Time and materials invoice template: what each line needs

A time and materials invoice lists labor hours at a bill rate, materials at cost plus a markup, and equipment at a day rate, grouped by job, with a description of the work on each line. The hard part is not the layout. It is getting every hour, material and job number onto the invoice correctly from a week of crew logs. This page gives the line structure we use and the checks to run before an invoice goes out.

It describes how Weekly Field Log builds invoice lines, so the numbers and rules here are the ones the product applies, and where the product leaves a part to you, it says so. Your contract may set different terms, and where it does, the contract wins.

What goes on a time and materials invoice?

One invoice per job and customer, with these sections:

• Header. Invoice number, customer, invoice date, due date and terms. If the customer issues a purchase order, put its number on the invoice. Weekly Field Log keeps the PO on your job list but does not put it in the QuickBooks file, so add it in QuickBooks before you send.
• Labor lines. By labor class (for example foreman, journeyman, apprentice, laborer, operator): hours times the bill rate for that class. Regular and overtime hours are separate lines because they carry different rates.
• Material lines. Each material at your cost plus your markup percentage.
• Equipment lines. Each piece of equipment at its daily rate, one line per day it was on the job.
• Description. Each line starts with its work date and gives the labor class, hours and workers, or the material and quantity, so the customer can match it to the days they saw. The file does not say what work was done; if the customer wants that, add a note in QuickBooks.

How do you calculate overtime on a T&M invoice?

Weekly Field Log uses one overtime rule: hours over 40 for a worker in a week are billed at the overtime multiplier, which defaults to 1.5 times the bill rate and which you can change. Some states count overtime by the day, and some contracts set their own overtime terms or prevailing wage rates. The product does not handle prevailing wage, so a job under one needs its lines edited by hand. Check your contract and your state before relying on any single rule.

Worked example. A journeyman billed at $90 an hour works 46 hours in the week on two jobs. Forty hours are regular and six are overtime, so the labor comes to 40 x $90 plus 6 x $90 x 1.5. The 40 hours count across all of that person's jobs in the week, not per job.

How do you add a markup to materials?

Take your cost for the material and add one markup percentage. A $200 invoice from the supplier with a 15 percent markup bills at $230. Weekly Field Log applies one material markup percent across the account; a different markup per customer or per tier is a manual edit.

Keep the supplier cost and the markup visible in your own records even if the customer sees one price. The log needs the quantity and unit for each material, or there is nothing to price.

What has to be true of the logs before the invoice is right?

Every invoice line comes from a log entry, so the logs have to be complete first. The checks to run, in order:

1. Every entry has a job that is on your job list.
2. Every entry has hours, a worker and a date within the billing week.
3. Every material has a quantity and unit.
4. No duplicates. Two entries with the same worker, date, job, hours and cost code usually mean the same day was entered twice.
5. No impossible days. More than 14 hours in a day for one worker is worth a question, and more than 24 across entries on a day cannot be right.
6. No missing crew days. A crew with entries on some weekdays and none on another is worth a call before billing.
7. A rate for every labor class and equipment name. A line with no rate cannot be priced.

Weekly Field Log runs all of these on the week's entries and lists each gap as a flag you can resolve or accept with a note.

How do you get the invoice into QuickBooks?

Weekly Field Log does not connect to QuickBooks and never asks for your login. It writes a CSV in the layout QuickBooks Online's invoice import takes: InvoiceNo, Customer, InvoiceDate, DueDate, Terms, Item(Product/Service), ItemDescription, ItemQuantity, ItemRate and ItemAmount. You import it, and nothing in your books changes until you do. Invoice numbers continue from a number you set, and customer names come from the billing name on your job list.

If you invoice from a spreadsheet instead, use the same ten columns so a later move to an import file takes no reshaping.

Can I check my own week before I build any invoice?

Yes. The free check at the top of this page takes a sample week or one week of your own logs as CSV or Excel, shows every entry, flags the gaps, and compiles the week by job. On your own week it shows quantities only, because prices need your rate card, which you enter after signing up. Nothing is stored and no email is asked.

If your logs are not in shape yet, start with the construction daily log template. If you also bill from field tickets, see the T&M ticket template.

FAQ

Does it handle progress billing or change orders?

No. It handles time and materials billing from weekly crew logs. Progress billing, AIA forms and change orders are not handled.

How many entries can it handle?

Up to 20 crews and 2,500 entries a week.

Does it send anything to my customers?

No. It never emails your customers. Output goes to you as files, and you import or send them yourself.