How carpenters normally break the money down
A carpenter's invoice is usually days of skilled fitting labour, timber and sheet materials, and ironmongery such as hinges, handles and runners. Keeping those apart is what stops the customer asking what the total covered.
Step by step
- 1Describe the finished item, not the activity — "four internal oak doors hung, latched and stopped" rather than "joinery work".
- 2Charge labour by the day for fitting work and by the item for repeatable units like doors or wardrobes.
- 3Keep timber and sheet materials separate from labour so a change of species or grade is easy to reprice.
- 4Give ironmongery its own line. It is small money that customers often supply themselves, and mixing it in causes confusion.
- 5If you made anything bespoke off site, say so — workshop time is chargeable and invisible to the customer otherwise.
When to send it
On completion for fitting work. For bespoke joinery, take a deposit covering materials and workshop time before you start cutting.
Kitchen and joinery jobs often sit behind other trades. Invoice your part as soon as it is finished rather than waiting for the whole project to complete.
Common questions
- Should a carpenter charge per day or per item?
- Per item for repeatable work such as hanging doors, and per day for fitting that depends on how square the building is. Many invoices sensibly contain both.
- How do I invoice for bespoke joinery made off site?
- Show workshop manufacture as its own line separate from on-site fitting, and take a deposit that covers your materials before cutting starts.
- Who pays for ironmongery the customer chose?
- Whoever supplied it. If you bought it, invoice it as its own line at the price you are charging; if they supplied it, note that on the invoice.
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