The leak is fixed, and the invoice still hasn't gone out.

Plumbing invoices tend to get written last: after the job, after the drive home, sometimes after the weekend. Every day a bill waits is another day before you're paid for work that's already done.

Book a call

A hand fills in a blank invoice on a clipboard, the bill that still has to go out after the job — Photo by Kindel Media on Pexels

Sound familiar?

You write the invoice in the truck after every call, before you can start the next one.
Or you let them pile up, and Sunday night turns into billing night.
You're trying to remember how many fittings went into a job from earlier in the week.
A customer asks what one line on the bill was for, and by then nobody remembers.

What it costs you

You've already paid for the water heater, the fittings and the hours. Until the invoice goes out, you're carrying that cost for the customer.

Every fitting you forget to write down is one you bought and gave away.

A bill that shows up long after the drain is running again just doesn't feel as urgent to the customer, so it tends to get paid later.

And billing night is one more evening you don't get back.

Why it keeps happening

There's always another call to get to, and nobody pays you to sit in the driveway typing.

A good plumbing invoice means knowing exactly what went into the wall, and that memory fades by the hour.

When the owner is also the plumber, the books get whatever energy is left at the end of the day, which isn't much.

Some jobs change halfway through. A simple repair turns into a bigger one, and the paperwork has to catch up with what actually happened.

Who you'll talk to

Kevin Kirchner smiling, in black glasses, a black cap and a green plaid shirt — Kevin Kirchner

You'll get me, Kevin Kirchner, on this call. I'll ask what happens between the last turn of the wrench and a bill in the customer's hands.

Collecting what a bill needs and writing it up is repetitive office work, the kind that can now come out of your Sunday nights. How that would fit depends on how billing runs at your shop now.

Questions

What should a plumbing invoice include?

Enough that the customer can see what was done and what went into it, and enough that you can answer questions about it later. Knowing what goes on it is rarely the problem. Having the details in front of you when you sit down to write it is.

Is it better to invoice on the spot or at the end of the day?

Whichever one you'll actually keep up with. The longer a bill waits, the more of the job you have to rebuild from memory.

What exactly do you build?

It depends on how you work today; we figure that out on the call.