Subcontractor billing often ties payment to progress, retainage, and change orders. Everhour keeps rates and billable work organized.
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Subcontractors usually invoice by project, phase, milestone, or percentage complete rather than by a single flat total. A useful invoice gives the GC enough detail to approve payment without asking for a spreadsheet, a revised schedule of values, or a separate change-order summary. The job is to show the current amount due and the path from contract value to that amount.
A typical construction invoice includes the subcontractor name, client or GC details, invoice number, invoice date, project name, payment terms, line items, prior billings, approved changes, retainage, and remaining balance. For private-sector United States work, no single federal invoice form applies. The invoice is mainly a contract and recordkeeping document, and sales-tax treatment depends on state and local rules.
Progress billing commonly starts with the contract amount and a schedule of values. The schedule of values allocates the total project price across labor, materials, phases, or work categories, so each invoice can show completion by line. A concrete line might read: rough electrical labor, contract value $18,000, 60% complete, $10,800 earned to date, $6,000 previously billed, $4,800 current billing.
Approved change orders belong on separate lines or in a separate summary section. Mixing them into the original contract value makes billed-to-date totals harder to review and creates disputes when the GC compares the invoice to the approved scope. A clean progress invoice shows original contract amount, approved changes, prior billings, current completion percentage, current amount due, retainage withheld, and balance remaining.
Construction progress billings often include retainage, commonly 5% to 10% withheld from each progress value or from the total project until completion. The exact rule comes from the contract and jurisdiction. On United States federal construction contracts, retainage may be withheld only when satisfactory progress has not been achieved and may not exceed 10% of the approved estimated amount under the contract.
Lien waivers need the same precision as the invoice. Common waiver categories include conditional and unconditional waivers for progress payments and final payments. A waiver should identify the specific work, materials, and project tied to the payment. Subcontractors should treat an unconditional lien waiver as a final release and sign it after payment is confirmed, because a delayed or failed payment can leave the release ahead of the cash.
A one-off invoice app is enough for a small job, a final cleanup bill, or a simple milestone invoice where the amounts already come from an approved contract record. It works best when you need a clear document with line items, payment terms, retainage, and project references, then a PDF or shareable invoice for the GC or owner.
A managed workflow fits subcontractors that bill several jobs, crew members, rates, and phases at once. Everhour separates internal cost rates from client-facing billable rates, supports default per-person rates and per-project overrides, preserves dated rate history, and prices billable work by project, member, or task. That keeps labor cost, billable amount, and project profitability tied to the same time record.
This content is for general information only, may not be fully up to date, and is provided without any warranty or liability.
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A subcontractor invoice should include the subcontractor and client details, invoice number, invoice date, project name, contract or PO reference, line items, payment terms, and remittance details. Progress billings also usually show contract amount, approved changes, prior billings, current completion percentage, retainage, current amount due, and remaining balance.
Approved change orders should appear separately from the original contract amount. The invoice should identify the change-order number or description, approved amount, work covered, and current billing status. This keeps the base scope intact and gives the GC a direct way to match the invoice against signed approval documents.
Sales-tax treatment depends on the state and local rules, the type of service or materials sold, nexus, and where the sale is sourced. The United States does not use a national VAT or GST invoice regime. A subcontractor that makes taxable sales may need state-level sales-tax registration, such as a seller permit where required.
Retainage is usually calculated according to the contract, often as a percentage withheld from the current progress value or total project value. Construction progress billings commonly use 5% to 10%. United States federal construction contracts cap retainage at 10% when it is used and require retained amounts to be paid promptly after contract requirements are completed.
Signing an unconditional lien waiver before payment clears creates risk. An unconditional waiver acts as a final release for the covered work, materials, and project. A conditional waiver is safer for progress payments that have been issued but not confirmed, because the release depends on payment actually being received.
Everhour separates cost rates from client-facing billable rates, with default per-person rates and per-project overrides. Rate changes can be dated, so older reports keep their original calculations while new subcontractor work uses the updated rate for project, member, or task-based billing.
Everhour Billing & Invoicing turns tracked billable time and expenses into invoices, excluding non-billable work. Invoice line items can be grouped by project, task, person, date, or other available breakdowns, then exported to QuickBooks Online, Xero, or FreshBooks as drafts.
Track crew time, dated rate changes, and project-specific billable rates in Everhour, then connect job records to billing with clearer labor cost and revenue visibility.
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