Excavation and Skid Steer Services Invoicing App (2026)
Dirt work is billed hourly with operator, plus mobilization, trucking, materials, and disposal — and quoted with an allowance because nobody knows what's underground until the bucket is in it. ShowTheReceipts ($15/mo) saves machine-hour rates with mobilization and attachment lines, converts an approved estimate into an invoice with change orders attached, and takes payment before you load the trailer.
How we picked
Entry-plan prices as published in 2026, taken from each vendor's own pricing page or a recent third-party summary. Judged on the owner-operator's workflow — hourly machine rates, mobilization and trucking, change orders for unknown conditions, and payment on site — not on fleet telematics, heavy-equipment maintenance tracking, or GPS grade-control systems, which are separate categories.
| Software | Starting price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| ShowTheReceipts That's us | $15/mo | Owner-operators: machine-hour rates, mobilization, change orders, payment on site |
| Invoice2go | $9.99/mo+ | Basic mobile invoicing |
| Wave | Free / $16/mo | Free invoicing with light bookkeeping |
| Kickserv Flex | $19/mo | Budget scheduling with invoicing |
| Buildertrend | $199/mo+ | General contractors managing full construction projects |
Underground is an estimate, not a fact
Every excavation quote is really a guess about something nobody can see — rock, water, old foundations, lines that aren’t where the locate said they’d be.
Operators who quote flat with no allowance end up eating all of that. Operators who write the allowance into the quote get paid for it.
1. ShowTheReceipts — $15/mo
Machine-hour rates with operator, mobilization and trucking lines, change orders attached to the original estimate, card or terms on site.
2. Invoice2go — $9.99/mo+
Basic mobile invoicing.
3. Wave — Free / $16/mo
Free invoices with light bookkeeping.
4. Kickserv Flex — $19/mo
Budget scheduling with invoicing.
5. Buildertrend — $199/mo+
Built for general contractors managing full construction projects and subs.
The lines a dirt work invoice needs
- Machine hour with operator — by machine class
- Attachment premium — breaker, auger, grapple, mulcher
- Mobilization / demobilization — per move
- Trucking — per load or per hour
- Materials — gravel, fill, topsoil, by the yard, delivered
- Disposal / dump fees — at cost or with a stated handling fee
- Utility locate coordination and hand digging
- Change order — rock, water, buried debris, referenced to the estimate
- Standby time — waiting on site, other trades, or inspections
Bill standby, and say so first
Dirt work waits on inspectors, concrete crews, and locate tickets constantly. A stated standby rate turns a lost morning into a billable one, and it also tends to motivate the customer to have the site ready on time.
Put it on the quote, not on the invoice as a surprise.
Hand digging is a separate rate
Near utilities, hand work is required and it’s slow. Price it hourly and above your machine rate — it’s the most labor-intensive part of the job, and the part most often given away for free.
Frequently asked questions
Should dirt work be quoted flat or hourly?
Hourly for unknowns, flat for repeatable scopes you've done many times. Where a flat price is required, quote it with a stated allowance — rock, water, buried debris, and unmarked utilities are the four things that turn a profitable day into a loss.
How should mobilization be charged?
As its own line, every job. Loading, hauling, unloading, and returning a machine is real time and real fuel whether the work takes two hours or two days — burying it in the hourly rate makes short jobs unprofitable and long ones overpriced.
What belongs in a change order?
Anything the bucket found: rock, groundwater, buried concrete, unmarked lines, or contaminated soil. Written, priced, and approved before you continue — verbal change orders in excavation are how a good customer becomes a dispute.
Do I need construction management software?
Not as an owner-operator. Project scheduling and subcontractor management are built for a general contractor running trades; you need accurate hourly billing, mobilization, change orders, and getting paid.