Billed by the square, with tear-off, decking, disposal, and insurance-claim structure built in.
Start a Roofing Invoice →Opens with the roofing lines already listed. Free, no sign-up, PDF download.
Roofing bills in squares — 100 square feet of roof surface — and the invoice should say so. A total with no square count, pitch, and layer count cannot be checked by the homeowner, the insurance adjuster, or the next contractor, and on an insurance job that is fatal: the carrier's estimate is written in squares against a specific pitch and material, and an invoice that does not use the same units cannot be reconciled with it.
The line that most often goes unbilled is decking. You cannot know how much rotten sheathing is under a roof until the old one is off, which is why decking replacement belongs on every roofing contract as a per-sheet unit price agreed up front. Discovering rot and eating the cost is the standard way a profitable roof becomes a break-even one. Agreeing the unit price before tear-off, then billing the actual sheet count, turns the same discovery into a line the homeowner has already accepted.
Priced per square of roof area, adjusted for pitch, layers to tear off, and access. Decking replacement bills per sheet at an agreed unit price. Deposit up front, balance on completion; insurance jobs bill against the carrier's scope with ACV, depreciation, and deductible shown.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Tear-off — 28 squares, 2 layers, 6/12 pitch | per square | Squares, layers, and pitch. All three change the labor and all three get verified. |
| Architectural shingles installed — 28 squares | per square | Name the product and colour. It is the warranty registration record. |
| Synthetic underlayment and ice-and-water shield | per square / per roll | Code-required in most northern jurisdictions. Bill it, and note the coverage. |
| Decking replacement — 14 sheets @ agreed unit price | per sheet | Agree the unit price BEFORE tear-off. This is the trade's most-eaten cost. |
| Flashing, drip edge, pipe boots, ridge vent | per linear ft / per unit | Detail work that adjusters expect itemized and homeowners never think about. |
| Dumpster and debris disposal | per load | A tear-off fills a dumpster. It is a large, real, separately-billable cost. |
| Permit and final inspection | pass-through | Most jurisdictions require a roofing permit. Pass it through with the number. |
| Insurance claim — ACV paid, recoverable depreciation, deductible | claim structure | Three separate amounts. Merging them is the top cause of a rejected supplement. |
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 roofing lines already listed.
Open the Roofing Template →Go deeper
How to invoice for roofing jobs →The full guide — rates, payment terms, deposits, and what to do when the invoice goes unpaid.
Business name, contact details, and roofing license number; homeowner and property address; invoice number and date; roof measurements in squares with pitch and the number of layers torn off; itemized lines for tear-off, underlayment, shingles with the product named, flashing and accessories, decking replacement by sheet count, and disposal; permit fee and number; the contract total with deposit applied and balance due; workmanship warranty separate from the manufacturer's material warranty; and payment terms.
A square is 100 square feet of roof surface — not floor area, which is why pitch matters: a steeper roof has more surface over the same footprint and takes longer and costs more to work safely. Measure the roof, state the square count, the pitch, and the number of existing layers on the invoice, and price tear-off and installation per square. Anyone checking your price — the homeowner, an adjuster, a lender — works in exactly these units, and an invoice that uses them is far faster to approve.
Bill against the carrier's scope using their line structure, and show the three amounts separately: actual cash value already paid, recoverable depreciation released on completion, and the homeowner's deductible. Any work beyond the carrier's scope is a supplement, documented with photos and submitted separately rather than added quietly to the invoice. Never offer to waive or absorb the deductible — it is insurance fraud in most states, it voids the claim, and an invoice that hints at it is written evidence.
Set a per-sheet unit price in the contract before tear-off begins, and bill the actual count on the invoice. Rotten sheathing is genuinely invisible until the old roof is removed, so no honest estimate can include it, but a homeowner who signed a contract saying 'decking replacement: $__ per 4x8 sheet as required' has already agreed to the mechanism. Photograph the rot before you cover it — that is what turns a surprise line into an obvious one.
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