Free Invoice Generator
for Contractors

How to use the invoice generator

1. 1

   Name the job and list the work

   Give the invoice a title, then add a line per material, service or labor block: a short title and an optional description. If you quoted the job first, use the same lines so the customer recognizes them.

2. 2

   Record what it cost

   Open “Costs & Notes” on a line and enter labor, materials and fees. The Internal Workshop shows whether the job actually made money. None of it prints.

3. 3

   Set terms and download

   Tax, a deposit if one is due now, how to pay, then Download PDF. The draft stays in your browser so you can come back and edit it.

What has to be on a contractor invoice

An invoice is a legal document as well as a bill. Whatever the trade, a complete one includes:

• Your details. Business name, address, phone and email, and your tax registration number if you charge sales tax, GST, HST or VAT.
• Their details. The customer's name, billing address and the job site if it's different.
• A unique invoice number and two dates. The invoice date and the due date. Numbers in sequence (INV-0041, INV-0042) make your bookkeeping and the customer's accounts payable simpler.
• Each item of work, priced. Description, quantity, unit price and line total. Match the accepted quote line for line so there's nothing new to question.
• Subtotal, tax shown separately, total due. Tax as its own line with the rate, never folded into prices. If a deposit is due now, show it and the balance.
• How to pay. Bank or e-transfer details, who to make a check out to, and what happens if it's late.

Get paid faster

Most late payments aren't customers refusing to pay; they're customers who put the invoice in a pile. A few habits cut the wait:

• Invoice the day the work finishes. Every day between completion and the invoice is a day added to your payment cycle before the customer has even seen it.
• Short, explicit terms. “Due within 14 days” beats “Net 30”, and both beat nothing. Say what late means.
• Take a deposit. For anything over a day's work, invoice a deposit before you start. It funds materials and tells you the customer is real.
• Make paying easy. The fewer steps between opening the invoice and paying it, the faster the money arrives. With a QuoTrak Pro account every invoice carries a Stripe payment link, so the customer pays by card or Apple Pay from the invoice itself, and it marks itself paid.

Did the job make money?

An invoice is the last chance to find out. Open “Costs & Notes” on each line, enter what the labor, materials and fees actually came to, and the Internal Workshop shows the real profit and margin on the job before you send the bill. If it's lower than you quoted, you'll know which lines to price differently next time. Costs and margin are only visible to you and are never printed.

Started with a quote?

If you built the quote in the free quote generator, the same line items are already here; set the invoice number and due date and you're done. With a free QuoTrak account an accepted quote converts to an invoice in one click and deposit invoices are generated for you. Pro adds milestone invoices and sends invoices to QuickBooks or Xero in one click.

Questions

• Is the invoice generator really free?
  Yes. Build the invoice, add as many line items as you need and download the PDF without creating an account. The PDF carries a small “Made with QuoTrak” line in the footer. A free QuoTrak account keeps every invoice in one place, and Pro replaces that line with your own logo and footer.
• What has to be on a contractor invoice?
  Your business name and contact details, the customer's name and the job address, a unique invoice number, the invoice date and the due date, each item of work with its price, the subtotal, tax shown separately with its rate, the total due, and how to pay. If you charge sales tax, GST or HST, include your tax registration number.
• How do I invoice for a deposit or a progress payment?
  Set a deposit in the Pricing panel and the PDF shows the deposit due now and the balance after it. For a progress payment partway through a job, invoice the stage as its own invoice and reference the quote number in the notes. A QuoTrak account generates the deposit and balance invoices for you, linked to the original quote, and Pro adds milestones.
• Where is my invoice stored?
  In your browser only. The draft is kept in your browser's local storage so you can come back to it on the same device. Nothing is sent to our servers unless you choose to save it to a QuoTrak account.
• Can customers pay this invoice online?
  Not from the free generator; put your bank or e-transfer details in the payment terms. A QuoTrak Pro account adds a Stripe payment link to every invoice so customers can pay by card or Apple Pay, and the invoice marks itself paid.