How general contractors normally break the money out
A general contractor's invoice is usually progress draws against a schedule of values, with change orders, allowances and retainage tracked separately. Keeping those apart is what stops the customer asking what the total covered.
Step by step
- 1Invoice against a schedule of values, not against feelings about progress. List each phase with its contract value and the percentage complete this period.
- 2Put every change order on its own line with its own number and a date the customer approved it. Unnumbered change orders are the number one cause of unpaid balances.
- 3Show allowances used versus allowed, so overruns are visible before the final invoice rather than in it.
- 4State retainage held and released explicitly. Both sides need to see the running figure.
- 5Attach or reference lien waivers for the amount being paid — on most jobs it is what unlocks the check.
When to send it
Monthly progress draws on most residential projects, with a final invoice at substantial completion and a retainage release invoice after the punch list closes.
Draw payments run on the customer's or lender's cycle, so submit early against the cut-off date. If a draw is late, the lien deadlines in your state are the reason to act promptly rather than wait politely.
Common questions
- What is a schedule of values?
- A breakdown of the contract into phases with a dollar value each, so every draw invoices a percentage of defined work instead of a round number.
- How should change orders be billed?
- Numbered, dated, signed before the work, and invoiced as separate lines. Never absorb them into a draw.
- What is retainage?
- A percentage the owner holds back until completion. Show it as a line on every draw and invoice its release separately.
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