboard.
Already have a website? Bring it across →Zarla keeps your old page addresses where it can and redirects the ones that change, helping you keep the Google standing you've built.