Free carpentry invoice template for trim, doors, and built-ins
A carpentry invoice mixes units that most trades never combine: trim by the linear foot, doors by the opening, stair parts by the each, built-ins as a described lump sum, and punch work on time and materials. Species and grade ride along on every line, because poplar and primed MDF are not the same price or the same job. The sample below bills a finish package with six doors, an oak stair, and a built-in bookcase for $13,030.00, with a free blank PDF and CSV to go with it.
What goes on a carpentry invoice
| Field | What goes there |
|---|---|
| Carpenter, license, and scope | Your name or company, a license number where your state requires one, and whether the work was finish carpentry, framing, or shop-built pieces. The three are priced on different units, so the scope sets up everything below it. |
| Rooms and opening count | The rooms covered and the number of door and window openings in each. An opening is the unit for doors and casing, so the count has to match the house. |
| Trim by the linear foot | Baseboard, casing, crown, and shoe as separate lines with the profile and width. State whether the footage is measured wall run or the stock you bought, since the two differ by the offcuts. |
| Species and grade | The material for each line: primed MDF, finger-jointed pine, poplar, or a stain-grade hardwood like red oak. Poplar crown runs about $4.35 a foot at the supply house against roughly $2.40 for MDF, before any labor. |
| Doors by the opening | Each door with its size, swing, core, and whether it came prehung or as a slab, plus the hardware set. Say whether casing is inside the per opening price or billed on the trim line, so it is not charged twice. |
| Stair parts | Treads, risers, balusters, and newels by the each, and handrail by the foot. Record the finished rise and run too, since inspectors measure both. |
| Built-ins and custom pieces | A lump sum with a description that could rebuild it: overall dimensions, material, number of shelves and doors, hardware, and the date of the drawing or sketch it was built from. |
| Time and materials lines | For punch work and repairs, often written T and M, the date, the hours, the hourly rate, and what was done. Materials go beside it at cost plus your stated markup. |
| Prep and finish responsibility | What you left ready and what is for others: nail holes filled, joints caulked, surfaces sanded, primer or stain. A painter's invoice and yours should not both claim the caulking. |
| Added work | Extra openings, a profile change after the order, or blocking that was missing in the wall, each with the date and who approved it. |
The line-item table
| Description | Material | Qty | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baseboard, 5-1/4 inch, coped inside corners | Primed MDF | 310 lin ft | $4.25/lin ft | $1,317.50 |
| Door and window casing, 3-1/2 inch | Finger-jointed pine, primed | 280 lin ft | $4.60/lin ft | $1,288.00 |
| Crown molding, 4-5/8 inch, living and dining rooms | Poplar, paint grade | 96 lin ft | $9.50/lin ft | $912.00 |
| Prehung interior doors, hung and latched, casing billed above | Solid core, two panel | 6 openings | $465.00 | $2,790.00 |
| Stair treads and risers over existing stringers | Red oak, stain grade | 13 treads | $185.00 | $2,405.00 |
| Built-in bookcase, 8 ft wide by 8 ft tall, per sketch dated Sept 12 | Maple plywood, poplar face frame | 1 lump sum | $3,850.00 | $3,850.00 |
| Punch list, time and materials | 5.5 hr | $85.00/hr | $467.50 |
How to use this template
- Measure the run, buy the stick. Trim is bought in stock lengths and installed in wall runs. Bill the installed linear feet at a rate that absorbs the offcuts, or bill the stock purchased and say so, but do not switch methods between lines.
- Define an opening once. Write what one opening includes on the first door line: hang, shim, latch, and hardware, with or without casing. Every other door on the invoice then reads as a count.
- Describe the built-in like a spec. A lump sum is fine when the description is tight. Give the width, height, and depth, the sheet goods and face frame species, the shelf and door count, and the date of the drawing the client approved.
- Date every time and materials entry. Hours without a date and a task are the first thing clients question. Log each visit as a line: the day, the hours, the rate, and the punch items closed.
- Say where your work stops. State whether you filled, caulked, and sanded, and whether primer or finish is by the painter. That one sentence prevents the argument about who owes the client a caulk line.
Get paid faster
Price stain grade on its own rate
Paint-grade joints get caulk and filler. Stain-grade joints get neither, so every miter has to close on its own, and the labor per foot goes up with the wood. Two rates on the invoice explain the gap better than one average.
Print the stair numbers
The International Residential Code limits risers to 7-3/4 inches and requires treads at least 10 inches deep, with handrails set 34 to 38 inches above the nosing line. Noting the finished rise and run on the invoice shows the stair was built to pass.
Bill solid hardwood by the board foot
Lumberyards sell hardwood by the board foot, which is 144 cubic inches, or a piece 1 inch thick, 12 inches wide, and 12 inches long. When a built-in or mantel uses a lot of it, show the board feet and the price so the material number is not a mystery.
Put a ceiling on time and materials
Open-ended hourly work makes clients nervous. A not-to-exceed figure on the punch list line, with the hours used so far, gets the work approved without a fixed bid you would have to pad.
The blank PDF and CSV carry a Material column for species and grade beside each quantity, which is where most trim questions get answered.
Frequently asked questions
How do carpenters charge for trim work?
Mostly by the linear foot, installed, with a different rate for each profile and material. Baseboard and casing sit at the low end, and crown costs more per foot because of the compound cuts and ladder work. Stain-grade hardwood carries a higher rate than paint-grade MDF or pine. Small jobs are often billed as a day rate or time and materials instead.
What does per opening mean on a carpentry invoice?
It is the unit for door work. One opening usually covers setting the door or prehung unit, shimming and fastening the jamb, and installing the latch and hinges. Casing may be inside that price or on a separate linear foot line, so the invoice has to say which.
How should a built-in be billed?
As a lump sum backed by a written description and a drawing date. Custom pieces do not break cleanly into feet or hours, and clients approve a finished object, not a cut list. Many carpenters split the price into a deposit before material is ordered and a balance at install.
What is a board foot?
A volume measure for lumber equal to 144 cubic inches. Multiply thickness in inches by width in inches by length in feet and divide by 12. A board 1 inch thick, 6 inches wide, and 8 feet long is 4 board feet. Hardwood is priced this way, while trim and framing lumber are usually sold by the linear foot or the piece.
What does Staxen cost for a carpentry shop that bills by milestone?
Staxen is priced per AI employee: $59 per month each, or $149 per month if you hire all three. A new account gets its first 7 days free in the app. For invoicing you would hire Ivy the Invoicer, who sets up deposit and completion milestones, accepts card and ACH by way of Stripe, sends escalating reminders once an invoice is overdue, and syncs QuickBooks Online both ways.