Instead of reinventing the wheel, use a time-tested construction receipt template from BILL. We offer print-ready PDF templates, spreadsheets, and text documents that you can easily edit to suit your needs.
Construction comes with unique considerations that separate it from other industries, so get off to the right start with the receipt templates we’ve designed especially for your industry.
A construction receipt is a recognition of payment and documentation of the costs, taxes, and related information of a construction project. This information is used in bookkeeping for both the business and the buyer.
Making a construction receipt from scratch can be challenging, as final costs tend to be quite complex. Different types of labor with separate payment models, as well as goods and materials, need to be figured in. Using a construction receipt template means you’re immediately ready to go.
Why are construction receipts important?
Construction is a uniquely high-stakes, high-cost industry and both parties need a clear paper trail as well as a transparent basis for prices in a construction project. Without construction receipts, both of your organizations will have vast expenses that will be difficult to trace during an audit.
Consider using invoicing software like BILL Accounts Receivable to stay organized with invoices and receipts.
Like your construction invoice, providing a construction receipt gives an impression of professionalism and helps the customer track expenses and tax obligations more easily. Providing a receipt that breaks down cost calculation for the customer is effectively an obligation for a construction job.
Like your construction invoice, providing a construction receipt gives an impression of professionalism. The transparency and recordkeeping of a receipt showcases your diligence and commitment to formal processes, reinforcing your reputation as a credible business.
A receipt is a clear record that a client has made a payment. If you’re digging through past invoices and can’t find a corresponding receipt, there’s a good chance it hasn’t been paid.
This is especially important if customers are making partial payments. For example, a receipt for a downpayment would create a clear record of the amount outstanding.
Providing a receipt means you and the customer are on the exact same page on what’s been paid and what hasn’t, making it easier to follow up on owed amounts.
In the worst-case scenario of someone requesting a refund or disputing a paid amount, an itemized bill serves as a reference point of what’s been paid and what amount each line item was worth. If they want a partial refund for one aspect of the completed construction work, you have a record of its worth.
Or if there’s a dispute for how much something was worth, the itemized breakdown can be used in resolving the conflict. No matter the dispute, a receipt helps come to a resolution.
When tax season arrives, you’ll want clear documents that report your income in addition to your accounting. Having a file of receipts helps you confirm what you earned and received as payment.
There’s potential for payments to slip through the reporting process and you can’t assume that the number on your income statement is correct. However, receipts help verify that the number is correct and ready to report.
If there are discrepancies in your tax filing, the IRS will conduct an audit. If this happens, every supporting document helps.
Just as receipts are valuable for verifying the income you report, the IRS will find them valuable for confirming you did your due diligence.
Keep receipts for all income earned in a safe place, either as physical or digital documents. You should keep all receipts for any income or expenses for up to seven years.
No serious construction companies can operate without offering receipts. However, it can be challenging to make a construction receipt from scratch, especially for small business owners.
By using a construction receipt template, you can potentially sidestep all of these concerns and immediately have a suitable receipt design available. Even if your construction receipt template isn’t 100% perfect, it’s easier to make minor changes than starting from scratch.
You can make a construction receipt by opening up a professional text editor and following some core design fundamentals. Put the information and branding of your company (like a logo) at the top or bottom, as well as identifying information such as a unique receipt number and the client’s name. The body of the receipt should consist of rows and columns describing goods/services and costs.
By starting with a construction receipt template, you’ll already have suitable stylistic choices and a good basic framework for your custom construction receipt. In the best-case scenario, you might need to add nothing more than your company information and a logo. But even if you need to add new fields or make slight changes to concerns like font or spacing, it’s easier to make modifications than starting from scratch.
A construction receipt needs to include several categories of important information to meet regulatory and professional standards. These categories are:
There are two occasions where you might need to edit a construction receipt template. First, when you initially download the template, you might want to edit it into your own detailed template to suit your company’s unique needs.
The other occasion is if you want to fill out or issue a receipt digitally, in which case you’ll need to fill in the relevant fields via text editor. One typical problem is that official documents are usually PDFs, but these are difficult to edit. However, there are still easy ways to edit and fill out a construction receipt template.
Customize your construction receipt template to suit your needs by taking the following steps:
Filling out a construction receipt isn’t foolproof, even if using a template. Be mindful of these potential mistakes when filling out a customer receipt.
You may know exactly what a service entails, but that doesn’t mean your customers do. Vague descriptions like “labor” or “materials” don't provide enough context to identify what was done.
Be as descriptive as possible for each line item on the receipt. If you can’t provide enough information on the line, provide an additional document that outlines the specifics of the purchase.
The more specific you are, the better the receipt will serve you in the case of a dispute.
Whether it’s a mis-tally of labor hours, the incorrect rate for a specific item, or a miscalculation of the final amount, charging the incorrect amount can happen easily. These mistakes can cost you by being underpaid for a job or for having to process refunds, and potentially lose trust in the process.
It’s also important to charge the right amount of sales tax. Be sure the sales tax is included as a line item and included in the final calculation.
Always double-check every receipt before sending. Or, if you’re using a construction receipt template, use formulas to handle the calculations and save yourself the potential errors.
A receipt should be easily connected to an invoice. One way to do so is to include an invoice number and a consistent numbering system.
To prevent any inconsistency from invoice to receipt, have the invoice in front of you as you’re drafting up the receipt. Take the line items, pricing, and supplementary details directly from the invoice so the two documents match in all the ways that matter.
The date on the receipt should correspond with when you were paid. This is important as you should be able to connect the receipt with the transaction in the bank account or date on a check received.
To avoid this, make filling out the date the first thing you do on the receipt. And if you need to, refer back to a bank statement to confirm when the payment was received.
To illustrate the ins-and-outs of construction receipts, let’s break down an example. Below is a completed construction receipt.
Now let’s break it up into its individual parts.
At the top is the business information of the billing company. This includes their business name and address, though you may want to include a phone number and email for any follow ups.
Next comes the billing information. In this example, the billing information and shipping information (typically the location of the job site) is different. This is an important distinction in case the customer disputes what project the work is pertaining to or where the work was completed.
The itemized breakdown follows, with clear descriptors of what each item refers to. You’ll see that they state what the billing amount in “Quantity” is referring to (labor hours, priced by yards, and flat cost). At a glance, it’s clear what were labor costs, material costs, and job costing.
Finally, the summary section has a calculation of the final paid amount including sales tax. The box for notes is used to include some additional information on the payment method, when it was received, and contact details if needed.
The notes section is where you can include any additional details that help either you or the customer connect the receipt to the work, invoice, or payment.