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Subcontractor Invoice Template

You did the work for the general contractor — your invoice should speak the GC's language: job site, contract reference, change orders, and retainage, all on one clean page.

Billia's free subcontractor invoice template is built for the way subs actually get paid: not by the homeowner, but by the general contractor running the job. That changes what belongs on the invoice. A GC's accounts-payable desk does not want a generic bill — it wants the job site, the contract or purchase-order reference, and every change order accounted for, so your invoice can be matched to the job file and approved without a phone call. Build a professional PDF in about a minute — free, no account, no watermark.

What a subcontractor invoice includes

Every line a GC's AP department looks for, in the order they look for it:

• Your business details — company name, address, and contact, exactly as they appear in your subcontract.
• The GC company — bill the general contractor, not the property owner. The payment chain follows the contract chain.
• Job site address — the project location, not the GC's office. AP matches invoices to jobs by site.
• Contract or PO reference — the subcontract number, purchase order, or work order your work was authorized under.
• Scope lines — what you installed, built, or completed, in the GC's own wording where possible.
• Change orders — each approved change as its own line, with its change-order number and date.
• Retainage line — the percentage the GC holds back, shown as its own line so the math is transparent.
• Payment terms and due date — net terms per your subcontract, plus how you want to be paid.

Subcontractor vs contractor invoices

They look similar, but they answer to different readers. A contractor invoice bills the end client for the whole project: management, every trade, materials at cost. A subcontractor invoice bills one party — the GC — for one slice of that project. That is why the GC-facing fields matter so much: the GC already knows the client, the budget, and the schedule. What the GC needs from you is proof, tied to the job file, that your slice is done and billable. Leave the job site or contract reference off and your invoice sits in an inbox while AP asks someone what job it belongs to. Put them on and it moves.

Progress billing and retainage, explained

Most sub work is billed in progress draws: you invoice a percentage of your contract as each phase completes, rather than waiting until the whole job is done. Retainage is the percentage — commonly 10% — that the GC holds back from each progress payment until the work is complete and accepted, as security that you will finish and fix defects. Show retainage as its own line on every progress invoice (“Less retainage held (10%)”), so the GC can see exactly what was billed, what was held, and what is still owed. When the job closes out, your final invoice releases the retained balance. Keep a running tally of retainage held across draws: it is money you have earned but not yet received, and it is easy to lose track of across a long job.

What GC accounts-payable departments need

Before you send, run this check — it is the difference between paid this cycle and paid next cycle:

• Is the GC company name spelled exactly as in the subcontract?
• Does the invoice name the job site, not just the GC's office?
• Is the contract or PO reference on the invoice?
• Is every change order its own line, with its number and approval date?
• Is retainage shown as its own line, not buried in the total?
• Do the line items match the schedule of values or the scope wording?

If AP can match your invoice to the job file without calling you, you get paid faster. Every missing field is a reason to set it aside.

How to make one free with Billia

1. Open the free invoice generator and enter your business details and the GC's company details.
2. Add line items using the wording above — scope, change orders with their numbers, and a retainage line.
3. Add the job site address and your contract or PO reference so AP can match it to the job.
4. Enter your email: we send the PDF right away, and you can also download it directly. No account needed.

Prefer Word, Excel, or Google Docs? Use the layout above as your reference — or skip the formatting and generate the PDF directly.