How carpenters and joiners should invoice: a practical guide

Deposit before materials, balance on installation. Never invoice the balance on completion of the workshop stage — the customer has nothing to look at and will not pay for a cabinet in your unit. Itemise labour and materials separately, put a real due date on it rather than "on receipt", and send it as a PDF the client can forward to whoever actually pays. For carpenters and joiners, the detail that matters most: bespoke work usually needs a deposit invoice before materials are bought — that is a separate document from the final one.

How to price the work

Bespoke work is a fixed quote. On-site second fix can be a day rate. Keep them on separate documents where a job has both.

What the lines should look like

For fitted storage, a line that reads well is:

Fitted alcove units, made and installed, oak veneer

Specific enough that the person approving payment — often not the person who hired you — can see what they are paying for. Here is the same job as a finished invoice line:

Fitted alcove units, made and installed
Oak veneer carcasses, painted MDF doors, two alcoves, including scribing and fitting — £2,180.00

Deposits

50% before materials are bought on anything made to measure. Hardwood ordered for one customer's alcove has no resale value if they change their mind.

Materials and markup

Timber cost varies enough between quote and purchase that a quote over six weeks old should carry a validity date. Say so on the quote rather than surprising them on the invoice.

The mistake carpenters and joiners make most

Bespoke work usually needs a deposit invoice before materials are bought — that is a separate document from the final one.

The gap between "made" and "installed". A customer who has paid a deposit for units expects them fitted, and if fitting is priced separately it must appear on the original quote. Splitting it at invoice stage reads as a second bill.

Quote the timber, date the quote

Hardwood and sheet material prices move enough within a quarter to erase a job's margin. Every bespoke quote should carry a validity date and a line saying material prices are held for that period. Customers accept this without complaint when it is on the quote, and dispute it every time when it appears on the invoice.

Getting paid, in this trade specifically

Bespoke customers are generally good payers who are slow to confirm. The delay is usually a decision about handles or a finish, not the money. Keep the deposit invoice and the balance invoice clearly separate so a stalled decision does not leave the whole job unbilled.

The rest is the same for everyone: what has to be on the document, how to number it, how to chase it and how long to keep it. If you are registered for tax, the rate and the label depend on your country.

EstimateBill tracks what is unpaid, reminds you on the due date, and writes the follow-up message for you in three tones. See how the reminders work.