CONTRACTOR INVOICE TEMPLATE
Free contractor invoice template
A general contractor's invoice to a homeowner: the payment the schedule calls for at this milestone, each change order on its own line, allowances settled with both figures shown, your crew and each licensed sub visible, and what's been paid to date. Free in Word and PDF, with every line explained — and the independent-contractor lines in the FAQ.
Word and PDF · Free · No email, no sign-up
The short answer
A contractor invoice bills the payment the estimate's schedule calls for — the deposit, the progress payment at inspection, or the final payment at completion — then adds each change order at its approved price and settles every allowance: the amount in the estimate, what the homeowner chose, and the difference added or credited.
Around it go your business name and license number, the homeowner and the project, an invoice number that follows the estimate, the date and the due date, and one line that says what's been paid to date against the estimated price — so the homeowner can see the whole job on one page.
Finish with the balance due in bold and how to pay. If you're an independent contractor billing a business rather than a builder billing a homeowner, the same invoice works — the FAQ below covers the W-9 and 1099 lines.
FREE TEMPLATE · WORD AND PDF
The contractor invoice template, filled in
Below is the template filled in for Northstar General Contracting, a fictional contractor 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 Contractor Invoice Template — the blank fill-in invoice as it downloads, with [bracketed] lines to replace](/invoice-templates/contractor-invoice-template-preview.png)
Example · fictional business
Northstar General Contracting Boise, ID (208) 555-0176 · bids@northstargc.example Idaho contractor registration # 000000 (example) | INVOICE |
Bill to Marcus and Jenna Oyelaran 3340 N Mountain View Dr Boise, ID | Project Convert attached single garage (240 sq ft) to a home office Same address · Final invoice (3 of 3) · Finished Oct 9, 2026 Paid to date: $11,300 of $22,860 — deposit Sep 1, progress payment Sep 26 |
| Description | Qty | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Final payment — job complete, final inspection passed Oct 9 Balance of the estimated price, per the payment schedule on estimate #1192 | 1 | $11,560.00 | $11,560.00 |
| Change order #1 — closet in the office, 6 ft, with door Approved Sep 18, 2026 · framing, drywall, trim and paint by our crew | 1 | $850.00 | $850.00 |
| Electrical — licensed subcontractor, outlet and light in the closet Added with change order #1 | 1 | $145.00 | $145.00 |
| Flooring allowance settled — LVP chosen Allowance $1,680 (240 sq ft × $7); selected flooring $1,920 — difference added | 1 | $240.00 | $240.00 |
| Subtotal | $12,795.00 | ||
| Sales tax (if your state taxes construction work) | $0.00 | ||
| Total | $12,795.00 | ||
| Balance due | $12,795.00 | ||
Payment
Due within 14 days. Pay by check, bank transfer or card. Thank you — it was a pleasure building for you.
Handed over
Final inspection card, the flooring care sheet and two spare planks in the closet. The permit is closed with the city.
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 contractor website — invoicing is built in
Add your business name and your town, and Zarla builds your contractor 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 contractor 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 — the homeowner's checklist asks for it, and many states require it on the paperwork. |
| Invoice number, dates and the estimate number | An invoice number that follows the estimate (1192-3 is estimate 1192, payment 3), the date, the due date, and the estimate number so the homeowner can lay the two side by side. |
| Bill to and the project | Who pays and what you built, with the size, in the same words as the estimate. If the site is a rental or a second home, name the address too. |
| Paid to date | One line in the project block: what the homeowner has paid so far against the estimated price, with the dates. It answers “where are we?” before they ask. |
| The payment the schedule calls for | The deposit, the progress payment at inspection or the final payment at completion — named the way the payment schedule names it, at the amount it says. |
| Your crew and each subcontractor | On a time-and-materials job, your own crew's work by phase and each licensed sub on its own line, so the homeowner sees who did what — the same split as the estimate. |
| Change orders | One line per change order with its number, what changed and the date it was approved, at the approved price — never folded into the milestone line. |
| Allowances settled | For everything the homeowner chose — flooring, tile, fixtures — the allowance in the estimate, what they picked, and the difference added or credited. |
| Tax, total, balance due and how to pay | Sales tax where your state charges it on construction work, the total, the balance due in bold, and how to pay and by when. |
STEP BY STEP
How to fill out a contractor invoice
Ten minutes at each milestone, from the estimate and the approved 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 invoice starts ready.
Number it by estimate and payment
Estimate number, payment number and today's date, with the due date — 14 days is usual for a homeowner; the final payment is often due at the walkthrough.
Name the project and what's paid to date
What you built, with the size, which payment this is, and what the homeowner has paid so far against the estimated price, with dates.
Bill the milestone, then change orders and allowances
The payment the schedule calls for, one line per approved change order, and each allowance settled with both figures. On time-and-materials jobs, your crew and each sub by line instead.
Add tax and show the balance
Sales tax where your state charges it, the total, and the balance due in bold.
Write how to pay and send it the day of the milestone
How to pay, the due date and what's handed over, sent the day the inspection passes or the walkthrough ends — the invoice sent on the day gets paid; the one sent next week gets questions.
How contractors get paid faster
Bill the schedule, word for word. The homeowner approved an estimate with a deposit, a payment at inspection and a balance at completion. An invoice that names the milestone exactly as the schedule did gets paid the same day; one that says “progress billing” gets a phone call.
Bill change orders on the next invoice, not the last one. A change order billed the next time you invoice, with its number and the date it was approved, is a line the homeowner already knows. Saved for the final invoice, it's a surprise, and the final invoice is the one that stalls.
Settle allowances with both figures showing. “Allowance $1,680; selected $1,920 — difference added $240” is a line nobody argues with. “Flooring upgrade $240” is a line everybody does.
Keep the subs visible. A homeowner comparing your invoice to a handyman's needs to see that it covers a licensed electrician with a permit pulled. The split you showed on the estimate — your crew, each sub — belongs on the invoice too.
If you're the sub, or an independent contractor. 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 contractor estimate template is this invoice's other half: your crew, each sub, the allowances and the payment schedule, line for line. Billing progress draws with retainage on a bigger job? The construction invoice template is built for that.
Licensing. In the US, most states license general contractors and remodelers, some from the first dollar and others above a threshold — California from $1,000 including labor and materials, for example — and many require the license number on the paperwork. Check your state's licensing board.
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 homeowner's invoice — but several states tax some construction work or let you bill tax separately. 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 contractor 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 contractor website templates or see how Zarla builds contractor websites. Still setting up? Read how to start a construction business and write your contractor business plan.
The whole paper trail of a job, step by step: the contractor 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.
Contractor invoices: common questions
Your business name, contact details and license number; the homeowner and the project; an invoice number, the date, the due date and the estimate number; what's been paid to date; the payment the schedule calls for at this milestone; one line per approved change order; each allowance settled with both figures; your crew and each subcontractor on time-and-materials jobs; tax where it applies; the balance due in bold; and how to pay.
The job. This contractor invoice is a general contractor's invoice to a homeowner for one project with a payment schedule — the milestone payment, change orders, allowances settled, your crew and each sub shown. The construction invoice template bills progress draws against a contract with retainage and a billed-to-date figure, the shape lenders and developers expect on bigger jobs. The lines are compatible; pick the one that matches the job.
Yes. Any self-employed person billing a business is an independent contractor to the IRS, and the invoice needs the same things: your legal business name and EIN exactly as on your W-9, the client's purchase order number if they issued one, the work by task or deliverable with dates, expenses at cost, the due date and how to pay. Delete the project block and the allowance line, keep the rest.
One line in the project block — “Paid to date: $11,300 of $22,860, deposit Sep 1, progress payment Sep 26” — and bill only this milestone's payment on the lines. The homeowner can add the two and see the whole job without the earlier invoices.
As its own line, with the change order number, what changed, the date it was approved and the approved price, on the next invoice after the work is done. Never fold a change into the milestone line — the homeowner approved a price for the change, and the invoice should show it.
Show three numbers: the allowance in the estimate, what the homeowner chose, and the difference — added if they went over, credited if they came in under. Settle each allowance on the invoice after the item is installed, or all of them on the final invoice, and say which on the estimate.
Yes. The contractor 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 contractor 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 contractor 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.