Free construction invoice generator
Bill a draw against your schedule of values, show retainage and stored materials, and download a PDF a general contractor or lender can process without a phone call.
Build your construction invoice
Prefilled with a draw on a commercial fit-out. Replace the line items and percentages, then download.
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What is a construction invoice?
A construction invoice — often called a progress payment application — bills for the portion of a contract completed during a billing period. Unlike a service invoice, it is read against a schedule of values: a breakdown of the contract into line items, each with a contract amount, so the owner can see percent complete rather than just a number.
That structure is what makes it payable. A lender or owner’s representative approving a draw is checking three things: does the work billed match what is on site, does the arithmetic reconcile with previous draws, and has retainage been withheld correctly.
Larger jobs formalise this with AIA-style forms, lien waivers and certified payroll. Smaller ones do not need that machinery, but the logic is identical: name the draw, bill the completed portion, show retainage, and reference the contract that authorised it.
What to include
Everything below is already in the generator above — this is what each part is for.
Contract and project reference
The contract number and date, the project name and address, and the owner or general contractor’s billing entity.
Draw number and period
“Draw 3 — Aug 1–31, 2026”. Sequential draw numbering is what lets three parties reconcile the same job.
Schedule of values lines
Each contract line billed at the portion completed this period, described in the same words as the contract.
Labor, materials and stored materials
Split out, with stored materials identified separately since many contracts pay them differently.
Retainage withheld
The percentage held under the contract, shown on the invoice so the amount due is never in question.
Change orders, individually
Each approved change order as its own line with its number — never merged into a base contract line.
Three steps to a finished PDF
Enter contract details
Your company and license info, the owner or GC, the project address, the contract number and this draw number.
Bill the completed portion
One line per schedule-of-values item for the work completed this period, plus approved change orders and materials.
Show retainage and download
Note the retainage percentage, or subtract it with the discount field, then download the PDF and submit it with any required waivers.
Progress billing that gets approved
Build the schedule of values first
Agree the breakdown before the job starts, with enough lines to bill accurately and few enough to keep review simple. Front-loading a schedule of values is tempting and usually backfires: owners’ representatives look for it, and finding it slows every draw that follows.
Bill on the owner’s calendar
Most owners and lenders run a fixed draw cycle with a cut-off date and an inspection. Submitting two days after the cut-off can cost you a month. Find out the cycle at contract signing and build your internal billing dates around it.
Understand retainage
- Retainage is typically 5–10% of each payment, held until substantial completion or final acceptance.
- Many states cap the percentage and set rules on when it must be released — the specifics are state law, not preference.
- Show retainage on every draw so the running total is visible and the final release request is uncontroversial.
Keep the paperwork bundle together
Draws are usually conditioned on more than the invoice: conditional lien waivers from you and your subs, updated insurance certificates, sometimes certified payroll. Assemble the bundle before you submit; a draw held for a missing waiver waits the whole cycle.
Three mistakes that delay payment
Billing ahead of the work
One over-billed draw makes every subsequent one subject to inspection.
Retainage left implicit
If the invoice ignores retainage, the payment will not match the invoice and both sides waste a week.
Change orders inside base lines
It breaks reconciliation with the schedule of values and is the fastest route to a short payment.