Bill progress, not the job
Each invoice states the contract value, the percentage of work completed to date, the amount previously billed, and the amount now due. A payer who cannot reconcile those four numbers will not approve the invoice, and on a construction schedule that is a month.
Show retainage as its own line
Retainage is money earned and deliberately withheld until the job closes out. Folding it into the total makes the invoice look wrong to everyone: the payer thinks you have overbilled, and you lose track of what is owed at completion.
Change orders are separate lines, never adjustments
Work added after the contract was signed belongs on its own line, referencing the signed change order. An invoice that quietly raises a contract line is the single most common reason a contractor's payment is held for review.
Attach what releases the payment
- The signed change orders your added lines reference
- A conditional lien waiver for the amount of this invoice
- Certified payroll, on public works
- Supplier invoices, where the contract passes materials through at cost
Common questions
- What is retainage?
- A percentage of each payment the owner holds back until the job is complete and accepted. It is typically five to ten per cent, and it is released at closeout rather than with the invoice that earned it.
- Should I invoice for materials separately from labour?
- If the contract passes materials through at cost, yes: a separate line with the supplier invoice attached is what makes a pass-through auditable. On a lump-sum contract it is one line of contract value.
- Do I need to send a lien waiver with every invoice?
- On most commercial jobs a conditional waiver for the amount being invoiced is what triggers payment. Sending it unconditionally, before the money arrives, gives up the lien right the waiver was protecting.