Builder invoice template: progress claims and variations

A kitchen reno or a small extension might get one invoice at the end. A new build, a major renovation, or anything running for months needs something more structured — a template that handles progress claims as the job moves through stages, variations when the scope changes partway through, and sometimes a retention the client holds back until everything's signed off. Get the structure right once and every job after it is just filling in numbers.

What every builder invoice needs, at minimum

Whatever stage you're invoicing for, the basics don't change:

1. A unique, sequential invoice number (INV-0001, INV-0002, and so on), never reused.
2. Your business name and contact details, plus your tax registration number if you're registered (GST, ABN or VAT, depending on where you trade).
3. The client's name and the job address — essential once you're running more than one site at a time.
4. The contract or quote number it relates to, so the invoice ties back to the original scope of work.
5. A clear line-item breakdown of what's being invoiced for this stage, not just a lump sum.
6. The total for this invoice, with tax shown separately if you're registered to charge it, and a running total of what's been invoiced on the job so far.
7. How to pay, with bank details or an online payment option and a reference the client can match to the job.

Exactly what counts as a compliant tax invoice depends on where you're trading and your registration status, so check the specifics with your accountant rather than guessing — in New Zealand that's Inland Revenue's tax invoice rules, in Australia the ATO's requirements for a valid tax invoice, and in the UK HMRC's VAT invoice rules.

Progress claims: invoicing before the job is finished

A progress claim (sometimes called a progress invoice or payment claim) bills for work completed so far, rather than waiting until the whole job is done. Two common ways to structure it:

• Fixed milestones agreed upfront — "30% on starting, 40% at lock-up, 30% on completion" is a typical shape for a residential build, with each milestone defined clearly enough that there's no argument about whether it's been reached.
• Percentage of work complete, estimated and agreed with the client (or a quantity surveyor on larger jobs) at each claim date, billed against the original contract value.

Whichever structure you use, each progress claim should show the milestone or percentage it covers, the value being claimed, and — as a rule of thumb — a running total of everything invoiced on the contract to date, so the client can always see how much of the total contract value has actually been billed. Progress invoicing for bigger jobs goes into how to pick milestones that keep cash flowing without over- or under-claiming at any stage.

Variations: keep them separate from the original scope

A variation is any work added to, removed from, or changed from the original quote — an extra power point, a wall moved, a upgraded fixture the client asked for partway through. The mistake that causes the most disputes is folding variation costs quietly into a progress claim, so the client sees a bigger number with no explanation of why.

Handle variations as their own, clearly labelled items:

• Get sign-off before you start the extra work, even if it's just a text message or an email confirming the price and scope — it doesn't need to be formal, but it needs to exist somewhere in writing.
• Give each variation its own reference ("Variation 3 — relocate laundry plumbing") so it's traceable back to when it was agreed.
• Invoice it as its own line, or its own invoice, separate from the base contract value, so the client can see exactly what the original quote covered and what's been added since.

A worked example: say the base contract is $180,000, and partway through the client asks for an upgraded kitchen bench top, agreed by email at an extra $3,200. The next progress claim should show the milestone value against the original $180,000 as normal, with "Variation 2 — upgraded benchtop (approved 14 Sept): $3,200" as its own separate line, not quietly absorbed into the milestone figure.

Retentions: if the contract holds one back

Some construction contracts — more common on commercial jobs than residential ones — include a retention, where the client holds back a percentage (often 5–10%, but this is set by the specific contract, not a universal rule) of each progress claim until the job is complete or a defects liability period has passed. If your contract includes one:

• Show the retention as a clearly labelled deduction on each progress claim, not just a smaller total with no explanation.
• Keep a running note of the total retention held, so you know exactly what's owed back at practical completion.
• Whether retentions apply, how much, and when they're released is entirely down to what the specific contract says, so check the contract wording itself rather than assuming a standard figure.

When the job is cancelled or the scope shrinks

If a client cancels partway through, or a variation reduces the scope rather than adding to it, don't just edit or delete an invoice that's already gone out — issue a credit note against it instead. That keeps a clean record of what was originally charged and what was adjusted, which matters if the job is ever queried later, by the client or by your accountant.

Turning progress claims into a habit

Running progress claims and variations through a spreadsheet or a plain template works at first, but it's easy to lose track of what's been claimed, what's outstanding, and what a particular variation was for once you've got three or four jobs going at once. That's the gap InvoiceCharlie is built to close: each invoice links back to the job and the running contract total, variations sit as their own clearly labelled lines, and automatic reminders chase a progress claim that's gone quiet without you having to remember. Start with a free quote template for tradies for the original scope, and your first 10 invoices on the job are free while you try it out.