Alterations and tailoring

Alterations Invoice Template (Free)

By ShowTheReceipts · Updated

Short answer

An alterations invoice needs a ticket number matching the tag on the garment, each garment listed with the operations performed and their prices, any rush fee, the fitting dates for bridal or formal work, a deposit subtracted where one was taken, the ready-by date, and pickup and abandonment terms. Copy the template below, or use software that keeps a saved price list and a ticket per customer.

What belongs on the invoice

  • Business name and contact info
  • Ticket number — matching the tag on the garment
  • Customer name and phone
  • A line per garment, with each operation priced
  • Rush fee, if any
  • Fitting dates, on bridal and formal work
  • Deposit applied, balance due
  • Ready-by date and pickup terms

The template

[Your Business Name]
[Phone] · [Email]

Ticket / Invoice #____        Date: __________
Customer: __________________   Phone: __________

--------------------------------------------------
Garment / Operation                      Amount
--------------------------------------------------
[Trousers] — hem, cuffed                 $______
[Trousers] — waist taken in              $______
[Jacket]   — sleeves shortened           $______
[Dress]    — take in sides               $______
[Dress]    — zipper replaced             $______
Bridal package — ___ fittings            $______
   Fitting 1: __/__   Fitting 2: __/__
Rush fee (___%)                          $______
--------------------------------------------------
Subtotal                                 $______
Tax (if applicable)                      $______
Deposit received                        -$______
Balance Due at Pickup                    $______

Ready by: __________   Pickup by: __________
Uncollected after ___ days may be disposed of.

One line per operation, not per garment

“Dress — $180” is a number a customer can argue with. Four lines totalling $180 is just a list of things you did. It’s the same money and an entirely different conversation, and it only takes ten extra seconds at the counter.

The ready-by date is a promise you can keep

Rush fees exist because deadlines are the real product here. Print the ready-by date, honor it, and charge for compressing it — that’s basically the whole operating model of a busy alterations shop.

Skipping the copy-paste

Software with your alteration price list saved builds this ticket at the counter in seconds, keeps the number tied to the garment, and takes the balance by card at pickup.

Frequently asked questions

Should the ticket number be on the garment too?

Always — the tag and the invoice must carry the same number. Losing a garment is the only truly unrecoverable mistake in this trade, and a matched number is what makes a rack of forty items searchable in seconds.

How do I bill a rush job?

As a stated percentage or flat rush line, quoted before you accept it. Rush work displaces other customers' deadlines, and a shop that never charges for it ends up doing every job in a hurry for the standard price.

Do I need fitting dates on the invoice?

For bridal and formal, yes. Multiple fittings are the schedule commitment that makes those jobs expensive, and printing them sets the expectation that missed fittings move the ready-by date.

Keep reading