CONSTRUCTION INVOICE TEMPLATE
Free construction invoice template
A construction invoice built for progress billing: the draw against the contract, each change order, allowance adjustments and retainage held. Free in Word and PDF, with every line explained — for general contractors and subs alike.
Word and PDF · Free · No email, no sign-up
The short answer
A construction invoice bills against the contract: the draw or milestone that's complete and what share of the contract price it is, each change order on its own line, allowance overages or credits, materials and labor on time-and-materials jobs, and any retainage held back.
Around it go the usual lines: your business name and license number, the customer, the job site and the contract number, an invoice number that follows the draw, the date and the due date, and the total billed to date so the customer can see where the project stands.
Finish with the due date and how to pay, and which draw comes next at which milestone, so the customer can see what's coming.
FREE TEMPLATE · WORD AND PDF
The construction invoice template, filled in
Below is the template filled in for Ridgeline Builders LLC, a fictional construction 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 Construction Invoice Template — the blank fill-in invoice as it downloads, with [bracketed] lines to replace](/invoice-templates/construction-invoice-template-preview.png)
Example · fictional business
Ridgeline Builders LLC Fort Collins, CO (970) 555-0148 · office@ridgelinebuilders.example License # 000000 (example) | INVOICE |
Bill to Marcus and Elena Ruiz 3140 Stover St Fort Collins, CO | Project Detached garage, 24 × 24 ft, with loft Same address · Draw 3 of 4 Billed to date before this draw: $24,800 of $62,000 |
| Description | Qty | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Draw 3 — framing, roof and windows complete 30% of contract price, per payment schedule | 1 | $18,600.00 | $18,600.00 |
| Change order #1 — add 36-inch side entry door Approved Sep 28, 2026 | 1 | $1,150.00 | $1,150.00 |
| Allowance overage — windows Allowance $2,400; selected units $2,820 | 1 | $420.00 | $420.00 |
| Change order #2 — relocate exterior outlet Approved Oct 2, 2026 · electrician's time and materials | 1 | $285.00 | $285.00 |
| Subtotal | $20,455.00 | ||
| Sales tax (if your state taxes construction work) | $0.00 | ||
| Total | $20,455.00 | ||
| Balance due | $20,455.00 | ||
Payment
Due within 10 days. Pay by check, bank transfer or card. Thank you for your business.
Next draw
Draw 4 (completion, 30%) is billed at final inspection.
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 construction website — invoicing is built in
Add your business name and your town, and Zarla builds your construction 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 construction invoice
Every line on the template, in order, and what to write on it.
| The line | What to put there |
|---|---|
| Business name, contact and license number | Your trading name, phone, email, address and contractor license number — most states require it on contracts and many on invoices, and lenders and title companies look for it on a draw. |
| Invoice number, dates and contract number | An invoice number that follows the draw (2026-14-3 is contract 14, draw 3), the date, the due date from the contract, and the contract or job number so the customer's lender can match it. |
| Bill to and job site | Who pays and where the work is. For a homeowner it's the same address; for a developer or property manager it isn't, so name both — the lender and the property manager match the invoice to the site. |
| Billed to date | One line in the project block: what you've billed before this draw against the full contract price. It answers “where are we?” before the customer asks. |
| The draw or milestone | What's complete and what share of the contract it is, worded the way the payment schedule words it. On a cost-plus or time-and-materials job, this becomes labor and materials lines instead. |
| Change orders | One line per change order, with the number, what changed and the date it was approved — billed on the next draw after the work is done. |
| Allowance adjustments | Where the customer's selection came in over or under the allowance in the contract — show the allowance, the actual and the difference. |
| Retainage, tax, total and balance due | Retainage held if the contract has it, sales tax where your state charges it on construction work, any deposit already applied, and the balance due in bold. |
| How to pay and the next draw | How to pay and when, and which draw comes next at which milestone — so the customer can see where the project stands. |
STEP BY STEP
How to fill out a construction invoice
Ten minutes at the end of each phase, from the contract and the signed change orders.
Put your details and license number at the top
Business name, phone, email, address and contractor license number. Save the file once with these filled in so every draw starts ready.
Number it by contract and draw
Contract number, draw number and today's date, with the due date the contract sets. Add the lender's loan number if a construction loan is paying.
Name the project and the billed-to-date figure
What you're building, the job site, which draw this is, and what you've billed before it against the contract price.
Bill the draw, then the change orders and allowances
The milestone that's complete at its share of the contract, one line per change order with its date, and any allowance overage or credit.
Hold retainage, add tax, show the balance
Deduct retainage if the contract has it, add sales tax where your state charges it, subtract any deposit still on account, and put the balance due in bold.
Write how to pay and send it the day the phase is inspected
How to pay, the due date and the next draw, sent the day the inspector signs off — draws sent on the day get paid; draws that wait for Friday get a phone call.
How construction businesses get paid faster
Bill by milestone, not by month. A draw tied to something the customer can see — the slab poured, the roof dried in, the inspection passed — gets approved. “Progress to date, 38%” does not. Bill the payment schedule word for word.
Bill change orders on the draw after the work. A change order billed on the next draw, with its number and what changed, is a line the customer already recognizes. One that waits for the final invoice is a surprise, and surprises are what stall a construction invoice.
Don't swallow allowance overages. When the customer picks the $2,820 windows against a $2,400 allowance, the $420 goes on the next draw with both figures shown. Waiting until the final invoice makes it a surprise.
Know who's a business customer. In the US, a business client that pays you $2,000 or more in a year (the threshold for payments from 2026, up from $600; indexed from 2027) will ask for your W-9 and send you a Form 1099-NEC in January — put your business name and EIN on every invoice so their bookkeeper never has to chase you for it.
Start from the estimate. The invoice is easiest when it mirrors the paperwork before it: the construction estimate template bills the job phase by phase with a contingency and a payment schedule, and the contractor estimate template is the general contractor's version for a homeowner, with allowances and exclusions. Either one becomes this invoice draw by draw.
Tax depends on the state. In the US most states treat a contractor as the consumer of the materials — you pay sales tax when you buy them and don't add tax to the customer's invoice — but several states tax some construction work or let you bill tax separately, and some treat new construction differently from remodeling. 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 construction 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 construction website templates or see how Zarla builds construction websites. Still setting up? Read how to start a construction business and write your construction business plan.
The whole paper trail of a job, step by step: the construction estimate template, then 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.
Construction invoices: common questions
Your business name, contact details and license number; the customer and the job site; an invoice number, the date, the due date and the contract number; what you've billed to date; the draw or milestone that's complete with its share of the contract; one line per signed change order; allowance adjustments; retainage held if the contract has it; tax where it applies; the balance due; and how to pay, with the next draw named.
Nothing but the name. A general contractor, a remodeler and a trade contractor all bill the same way — a draw against the contract, change orders, allowances and retainage — so this template is the contractor invoice template too. Subcontractors billing a general contractor add the GC's job number and the pay application their draw belongs to.
As its own line, with the change order number, what changed and the date it was approved, on the next draw after the work is done. Never fold a change into the milestone line — the customer approved a price for the change, and the invoice should show that price.
A share of each draw — 5% or 10% is common — that the customer or lender holds back until the job is complete, so the last payment has some weight. If your contract has retainage, show it as a deduction on every draw and bill the retained total on the final invoice, so nobody has to reconstruct it at the end.
One line in the project block: what you've billed before this draw against the full contract price — “Billed to date before this draw: $24,800 of $62,000”. Add this draw and the customer can see the running total without a spreadsheet, and so can the lender paying the draw.
Labor as hours × rate per trade or per person, materials at cost or cost-plus with the receipts available, equipment rental and subcontractors on their own lines, billed every two weeks or at the end of each phase. Say what the markup is on the estimate so it never has to be explained on the invoice.
Yes. The construction 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 construction 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 construction 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.