A contractor invoice that gets paid

A client who's confused by an invoice doesn't pay it. They text you a question, wait for the answer, and then forget. The fix is simple: the invoice should match what they signed, so they know what it's for the second they open it.

Here's what goes on one, how to tie it to the contract, and what a Texas residential invoice should travel with.

The must-haves

Every invoice, every time:

• Your business: name, address, phone, email.
• The client: name and the job address. The job address matters if they own more than one property, or if a lender is paying.
• Invoice number and date. Number them in order. When a client says "I paid the one from March," you want to find it in ten seconds.
• Which payment this is. "Deposit." "Payment 2 of 4: tile set." "Final." It's the line that often gets left off, and it's the one the client looks for first.
• The amount due and the due date.

If you only fix one thing, fix the "which payment this is" line.

Tie it to the contract

The client signed a proposal with a payment schedule. The invoice should read like the next line of that schedule. Show:

• The payment number of the total: payment 2 of 4.
• The milestone reached: "tile set and grouted," not "progress."
• The original contract amount.
• Approved change orders, each with its number and amount.
• The current contract total: original plus changes.
• Paid to date.
• This invoice.
• Balance after this payment.

That block answers every question a client has before they ask it. Is this the right amount? What's left? Did my last payment land? It also makes a dispute easy to settle, because the math is right there.

If you haven't set up a schedule with milestones yet, start there: contractor payment schedules.

Line items or one line?

Match the proposal. If the client signed a proposal priced by area (demo, shower, floor, vanity), a progress invoice can say "Payment 2 of 4: tile set, 25% of contract" and point back to it. They already agreed to the detail.

Show detail when the invoice covers something new:

• Change orders. List what changed and its price, the same as on the signed change order.
• Time and materials work. Hours, rate, materials, each on its own line.
• Materials billed at cost. Attach the receipt or list the supplier and amount.

A wall of line items on a progress payment just gives the client something to pick at.

Due date and how to pay

Write the due date as a date or as "due in 7 days." Pick a short window. A payment tied to finished work shouldn't wait a month.

Say how you take payment, right on the invoice: check, card, bank transfer, Venmo, cash. If you add a fee for paying by card, say so on the invoice before they pay, with the amount. Surprises at checkout are how a $40 card fee turns into a phone call.

What travels with it in Texas

On a Texas residential job, an invoice isn't just an invoice. The law expects a few things to go with it.

• A disbursement statement. Each time you ask the owner or lender for money, you name the subs or suppliers you intend to pay from it (Texas Property Code 53.258). The simplest place for it is on the invoice.
• A lien waiver. Owners and lenders will ask for one with each payment. Send the conditional form with the invoice, since the money hasn't cleared yet (53.284). See Texas lien waivers.
• At the final: the bills-paid affidavit (53.259) and the final waiver. See the bills-paid affidavit.

The whole set, in job order: Texas residential construction paperwork. This part isn't legal advice; for a specific job, talk to a Texas construction attorney.

When to send it

The day the milestone is hit. Not Friday, not the end of the month.

The client just watched the tile go in. That's when they're happiest to pay for it. Two weeks later, it's a bill that showed up with no reminder of why.

If you send invoices from the truck at night when you remember, you'll be a week late on half of them. Put the trigger in the schedule and send it when the trigger happens.

The checklist

Copy this into your notes:

1. Your business name, address, phone, email
2. Client name and job address
3. Invoice number and date
4. Which payment: "Payment 2 of 4: tile set"
5. Original contract amount
6. Approved change orders, by number
7. Current contract total
8. Paid to date
9. Amount due on this invoice
10. Balance after this payment
11. Due date
12. How to pay, and any card fee stated up front
13. Texas: disbursement statement, conditional lien waiver
14. Texas, final invoice: bills-paid affidavit and final waiver

Sources

• Texas Property Code, chapter 53, sections 53.258, 53.259 and 53.284: statutes.capitol.texas.gov
• Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Sales and Use Tax: comptroller.texas.gov