Free Invoice Generator

Construction invoice template

A builder's or tradesperson's invoice should keep labour and materials apart. In the UK, the Construction Industry Scheme and the VAT reverse charge both depend on it. Use this template to start one in the invoice generator.

Kind of job
Your invoice

The currency you invoice in. The example beside this changes with it.

Use this template

Opens the invoice generator with these lines and notes, ready to edit. The prices are left for you to fill in: the figures in the example are only an illustration.

GuideDeposits and progress billingHow this works, and where the figures go wrong →

What goes on a construction invoice

  • The site and the job: the address and what was done, so the invoice matches the quote.
  • Labour, by the day, the hour or a fixed price for the stage.
  • Materials, on separate lines from labour, with receipts kept or attached.
  • Plant and skip hire, also on lines of their own.
  • Stage payments already made, recorded with + Add amount paid so the balance is right.

UK: the Construction Industry Scheme

If you work as a subcontractor for a contractor under CIS, the contractor takes a deduction from what they pay you and passes it to HMRC. According to GOV.UK, that is "the standard rate of 20%" if you are registered and they can verify you, and "a higher rate of 30%" if not.

The deduction comes off labour, not everything. GOV.UK says contractors "will not take CIS deductions" from VAT, consumables, plant hired for the job, or "materials that you have paid for directly". That only works if the invoice shows them apart from labour, which is why the template does. Keep the receipts: the contractor may ask for evidence of what you paid for materials.

UK: the VAT domestic reverse charge

Between VAT-registered businesses, for standard and reduced rate construction services reported under CIS, the customer accounts for the VAT instead of you. GOV.UK's guidance on the reverse charge lists the services it covers.

When it applies, you don't collect the VAT from the customer, and the invoice has to say the reverse charge applies. HMRC's technical guide gives example wording that meets the legal requirement, including "Customer to pay the VAT to HMRC". Choose UK subcontractor under CIS above, and the template puts that sentence in the notes for you.

Elsewhere

Other countries have rules of their own for construction work, from retentions to how materials are taxed, and in the US they differ by state. Separate lines for labour and materials help everywhere: they are what a client checks against the quote.

Getting paid

Larger jobs are usually paid in stages. Deposits and progress billing covers invoicing them, and the payment schedule calculator splits a price into stages. If a payment is late, the late payment laws by country page shows the interest and fixed sums you can claim.

Wording you can copy

Clauses for the Notes field or your terms. They are a starting point: change the numbers to your own terms, and keep anything with legal weight in a signed agreement.

  • Materials

    Materials are charged at cost and shown separately from labour. Receipts are available on request.

  • Extra work

    Work beyond the quote is only carried out once agreed in writing, and is invoiced as a separate line.

  • Stage payments

    Payment is due in the stages set out in the quote. Each stage is invoiced on completion.

  • VAT reverse charge (UK)

    Reverse charge: Customer to pay the VAT to HMRC.

    Example wording from HMRC's VAT reverse charge technical guide.

Related

Other templates: consulting, for expenses rebilled with receipts, and graphic design. The mileage calculator prices travel to a site.

Last updated 6 October 2026