Progress billing, retainage, change orders, and stored materials — structured the way GCs and lenders expect.
Start a Construction Invoice →Opens with the construction lines already listed. Free, no sign-up, PDF download.
A construction invoice is reviewed by someone whose job is to find a reason not to pay it yet. That is not cynicism — on any funded project the general contractor, the owner's rep, and often a lender's inspector each verify the billed percentage against what is actually standing on site before a draw is released. An invoice that says 'framing — $42,000' with no schedule of values, no percent complete, and no prior-billed column gives all three of them a reason to send it back.
The two lines that decide whether you get paid on time are retainage and change orders. Retainage — usually 5 or 10% held until substantial completion — has to be shown as a deduction on the face of the invoice, or your books and the GC's will disagree by exactly that amount for the life of the project. Change orders must be billed as separately numbered lines referencing the signed CO, never absorbed into a base contract line, because a change order buried inside a progress line is the single most common cause of a rejected draw.
Progress billing against a schedule of values: each line shows the scheduled value, percent complete this period, amount previously billed, and amount due now. Retainage is deducted from the total. Change orders are billed as numbered additions. Small jobs may bill time and materials or a fixed lump sum with a deposit.
These are the lines this trade actually bills, the unit each is measured in, and what each one prevents. Every line below is optional — use the ones that match the job.
| Line item | Billed as | Why it belongs there |
|---|---|---|
| Contract line 03100 — Concrete forms, 60% complete this period | % of scheduled value | Percent complete plus the SOV code is what an inspector verifies against. |
| Previously billed to date | running total | Show it. Without it the reviewer cannot confirm you are not double-billing a phase. |
| Change order #4 — added footing depth per RFI 11 (signed 8/2) | per approved CO | Numbered, dated, referencing the signed CO. Never absorb a CO into a base line. |
| Labor — 6 crew × 38 hrs @ trade rate | per hour | On T&M work, hours by crew and classification. Prevailing-wage jobs require the classification. |
| Materials delivered and stored on site | per invoice, receipts attached | Stored materials are billable on most contracts — but usually only with supplier invoices attached. |
| Equipment — excavator, 3 days | per day or per hour | Owned equipment bills at a published rate too. Idle standby time is a separate rate. |
| Retainage held — 10% of this draw | deduction | Shown as a negative on the invoice face, so both ledgers agree from day one. |
| Permit and inspection fees | pass-through | Pass-throughs need receipts. Marked-up permits are a frequent audit finding. |
Nearly every unpaid or short-paid invoice in this trade comes down to one of these.
A downloadable template means fixing the layout, re-entering the formulas, and reformatting every time. This one fills in on screen, does the maths, and downloads a clean PDF — with the construction lines already listed.
Open the Construction Template →Go deeper
How to invoice for construction work →The full guide — rates, payment terms, deposits, and what to do when the invoice goes unpaid.
Progress billing charges for the portion of contracted work completed during a specific period rather than the whole job at the end. Each line of the schedule of values shows its scheduled value, the percent complete as of this period, the amount previously billed, and the amount due now. The structure exists so the owner, the GC, and any lender's inspector can each verify the claim against physical progress on site. The industry-standard forms for this are AIA G702/G703; a plain invoice works on smaller jobs as long as it carries the same columns.
List the gross amount earned this period, then show retainage as an explicit deduction line — for example 'Less 10% retainage — ($4,200)' — and present the net as the amount due. Never invoice only the net without showing the retained amount, because your receivable and the GC's payable then disagree for the life of the project and the retainage release at closeout becomes an argument. Some states cap the retainage percentage or require it held in escrow, so check your state's prompt-payment statute.
As their own numbered lines, referencing the change order number and its signature date, kept visually separate from base contract lines. A change order absorbed into a progress line makes the base line exceed its scheduled value, which is exactly the anomaly a reviewer is scanning for, and the usual result is that the entire draw is held rather than the disputed portion. Never invoice unsigned work as a change order — invoice it only once the CO is executed, and chase the signature separately.
On the contract's billing cycle, which is usually monthly with a cutoff date — often the 25th — so the GC can assemble the owner draw. Missing the cutoff by a day typically pushes your payment a full month, which is the most avoidable cash-flow injury in the trade. Put the billing period explicitly on the invoice, and on T&M work send it while the work is still fresh enough for the field to verify the hours.
Free forever, no sign-up, professional PDF in under 60 seconds.
Create Free Invoice →