Invoicing for locksmiths, written at the doorstep.
Most locksmith work is paid on the spot, which means the paperwork has to exist on the spot too. Build the invoice while the new cylinder goes in, mark it paid, and the customer gets a proper receipt before you are back in the van.
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Paid at the door, with nothing to show for it
Lockouts do not work like most trade jobs. There is no thirty day account and no purchase order. Someone is standing outside their own front door, you open it, and they pay you there and then by card or transfer. The money arrives immediately, which feels like the problem is solved.
Then the requests start. The tenant needs a receipt for the landlord. The insurer wants a document showing the lock was upgraded to a specific standard. Your accountant wants to know why cash and card takings do not reconcile with anything written down. All of it points back to a piece of paper that was never created.
Working from a receipt book solves half of it and creates a new problem, because the carbon copy stays in the van while the customer needs something they can forward by email. Two weeks later nobody can find either copy.
The receipt is the part of the job that outlives the visit
For an emergency locksmith, the document is not a request for payment. It is proof of work, and it gets used by people who were never at the property. A landlord approving a deduction. An insurance assessor confirming the specification of a replacement lock. A letting agent reconciling a contractor bill.
That changes what the document has to contain. A total is not enough. The address, the date, the lock type fitted and the fact it was paid all need to be on it, because the person reading it will not phone you to ask. Anything missing turns into a follow up you do unpaid.
It also protects you. A written record showing a customer proved occupancy, that the work was authorised, and what was fitted, is the difference between a resolved question and an argument. Getting that from your phone at the door costs about twenty seconds.
Built for work that is paid before you leave
Invoice Local is designed around the mobile pattern rather than the office pattern, which suits locksmith work better than almost any other trade.
Locksmith work that needs a document
Emergency or planned, domestic or commercial, the same invoice builder covers it. These are the jobs most often billed through the app.
What the customer can forward without phoning you
Because locksmith documents get passed to third parties, the PDF is built to be read cold. Everything below appears automatically.
- Your business name, your logo on Pro, and licence or registration line
- A sequential document number that keeps your takings reconcilable
- The date, and a due date only if the job is on account
- Line by line detail including lock types and quantities
- A tax line when you charge tax
- Paid status and the balance, so a receipt reads as a receipt
- Payment instructions for account customers who settle later
- A PDF that opens cleanly on any phone the customer forwards it to
What locksmiths look for, and what the paperwork must prove
The searches on the left are how people reach this page. The list on the right is what the finished document has to contain when somebody who was not there reads it.
Searches that lead here
- locksmith invoice app
- locksmith receipt template for a lockout
- invoice app that works with no internet
- how to invoice emergency locksmith work
- mobile invoice app for a one van business
- send invoice by WhatsApp from phone
What the document has to prove
- Property address, not just the customer name
- Call out band, daytime, evening or overnight
- Lock specification fitted, for insurer questions
- Number of cylinders rekeyed as a quantity
- Paid on site, with method and date
- Authorisation for landlord and agency work
Door open to document sent
All four steps happen on the doorstep, before the van is loaded.
- Enter the customer and addressTyped once, saved for the next call at the same property.
- Add the call out and the workSaved rates and lock lines with quantities. Seconds, not minutes.
- Take payment and mark it paidRecord what you were paid so the document goes out as a receipt.
- Send it while standing thereWhatsApp or email, PDF attached, and the customer has it before you leave.
A late night lockout, documented properly
An illustrative overnight lockout with a cylinder upgrade, already settled at the door. The paid line is what turns this from an invoice into a receipt the customer can forward.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Overnight call out and non destructive entry | $145.00 |
| Anti snap euro cylinder, 35/45, fitted | $88.00 |
| Second cylinder keyed alike | $62.00 |
| Adjustment to strike plate and door alignment | $35.00 |
| Paid by card on site | −$330.00 |
| Balance due | $0.00 |
Example only. The figures are illustrative and are not a guide to locksmith pricing in your area.
A locksmith invoice template you can print or fill in
Two pages. The first is the worked example above as a finished document, which for this trade is a receipt, because the money usually changes hands before you leave, 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.
Locksmith questions before you install it
How much does it cost?
Unlimited invoices, quotes and receipts are free forever, including saved customers and 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. Nothing you create on the free plan is ever locked away.
I get paid at the door anyway. Why do I need an invoice app?
Because the payment is the easy part and the document is the part that comes back to bite. Tenants need receipts for landlords, insurers ask what specification lock was fitted, and your own bookkeeping needs a numbered record of takings. Writing that at the door takes twenty seconds. Reconstructing it a month later takes an evening.
Can it produce a receipt rather than a request for payment?
Yes. Record the payment on the invoice as you take it and the document shows the amount paid and a zero balance, which is exactly what a receipt is. The customer gets the same clean PDF, and your list stops showing the job as outstanding.
Does it work in a stairwell with no bars?
Yes. Everything is built and stored on the phone, so reception is only relevant at the moment you press send. If you have signed in for backup, the record syncs to the cloud whenever signal returns.
Can I put the property address on the document?
Yes, and for agency work you should. Put the property in the customer block or as the first line of the invoice. Anyone approving payment on the other end can then match it to a job without emailing you to ask which address it was for.
Is there an account to set up before the first job?
No. Install it, type your business name, and the first document can go out immediately. An account is optional and only exists to back your records up to the cloud and sync them to a second device.
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 called out to a property
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.
Hand over a proper receipt on the next lockout
Free forever for unlimited invoices, quotes and receipts. Pro is $4.99 a month for the extra designs and no watermark.