Painting and decorating invoice template
A painting invoice should show prep work, the area or rooms painted and how many coats, paint and sundries, and any access equipment you hired. Download the free Excel template; it totals tax, deposits and any CIS deduction. Then keep paint-shop receipts and invoices together for your accountant.
On this page
What to put on a painter invoice
- Your business details and the customer’s name and property address.
- Each room or area, the surfaces and the number of coats.
- Prep work such as filling, sanding and masking, if you charge it separately.
- Pricing by area or by day, so the customer can compare it with the quote.
- Paint by product and quantity, plus sundries such as tape, sheets and caulk.
- Access equipment such as tower scaffold hire.
- Tax, deposit paid, amount due and payment details.
Create it online or in Excel
FigureLane’s free invoice generator makes a PDF with your lines, tax and any deposit deducted, and saves it in Income with your receipts. It counts in your reports once you mark it paid.
Prefer a spreadsheet, or need a CIS deduction shown? Download the Excel template above and fill the yellow cells; it works out the amount due.
Example painter invoice
A fictional job, in US dollars before tax. The template’s first sheet holds this example; the second is blank for your own invoice.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Prep: fill, sand and mask walls and woodwork (labour): 6 hours × 40.00 | 240.00 |
| Paint living room and hall, 2 coats (labour): 52 m² × 9.50 | 494.00 |
| Matt emulsion, 5 L (materials): 3 tins × 42.00 | 126.00 |
| Sundries: tape, sheets, caulk (materials): 1 lot × 28.00 | 28.00 |
| Tower scaffold hire (hire): 1 week × 95.00 | 95.00 |
| Subtotal | 983.00 |
| Less deposit paid | -200.00 |
| Amount due | 783.00 |
Bookkeeping for painters and decorators: what to keep
- Paint and sundries: match each paint-shop receipt to the job it was bought for.
- Brushes, rollers and sprayers: consumables and equipment you replace.
- Access equipment: ladders, and scaffold or tower hire agreements.
- Van and travel: fuel and parking between jobs.
- Insurance: public liability for working in customers’ homes.
Subcontractors, CIS and 1099s
- UK, working for a contractor: under the Construction Industry Scheme the contractor deducts 20% from your labour if you are registered, 30% if not, or nothing with gross payment status. Materials you bought, VAT, plant hire and fuel are left out of that calculation. The template works out the deduction on labour lines only.
- UK, working for a homeowner: homeowners are not CIS contractors, so leave the CIS rate at 0%.
- UK reverse charge: if you are VAT-registered and invoice a VAT- and CIS-registered business that is not the end user, the domestic reverse charge usually applies. Set the tax rate to 0% and state that the customer accounts for the VAT.
- US, paying subcontractors: for 2026 payments, the IRS asks for a Form 1099-NEC when you pay a nonemployee $2,000 or more, filed and sent by 31 January. Collect a W-9 before the first payment.
- Keep each CIS statement or 1099 with the invoices it covers, and check your own position with your accountant.
A ten-minute monthly routine
- Forward emailed receipts and supplier invoices to your FigureLane collection address as they arrive.
- Photograph paper receipts on the day and upload them.
- Mark invoices paid when the money lands.
- At month end, check each figure against its original, then download an Excel or PDF report and a ZIP of originals for your accountant.
Common questions
Should painters charge by the hour or by area?
Either works; what matters is that the invoice matches the quote. Area pricing (per m² or sq ft) is easy for customers to compare; hourly suits prep and repairs. The template supports both units.
Does CIS apply to painting and decorating?
In the UK, painting and decorating for a contractor falls within the Construction Industry Scheme, so the contractor deducts from your labour. Homeowners do not deduct CIS.
Can I use FigureLane’s invoice generator instead of Excel?
Yes: it creates a PDF with your line items, one tax rate and any deposit already paid, and saves it in Income until you mark it paid. Use the Excel template if a contractor needs a CIS deduction shown.
Is this painter invoice template free?
Yes. Download and reuse it without an account. FigureLane’s invoice generator and 10 document uploads are also free to try, with no card.