Job paperwork checklist for tradespeople: from the quote to the final invoice

Most paperwork trouble on a job comes from a step that was skipped at the start: a quote with no cancellation form, an invoice with no payment date, a certificate held back until the money arrives. This list follows one job from the quote to the tax record. Tick each step as you go. It is written for a sole trader or small firm in England and Wales doing work for householders, businesses and main contractors. Print one for each job, or keep the page open on the office computer and clear the ticks when the next job starts.

Free tool

Job paperwork checklist for tradespeople

Tick each step as it is done. The ticks are kept in this browser only, so you can come back to the list; nothing is sent anywhere.

Before you price the job

Write down whether the customer is a householder or a business Add this job to your rolling 12-month turnover and check it against £90,000 If the customer is a contractor, confirm your CIS status with them before you price

The quote

Itemise the quote: what is included, what is excluded, the price and the deposit Put the payment date in the quote, not only on the invoice Householder agreeing at home: include the cancellation information and the cancellation form Give that cancellation information on paper, or by email only if the customer agrees Attach your terms, and take out any term that excludes liability for poor work Diary the follow-ups: the day the quote goes out, day 3 and day 7

Before work starts

Decide the VAT treatment: normal VAT, the domestic reverse charge or zero rate Split labour from materials in the price for any CIS job If you are paying subcontractors on this job, verify them with HMRC first

When the work is finished

Notifiable electrical work: send the certificate within 30 days of completion Invoice the day you finish, with a unique number, both addresses, the work, both dates and the amount Trading under a business name as a sole trader: put your own name and address on the invoice Reverse charge job: show the VAT rate and amount on the invoice but do not add it to the total Record any scrap money from the job as turnover

If the invoice is not paid

Business customer: add statutory interest and the fixed fee once the invoice is late Householder or sole trader: send a letter of claim by post with the three protocol forms Price the court claim before you threaten it

Records and tax

In Making Tax Digital: enter the sale in your software now, not at the quarter end Paid a subcontractor: put the payment on the CIS return due by the 19th

Copy what is left Print the list Clear the ticks

A working list, not a certificate and not advice: the rule behind each step, with its source, is set out below.

Email me this result

We send the figures above to your inbox as they stand now, with a link back to this page.

Email addressSend it

Also send me the weekly admin fix (one practical guide a week; unsubscribe any time)

We use your address to send this result and keep a copy of what we sent. Privacy notice.

Works in your browser. Nothing you type leaves this device unless you ask us to email you the result.

Before you price the job

Write down whether the customer is a householder or a business. The answer changes the rest of the list. A householder who agrees the job at home has cancellation rights; only a business customer can be charged statutory interest and the fixed fee on a late invoice. Source: Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013; Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998. The working is in What late payment interest can a builder actually claim? Worked sums.

Add this job to your rolling 12-month turnover and check it against £90,000. The VAT test is the last 12 months, not the tax year. Go over £90,000 and you must register within 30 days of the end of that month, with VAT starting on the first day of the second month after. Source: GOV.UK, VAT registration: when to register, read 1 October 2026. The working is in When a tradesperson has to register for VAT.

If the customer is a contractor, confirm your CIS status with them before you price. The contractor deducts 20% from the labour of a registered subcontractor, 30% if you are not registered and nothing if you have gross payment status. Knowing which tells you what will reach your account. Source: GOV.UK, What you must do as a CIS contractor, read 1 October 2026. The working is in CIS deduction calculator.

The quote

Itemise the quote: what is included, what is excluded, the price and the deposit. An itemised quote with its exclusions written down is the document you point to when the customer says an extra was part of the price. Source: our worked quote in the follow-up guide. The working is in Quote follow-up template for builders.

Put the payment date in the quote, not only on the invoice. With an agreed date, statutory interest on a business customer's late invoice runs from the day after it. With no agreed date it starts 30 days after the later of finishing the work and the customer getting the invoice. Source: Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, section 4. The working is in Late payment interest calculator for UK trades.

Householder agreeing at home: include the cancellation information and the cancellation form. Without it a householder can cancel for up to 12 months and 14 days and owes nothing for the work already done. Source: Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulations 31 and 36. The working is in How to write a quote for a job.

Give that cancellation information on paper, or by email only if the customer agrees. The regulations ask for paper or, if the customer agrees, another durable medium such as email. Ask for that agreement in writing and keep it with the quote. Source: Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 10(2). The working is in How to write a quote for a job.

Attach your terms, and take out any term that excludes liability for poor work. A term that excludes your liability for work not done with reasonable care and skill is not binding on a householder, so it protects nothing and makes the rest of your terms look worse. Source: Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 57. The working is in Terms and conditions template for tradespeople.

Diary the follow-ups: the day the quote goes out, day 3 and day 7. Three short messages on a fixed schedule are easier to keep up than a chase you write fresh each time, and the customer hears from you before a rival's quote arrives. Source: our follow-up schedule. The working is in Quote follow-up template for builders.

Before work starts

Decide the VAT treatment: normal VAT, the domestic reverse charge or zero rate. Under the reverse charge the contractor accounts for the VAT and none changes hands. On a new-build house labour and building materials are zero-rated and the reverse charge does not apply, but CIS is still deducted from the labour. Source: HMRC, VAT reverse charge technical guide; VAT Notice 708. The working is in New-build house at 0% VAT.

Split labour from materials in the price for any CIS job. The CIS deduction is taken from labour only. Materials you bought for the job, and VAT, sit outside it, so an invoice that lumps them together loses you money. Source: GOV.UK, What you must do as a CIS contractor. The working is in CIS deduction calculator.

If you are paying subcontractors on this job, verify them with HMRC first. You are then the contractor: you deduct at the rate HMRC gives you and report the payment on your monthly return. Source: GOV.UK, What you must do as a CIS contractor. The working is in CIS monthly return.

When the work is finished

Notifiable electrical work: send the certificate within 30 days of completion. The certificate must reach the occupier and building control within 30 days of completion whether or not you have been paid. Holding it back as a lever for payment breaks the duty. Source: Building Regulations 2010; NICEIC guidance, read 1 October 2026. The working is in Electrical certificates explained.

Invoice the day you finish, with a unique number, both addresses, the work, both dates and the amount. GOV.UK lists what an invoice must include: a unique number, your name and address, the customer's, what you are charging for, the date of the work, the invoice date and the amount. A VAT invoice needs more. Source: GOV.UK, Invoicing and taking payment from customers, read 1 October 2026. The working is in Free invoice template for electricians and builders (UK), with CIS and reverse charge.

Trading under a business name as a sole trader: put your own name and address on the invoice. A sole trader using a business name must also show their own name and an address where legal documents can reach them. Source: GOV.UK, Invoicing and taking payment from customers. The working is in Free invoice template for electricians and builders (UK), with CIS and reverse charge.

Reverse charge job: show the VAT rate and amount on the invoice but do not add it to the total. On our test invoice of £950 labour and £240 materials, £238 of VAT is shown for the contractor to account for and the subcontractor is paid £1,000 after a £190 CIS deduction. Source: HMRC, VAT reverse charge technical guide; our test in tests/gaffer/tools-check.txt. The working is in Free invoice template for electricians and builders (UK), with CIS and reverse charge.

Record any scrap money from the job as turnover. Money from scrap taken off your jobs is business turnover. A scrap dealer in England and Wales may not pay cash, so every sale leaves a bank record with your name on it. Source: HMRC self-employment notes 2026; Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013. The working is in Do you have to pay tax on scrap copper? What a tradesperson declares, and why the yard cannot pay cash.

If the invoice is not paid

Business customer: add statutory interest and the fixed fee once the invoice is late. Interest is 8% a year plus Bank Rate, 11.75% on the current reference rate, and the fixed fee is £40 under £1,000, £70 from £1,000 to £9,999.99 and £100 from £10,000. A £2,400 invoice 60 days late adds £46.36 and £70. Source: Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998; Bank of England Bank Rate. The working is in Late payment interest calculator for UK trades.

Householder or sole trader: send a letter of claim by post with the three protocol forms. The letter must go by post with the information sheet, reply form and financial statement form, and you cannot start a court claim until 30 days after the date at the top of the letter. Source: Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims. The working is in Letter before action template for an unpaid trade invoice, and the 30-day wait that follows.

Price the court claim before you threaten it. On a £2,400 unpaid invoice the county court fee is £115. Against a business customer 60 days late the interest and fixed fee already come to more than that. Source: GOV.UK, Make a court claim for money: court fees, read 1 October 2026. The working is in Customer won't pay for work done? What a UK tradesperson can do, step by step.

Records and tax

In Making Tax Digital: enter the sale in your software now, not at the quarter end. A sole trader with qualifying income over £50,000 has been in Making Tax Digital for Income Tax since 6 April 2026, and qualifying income is turnover, not profit. The update for the quarter to 5 October is due by 7 November 2026. Source: GOV.UK, Use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, read 1 October 2026. The working is in Making Tax Digital for sole-trader trades.

Paid a subcontractor: put the payment on the CIS return due by the 19th. The monthly return is due by the 19th after the tax month ends. A late one starts at a £100 penalty, and a month with no payments still needs a nil return unless you have told HMRC you have temporarily stopped using subcontractors. Source: GOV.UK, What you must do as a CIS contractor: file your monthly returns. The working is in CIS monthly return.

How to use the list

Use one list for each job and keep it with the job's file, dated. If a step does not apply, such as CIS on a job for a householder, tick it and move on; the point is that somebody decided, not that every line produced a document. When a customer disputes a bill months later, the ticked list and the documents behind it show what was sent and when.

A ticked list is a record that the steps were done, not proof that each was done properly. The list covers the points our guides and the official pages named above set out; it is not every duty a firm has. This page is general information, not legal advice.

Overlyft sets up AI assistants for trades and building firms: they prepare drafts for a person to approve. They do not tick off any of these steps for you, and you can do every one without them.