Excavation Invoice Template
An excavation invoice should list machine hours by machine class with the operator included, mobilization and demobilization as separate lines, trucking and materials by load or yard, disposal at cost, and any change orders referenced back to the approved estimate. ShowTheReceipts saves those lines so the invoice matches the quote the customer already approved, with the extras clearly separated.
Header block
- Business name, license and insurance where required, phone
- Customer, site address, and site contact
- Estimate or job number, PO where applicable
- Work dates, with daily hours
- Invoice number and terms
Equipment and labor lines
- Machine hour with operator — by class (skid steer, mini ex, excavator, dozer)
- Attachment premium — breaker, auger, grapple, mulcher
- Additional laborer / ground man — hourly
- Hand digging near utilities — hourly, premium
- Mobilization / demobilization — per move
- Standby time — per your stated rate
Materials, trucking, and disposal
| Line | Basis |
|---|---|
| Fill, gravel, topsoil | Per yard, delivered |
| Trucking | Per load or per hour |
| Disposal / dump fees | At cost, handling stated |
| Compaction and testing | Per event |
Change order section
One block per change: date, condition found, work performed, price, approval. Rock, water, buried concrete, unmarked utilities.
A change order with a cause and an approval reads as documentation. The same charge buried in the line items reads as padding.
Daily log block
Arrival, start, stop, standby, per day. Hourly billing without a time record is probably the most disputed invoice in construction, and the log only takes thirty seconds a day to keep.
What not to do
- Don’t split machine and operator into separate rates
- Don’t fold mobilization into the hourly rate
- Don’t bill an unapproved change
- Don’t invoice hourly work with no daily times
Frequently asked questions
Should machine and operator be one line?
Yes — one hourly rate for the machine with operator, stated by machine class. Splitting them invites a customer to price-shop your labor against a rental yard's day rate, which is not the same product at all.
How should change orders appear?
As their own section, each referencing the original estimate and the condition that caused it, with the approval date. An extra buried in the general lines looks like padding; an extra with a cause and an approval reads as documentation.
How do I bill materials and disposal?
By the yard or load, at your delivered price, and disposal at cost with a stated handling fee if you charge one. Customers can price gravel and dump fees themselves, so transparency here is worth more than the small margin.
Should I show start and stop times?
For hourly work, yes — arrival, start, stop, and any standby, per day. It converts a total number of hours into a record that answers questions before they're asked.