10 Essential Plumbing Invoice Tips | Free Template

Make invoicing easy with a plumbing invoice template your techs can use.

Are lost or missing invoices clogging up your plumbing company’s cash flow? Do you spend too much time each month chasing down this plumbing receipt or that plumbing invoice, only to find payments still don’t add up?

We know it happens. Plumbing techs lose invoices, especially when they’re still carrying around a clipboard and crafting a customer’s plumbing bill with pen and paper. Some techs may find your plumbing invoice template too complicated and choose to do their own thing. As the owner, you’re trying to run a business and turn a profit, so every plumbing service invoice matters. 

Keep your business organized and all plumbing invoices accounted for with a digital invoicing system that seamlessly and effortlessly accepts payments in the field, in the office or online. Easy invoicing makes your customers happy, boosts your techs’ confidence and productivity, and keeps your company’s operation flowing smoothly.

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Plumbing Invoice Software Helps Businesses Grow

Travis Ringe, co-owner of ProSkill Services in Arizona, says he stopped letting cash go down the drain six years ago after switching from paper invoices and a rudimentary server-based scheduling system to ServiceTitan, a mobile cloud-based software platform with electronic invoicing.

“We started saving time,” he says. “The guys weren’t writing invoices anymore, just clicking on the item. We didn’t have to worry as much about invoices getting turned in, which was helpful because some of the guys didn’t come into the shop every day and they’d end up losing invoices.” 

ProSkill started as a one-truck plumbing company in 2009, expanded into HVAC services in 2012, and later added water treatment and electrical services. The company now operates with more than 50 trucks and brings in more than $14 million in annual revenue. 

“I loaded in the scope of work for new systems and our unit matchups so I could actually get pricing on-site for new systems,” Ringe says. “Our close rate went way up when I started doing that. We also started tracking revenue, purchase orders and job costs. That enabled us to see where we were making or losing money.”

Plumbers use tools every day, but they might not be using the right tools to run the administrative side of the business, particularly if they are clinging to the pen-and-paper method. Follow these 10 essential tips for sending a plumbing invoice — and say goodbye to your monthly accounting hassles.

1. Email plumbing invoice forms directly to the customer

The best way for plumbers to get paid quickly and effortlessly is by generating an electronic plumbing repair invoice before ever leaving the job site. Immediately emailing the invoice reduces room for error later and gives your techs the opportunity to personalize customer service by clearly and completely explaining the work completed and how much the customer owes. A personal touch might even gain you a repeat customer for life.

2. Don’t email or text customers without asking first

While emails and texts seem to be the preferred method of communicating with customers in today’s digital world, your company’s CSRs and plumbers need to ask for permission. Would the customer like to receive appointment reminders via text or a text alert to let them know exactly when their plumbing tech is scheduled to arrive? When the job is complete, the plumber can email them a link and they can instantly pay open invoices online.

3. Give your techs an easy-to-use plumbing invoice template

Plumbing repair and installation is definitely a hands-on job. These on-demand contractors often learn by doing, so give them good plumbing invoice examples to go by. Your plumbers’ invoice template should clearly answer the following questions:

• What payment methods do you accept? Checks, credit cards and/or cash?

• What are your billing terms? Do you require a deposit before work begins?

• Are you set up to receive online payment? If so, did you include the correct link?

• Does your company offer financing plans?

• Does the invoice clearly show the amount due and due date?

• Will the customer accrue late fees, and what are they?

• Is the job itemized, clearly outlining the service or repair, all materials and labor?

• Is your company’s contact information — name, physical address, email and phone number — easy to find on the invoice? 

4. Don’t make it too difficult for your techs to process plumbing invoices in the field

Consistency breeds accuracy, so train all your plumbing techs to complete invoices the same way by outlining the specific details you want included. Explain what types of information you want recorded on every invoice, and make it easy by using a mobile app that lets your techs simply click through the various options. You can even create a laminated cheat sheet for them to reference in the field, but tell them to leave the pen and paper back in the office.

With ServiceTitan home services software, your techs can use their phones or tablets to photograph checks or credit cards physically in the field and post payments automatically. This means fewer trips to the bank and no more lost checks.

5. Keep customers’ service history, contact info and preferred payment method on file

Customers like it when you remember their name, their recent service history and how they prefer to pay. Knowing all of those details helps to personalize the plumbing service experience, whether it’s a routine call or a plumbing emergency. A home services app keeps organized maintenance records and history for every customer at your fingertips.

6. Don’t send your plumbing invoice to the wrong client

Too many clients and not enough techs? It’s a problem for many plumbing contractors trying to meet high customer demand, in light of the trade worker shortage. Keep your company’s client list from quickly spiraling out of control by organizing it with a software solution, eliminating human error from the equation. If your CSR sends a plumbing work order invoice to the wrong client, how are you ever going to get paid?

7. Follow up on unpaid plumbing invoices 

Everyone likes to get paid for a job well done, including plumbers. Tracking down unpaid invoices every month is no one’s favorite job, so lighten the load on your office staff by automating the process with digital invoicing. By automatically notifying the customer by text or email and making it easy to collect payments, you’ll likely improve operational efficiency and increase your bottom line.

8. Don’t turn down credit cards, and prepare techs to accept cash payments

Most successful home services companies accept payment in any form, and the easier for the customer, the better. Some customers only want to pay with cash, while others prefer to use a credit card for larger plumbing jobs. You can accommodate both by using a mobile home services app that allows your workers to process invoices and credit cards while in the field. With ServiceTitan, you can even process refunds directly through the app and avoid the hassle of third-party processing and invoice adjustment.

9. Keep track of invoices, service contracts and maintenance agreements

As your business grows, so do the number of clients and records documenting their home plumbing systems and services. To grow your list of repeat customers, it’s important to keep a well-organized filing system so your CSRs and plumbing techs can easily access a customer’s latest invoice, a past service contract or ongoing maintenance agreement. It’s the kind of personalized shopping experience customers have come to expect.

10. Don’t forget to offer a service contract or maintenance agreement as part of your plumbing invoice

With the right visual presentation offered to the customer on a digital marketing platform such as ServiceTitan, your techs can easily offer good-better-and-best options in a professional format when creating a customer’s invoice. It’s also a good time to sell the value of a service contract or maintenance agreement for future work. Homeowners tend to remember plumbers who are helpful and don’t mind educating them about their home plumbing systems.

ServiceTitan is a comprehensive plumbing business software solution built specifically to help companies streamline their operations, boost revenue, and achieve growth. Our award-winning, cloud-based platform is trusted by more than 100,000+ contractors across the country.

Ready to learn more about what ServiceTitan can do for your business? 

Contact our team to schedule a demo today.