Invoicing for flooring, including the subfloor nobody wanted to pay for.
The floor the customer chose is the easy part. Levelling what is underneath it, lifting what was there before and allowing for cuts is where the hours and the arguments live.
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The old floor and the subfloor are always somebody else problem
A customer prices flooring by the square metre they saw in a showroom. What they did not price is lifting and skipping the old carpet with its grippers and staples, latexing a subfloor that is out by fifteen millimetres, and the extra material that any diagonal or plank layout consumes.
Those three items are real money and they are invisible in a showroom quote. Invoiced as their own lines they are obviously separate pieces of work. Folded into a rate per square metre they make you look expensive against a competitor who simply has not mentioned them yet.
Agree the wastage percentage before you order
Flooring is ordered by area plus an allowance, and the allowance is not padding. Cuts, room shape, plank direction, pattern repeat and damaged boards all consume material. A customer supplying their own floor who ordered exactly the measured area will run short, and when they do, the delay and the second delivery become your problem.
State the allowance as a percentage on the quote, carry it into the invoice, and the conversation is over before it starts. On supply and fit work it protects your margin, and on fit only work it protects your schedule.
What a flooring business gets
Invoice Local is built for a phone on a stack of underlay, not a desk you will reach on Sunday.
Flooring work that gets billed
Domestic rooms, whole houses and commercial areas all use the same builder, because the invoice is written line by line.
On every flooring invoice
These invoices go to builders, agents and homeowners, and all three need to see how the total was assembled.
- Business name, your logo on Pro, and any trade membership you add
- A sequential number, or a builder series where one is required
- Issue date, due date and the terms behind them
- Every line with quantity, rate and total, including measured areas
- A tax line only when you charge tax
- The property address where it differs from the billing address
- Deposit and stage payments with the balance calculated
- A print ready PDF a site office can file
What floor fitters search for, and what the invoice must show
On the left, how people arrive here. On the right, the lines that keep a flooring price from being renegotiated on the day.
How flooring installers find this
- flooring invoice app
- floor fitting invoice template per square metre
- how to charge for subfloor preparation
- invoice app for supply and fit flooring
- offline invoice app for a flooring contractor
- free invoicing app for a self employed floor fitter
What justifies the total
- Measured area with the rate per square metre
- Subfloor preparation named and priced
- Uplift and disposal of the old floor
- Wastage allowance as an agreed percentage
- Supply and fit or fit only, stated plainly
- Trims, thresholds and underlay listed separately
From last board to invoice sent
Four steps before the offcuts are loaded.
- Open the accepted quoteArea, preparation and deposit already recorded on it.
- Confirm the measuresActual area laid, which sometimes differs from the estimate.
- Add what was foundExtra levelling or damp proofing, with the date it was agreed.
- Send itEmail for builders, WhatsApp for homeowners, message already written.
A supply and fit job with real preparation
An illustrative invoice. The preparation and uplift lines are what stop the rate per square metre looking high.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Uplift and dispose of existing carpet, 2 loads | $240.00 |
| Subfloor levelling, latex, 34 sqm | $510.00 |
| LVT supplied and fitted, 34 sqm plus 8 percent wastage | $2,278.00 |
| Underlay, thresholds and trims | $196.00 |
| Deposit received on acceptance | −$900.00 |
| Balance due, net 7 | $2,324.00 |
Example only. Areas and figures are illustrative and are not a guide to flooring prices in your area.
A flooring invoice template you can print or fill in
Two pages. The first is the worked example above as a finished document, so you can see what a clear one looks like. The second is the same sheet blank as an invoice, with the line descriptions this trade actually uses, and the amounts left empty because what you charge is yours.
Questions floor fitters ask
What does it cost?
Unlimited invoices and quotes are free forever, including saved customers, saved line items and sending by WhatsApp or email. Pro is $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year and adds five more designs and removes the small watermark.
How do I handle a customer who supplies their own flooring?
Write fit only on the invoice and agree a wastage allowance in writing before they order. Customer supplied material is where fitters lose the most days, because running short is a delivery problem that becomes your delay and your return visit.
Should subfloor preparation be quoted up front or found on the day?
Quote what you can see and note in writing that levelling may be needed once the old floor is up. Then price it as a variation with the date agreed. A customer who was warned accepts it. One who was not assumes you are adding charges.
Can I bill uplift and disposal separately?
Yes, and you should. Skipping old carpet, grippers and staples is real labour and a real tipping cost. Absorbed into the fitting rate it makes you look expensive against a quote that has quietly excluded it.
Can I invoice a builder plot by plot?
Yes. Save the builder with their reference and terms, and issue one invoice per plot with the measured area. Contractors process invoices they can match to a plot far faster than ones they cannot.
Does it need a signal on site?
No. Everything is created and stored on the phone, so an empty property changes nothing. If you have signed in for backup it syncs later.
Which devices does it run on?
Android phones and tablets through Google Play, and any modern browser at app.invoicelocal.com. There is no iPhone app yet, so on an iPhone you use the browser version, which builds and sends the same PDF from the same account.
Other trades working inside the same building
If you still build invoices by hand, the free invoice template is a plain starting point. The invoicing guides cover the paperwork questions that come up most, and the comparison pages are there if you are weighing Invoice Local against another app.
Price what is under the floor, not just the floor
Free forever for unlimited invoices and quotes. Pro is $4.99 a month for the extra designs and no watermark.