Guides
A template answers what the paper should look like. These answer the questions underneath it — the ones most people in the trade work out the expensive way.
There are five, and they are the five that come up before anybody searches for a template at all: how to write an invoice for a trade where the arguments are predictable, what a receipt has to carry to survive a warranty claim, whether labor is taxable, how to ask for money before the work starts, and how to number the lot so a missing invoice is obvious.
Where any of this touches tax, records or what is binding, the guides say what is usual and then send you to whoever actually decides it — your state, the IRS, your licensing board. None of it is advice, and anyone telling you there is one national answer to the tax question is guessing with your money.
How to write a plumbing invoice
What goes on a plumbing invoice and in what order, plus the three lines that cause most of the arguments: the call-out, the after-hours rate, and who supplied the fixture.
What to put on a mechanic receipt
A mechanic receipt proves the money arrived and backs a warranty claim later. What has to be on it, why parts and labor stay separate, and how to handle a deposit.
Do you charge sales tax on labor?
Why there is no single answer, the three questions every state is really asking, and how to set your invoice up so the answer is easy to apply whichever way it goes.
How to ask for a deposit on a job
When a deposit is normal, how much to ask for, and the one place to put it so the customer agrees to it without a conversation: the estimate, not the invoice.
Invoice numbering for a one-person business
Why the numbers matter more than they look, the year-prefix pattern most sole traders settle on, and the four numbering habits that cause trouble later.
What makes a trade invoice collectable
The parts of an invoice that decide whether you get paid when somebody refuses: who is being billed, what the work was, what authorized it, and what proves it was accepted.
Estimate, quote or invoice: which to send
The one difference that decides which paper to send: a guess, a promise, or a demand for money. A decision table, a worked sequence, and when each one gets signed.
What goes on a contractor invoice: a checklist
A line-by-line checklist for a contractor invoice — business and customer details, itemized labor and materials, tax, deposit and balance, terms — and what is optional.
How to price a lawn mowing job
How to price lawn mowing per cut, per hour or by lot size: what to count as cost, a worked example with sample numbers, and how to put it on an estimate.
How to price a handyman job
How to price handyman work by the hour, the task or the job: minimum charges, supply runs, materials markup, and a worked example to adapt to your own rates.
How to price a house cleaning job
How to price house cleaning by the hour, the home or the square foot: standard vs deep cleans, supplies, travel, and a worked example to adapt to your costs.
How to price a pressure washing job
How to price pressure washing by the square foot or by the job: measuring surfaces, chemicals, water, setup time, and a worked example to adapt to your costs.
How to price a roofing job
How to price a roofing job by the square: measuring, waste, tear-off, decking, labor and disposal, with a worked example and the lines for the estimate.
What to do about a past-due invoice
A reminder timeline for an unpaid invoice, three emails to copy (friendly, firm and final), when to add a late fee or stop work, and what comes after.
How to send an invoice
How to send an invoice by email, text, WhatsApp, link, PDF or mail; what to write in the message and subject line; and when to send it so you are paid sooner.
Invoice vs bill vs receipt: what is the difference?
An invoice asks for payment, a bill is the same request from the payer’s side, and a receipt proves payment: definitions, side by side, and which to send.
What is an invoice?
What an invoice is, what it has to show, and how it differs from a quote, a bill and a receipt — written for tradespeople who send one after every job.
What is a proforma invoice?
A proforma invoice is a preview of a bill, sent before the work or before payment. What it is, how it differs from a quote and a real invoice, and when a trade business needs one.
How to fill out a receipt book
Every line of a carbon-copy receipt book, in order: date, number, customer, items, total, payment method and signature — plus who keeps which copy and how to number them.
What is a purchase order?
A purchase order is the buyer’s written order to a supplier, sent before the work. What a PO is, what the PO number does, and how it differs from an invoice and a work order.
What is a lien waiver?
A lien waiver gives up your right to file a mechanic’s lien once you are paid. The four types, the one you should never sign before the check clears, and how they protect you.