Invoicing for roofers, including the parts nobody could see from the ground.
A roof is quoted from the driveway and discovered from the deck. The invoice has to carry the original scope, the deposit already paid, and anything found underneath, clearly separated so the customer can see which is which.
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Everything expensive is discovered after the tear off
You quote from what is visible: area, pitch, layers, access. Then the old covering comes off and the truth appears. Soft decking, rotted fascia, a valley that was never flashed properly, a chimney flashing held on with sealant. Every one of those is real work that was not in the quote, and every one has to be paid for by somebody.
Roofers who lose money here are not bad at roofing. They are losing on paperwork, because they made the call standing on a roof with a phone in their pocket and never wrote it down. The customer remembers agreeing to a roof, not to eighty feet of new decking.
The deposit is not distrust, it is the material bill
On a full replacement you buy the covering, the underlayment, the fasteners and the disposal before you earn anything. On a normal sized house that is a serious amount of money leaving your account in week one, and the balance may not arrive for another month. Without a materials deposit you are financing every customer project you take.
The second discipline is the variation. Photograph the rot, send a short message with the extra cost, get a yes, then put that yes on the invoice as its own clearly labelled line under the original scope. A customer reading an invoice with a section headed additional work found on tear off, agreed 14 August, argues with almost none of it. The same money buried in the total triggers a phone call every time. The reasoning is set out in the guide on quotes, estimates and invoices.
What a roofing business gets
Invoice Local works from the phone in your pocket, which on a roof is the only office you have.
Roofing work that ends up on an invoice
Repair or replacement, pitched or flat, the document is written line by line so the unusual job is no harder to bill than the routine one.
On every roofing invoice
Roofing documents get forwarded to insurers, buyers and surveyors. They have to be readable by somebody who never went up a ladder.
- Business name, your logo on Pro, and any registration or membership number you add
- A sequential number, or your own series if a builder requires one
- Issue date, due date and the terms behind them
- Every line with quantity, rate and line total, including area measures
- A tax line only when you charge tax
- The property address where it differs from the billing address
- Deposit and stage payments shown with the balance calculated
- A print ready PDF that survives being forwarded to a claims handler
What roofers search for, and what the invoice has to prove
On the left, how people reach this page. On the right, what protects a five figure roofing invoice from being disputed.
How roofers find this app
- roofing invoice app
- roofing invoice template with squares and materials
- how to invoice extra work found after tear off
- roofing deposit and stage payment invoice
- offline invoice app for a roofing crew
- free invoicing app for a small roofing company
What keeps a roof invoice out of dispute
- Area in squares or square metres, with the rate shown
- Tear off and disposal priced apart from installation
- Underlayment and fastener specification named
- Decking or fascia replacement listed as found work
- The date each variation was agreed
- Scaffold or access hire as its own line
From last tile to invoice sent
Four steps, done before the skip is collected.
- Open the accepted quoteThe scope and the deposit are already on it.
- Confirm the quoted workArea, covering, flashings and disposal as originally priced.
- Add what was foundDecking, fascia or flashing discovered on tear off, with the date it was agreed.
- Send itEmail for insurers and builders, WhatsApp for homeowners, message already written.
A replacement with found work kept separate
An illustrative balance invoice. The two lines under the quoted scope are the ones that decide whether this gets paid or queried.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Tear off and disposal, 24 squares, 2 layers | $2,880.00 |
| Architectural shingles supplied and fitted, 24 squares | $7,200.00 |
| Synthetic underlayment, drip edge and ridge vent | $1,340.00 |
| Found on tear off: decking replacement, 6 sheets, agreed 14 Aug | $690.00 |
| Found on tear off: chimney flashing renewed, agreed 14 Aug | $480.00 |
| Deposit received on acceptance | −$3,500.00 |
| Balance due, net 14 | $9,090.00 |
Example only. Areas and figures are illustrative and are not a guide to roofing prices in your market.
A roofing 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 roofing contractors 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 invoice designs, removes the small watermark and puts your logo on the invoice.
How should I invoice work found after the tear off?
As separate lines under the quoted scope, each with the date it was agreed, and only after you have a written yes. Photograph the problem, send the cost in a message, wait for the reply, then do the work. That sequence takes four minutes and is the single biggest protection a roofer has.
Can I take a deposit for materials?
Yes. Record it against the accepted quote and the balance invoice deducts it and shows the remainder due. On a full replacement this matters more than on almost any other trade work, because the covering, underlayment and disposal are paid for by you before you earn anything.
Does it handle insurance work?
It produces a clear itemized invoice that a claims handler can read, which is what most insurers want. It does not integrate with any claims platform and does not produce supplement forms, so if your work is mostly insurance restoration you will still be doing that side in whatever system the carrier requires.
Can I bill in stages across a long job?
Yes, and tie the stages to things visible from the street rather than to dates. Tear off complete, dry in complete, final. A customer will question a milestone called week two and will not question one called the old roof is off and the deck is covered.
Will it work on a roof with no reception?
Yes. Everything is created and stored on the phone, so signal is only relevant at the moment you press send. If you have signed in for backup, it syncs when you are back in coverage.
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.
Get the found work on paper before it becomes an argument
Free forever for unlimited invoices and quotes. Pro is $4.99 a month for the extra designs and no watermark.