Once you’ve finished a contracted plumbing job, it’s time to get paid. The most professional way to request payment is to send an invoice.
Sending a plumbing invoice will make maintaining your business’s books much easier and protect you at tax time. A well-written invoice also creates a better impression with customers and helps communicate payment information clearly and professionally.
What To Include in a Plumbing Invoice
An invoice for a plumbing contract should include several key pieces of information. These include:
- Your company name and contact information – This information should be easily visible. Include all the ways a customer may contact you, including mailing address, telephone number, and email address.
- Your customer’s name and contact information – Include contact information for your customer, including mailing address, phone number, and email address.
- Invoice date and number – Assigning an invoice number and including the date you created the invoice will help you track the invoice and determine when payment is due.
- Invoice due date – Including when payment is due is essential to being paid on time.
- Itemization of charges – Include an itemized list of all charges in the invoice, including an hourly breakdown of the work if you charge by the hour and any plumbing supplies or other costs passed on to your customer. Include a subtotal of all the costs and a total with tax, if applicable.
- A comments section – A comments section may include payment terms, a notice that the invoice is past due and by how long, or other information that may be relevant to the particular job or customer.
How To Write a Plumbing Invoice
Follow these steps to write a plumbing invoice:
Step 1: Create a Master Plumbing Invoice Template
Once you’ve filled in your company name and details on our template, you can save it as your own template to use again and again. You may also want to include standard payment terms and payment methods in the comments section of your template.
Step 2: Fill in Basic Information for the Job
Fill in your customer’s name and contact information. Fill in the invoice number. Use consecutive numbers for your invoices as you create them.
Step 3: Determine the Charges
If applicable, refer to the plumbing contract with your customer to determine appropriate rates and charges.
- If you charge by the hour, you should include a total of the hours spent on the job and the hourly rate.
- If you charge by the job, you should include a description of the job performed and the cost of the job.
- If you charge customers for supplies, you should include the cost of supplies. Depending on the job, you may wish to have an itemization of each supply used and its price.
- Total up the charges. Include a subtotal of all charges, and then add the tax to the subtotal to reach the total.
Step 4: Set the Invoice Due Date
You should also refer to your contract, if any, to determine when payment for the plumbing invoice is due. Otherwise, you may choose a standard period, such as ten days, for payment, or you may make the payment due upon receipt, meaning that you expect payment immediately after giving the customer the invoice.
Step 5: Add Any Comments
In the comments section, you may include information about payment terms, such as late fees and accepted payment methods. Again, refer to your contract for the pertinent information about late fees and forms of payment.
Step 6: Communicate With the Customer
Give the plumbing invoice to your customer, and after the customer pays the invoice, promptly give the customer a receipt.
Plumbing Invoice Sample
Below you can download a plumbing invoice template in Excel or Word format: