Towing invoice template for tow trucks and roadside callouts

A towing invoice template that shows pickup, drop off, distance and time of call, with a sample towing invoice to edit.

Pickup and drop off locations
Distance, winching and waiting time
Storage days charged clearly

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Free, no accountSelectable text PDFUpdated 31 Oct 2026

Towing invoice template for tow trucks and roadside callouts preview — Example only: business names and numbers are made up.

01What is a towing invoice template?

A towing invoice template has to show where the vehicle was collected and taken, the distance, the time of the call, and any winching, waiting or storage. Our free sample bills a breakdown tow in Melbourne with 10% GST, and the same layout covers roadside assistance callouts. Download it, or edit the sample in our generator.

Price: Free, no sign up
Formats: Online, Word, Excel, PDF
Designs: 8, with your logo
Best for: Tow trucks and roadside callouts

02Anatomy

Eight parts of a towing invoice

Point at a number to see where each part sits. Miss one and the invoice waits in an inbox while someone asks for it.

Towing invoice invoice with its parts numbered — Example only: business names and numbers are made up.

Your business detailsLogo, legal name, address and your ABN.
Title and invoice numberA clear title and a unique number that runs in sequence.
Client detailsThe client's legal name and billing address, plus their tax number for business sales.
Dates and termsIssue date, payment terms and a real due date the client cannot misread.
Lines the client can checkOne line per job, item or visit, with the quantity and price, and their PO number where they use one.
Tax shown correctlyGST at 10% on its own line, so a registered client can claim it back.
Notes that stop questionsJob address, references and anything the client needs to approve it without emailing you.
Amount dueThe total in a panel that stands out, with the due date beside it.

03Free tax calculator

Work out the tax before you invoice

Enter your price, choose where you bill, and see the exact tax lines your invoice should show. Nothing is saved or sent.

Invoice total

$599.50

Taxable value: $545.00
GST 10%: $54.50

Standard rates checked October 2026. Your goods or service may have its own rate, so confirm it before you invoice.

Put it on an invoice

Accident tow or trade tow: know which one you are billing

Before pricing a tow, check whether a regulator sets the fee. In Victoria, accident towing and storage charges are the only regulated towing fees, and the Minister sets them for metropolitan Melbourne after reviews by the Essential Services Commission. Trade towing, such as breakdown, clearway and impound jobs, is priced by the operator.

That means an accident tow in Melbourne should follow the current fee determination, while a breakdown tow follows your own rate card. If you work in another state, read its transport department’s rules before quoting an accident job. The sample on this page is a trade tow.

Towing invoice template charges, from hook up to storage

A tow bill is usually built from a base fee that includes the first stretch of distance, a per kilometer rate after that, and extras for the time of day, the difficulty of the recovery and storage. Put each on its own line with its unit, so anyone reading the bill can follow the total.

Charge	Unit	Example (AUD, excl. GST)
Hook up and first 10 km, tilt tray	Flat	$165 (example)
Distance beyond the first 10 km	Per km	$4.50 (example)
After hours callout, 7 pm to 7 am	Flat	$90 (example)
Winching from a ditch or soft verge	Per job	$120 (example)
Storage at the yard	Per day	$30 (example)

Roadside assistance callouts without a tow

Not every call ends with the car on the truck. A roadside assistance invoice covers the callout and the fix on the spot, such as a jump start, a wheel change, a lockout or a few liters of fuel. Bill the callout as one line, then any parts or fuel you supplied as separate lines at their own price.

Callout fee, with the suburb and time.
Battery supplied and fitted, with its size and warranty period.
Fuel delivered, in liters, with the price per liter.
If the roadside fix fails and you tow anyway, keep both on one invoice so the customer does not pay a second callout.

Details that make a tow truck invoice hold up

Tow bills are often paid by someone who was not at the roadside, such as a fleet manager or a repair shop’s office. Write the job so a stranger can follow it: where it started and ended, when it happened, which vehicle, how far it traveled, and who asked for the tow.

Pickup and drop off addresses, with the distance from your GPS log.
Times: call received, arrived on scene, delivered.
Vehicle make, model, color and rego, plus visible damage at hook up with photo numbers.
The name of the person who requested the tow, or the fleet’s job number.
Storage dates in and out, and the number of days charged.

GST on towing and roadside jobs

Registered for GST? Then a tow costing more than $82.50 including GST needs a tax invoice, and so does a cheaper callout if the customer asks. When a customer asks, you have 28 days to provide it. Your ABN, an 11 digit number, sits near the top with the words tax invoice and the GST amount.

Jobs over $1,000, such as a long country recovery, must also name the buyer or show their ABN. An operator who is not registered sends a plain invoice, with no GST and no tax invoice heading. Our Australian invoice template page sets out each field, and what is a tax invoice explains the term.

Who pays, when, and how to start

Private motorists often pay at the drop off point, by card from the truck. Fleet, dealer and repairer accounts are simpler on one monthly invoice listing each job with its reference. Whichever you use, print your payment terms and your rules for releasing a stored vehicle on every invoice, so nobody is caught out at the yard gate.

Open the towing sample invoice to start from the breakdown tow on this page, set to Australia with 10% GST. Mechanical work after the tow belongs on the mechanic’s repair invoice, and a clean before handover fits the detailing invoice. Browse every template too.

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Questions, answered.

Short answers first. Something missing? Ask us.

What should a towing invoice include?

Your business name, ABN and contact details, an invoice number and date, the customer, the vehicle and rego, the pickup and drop off addresses, the distance, the times of the job, each charge with its unit, storage days, the GST and total, and your payment terms.

How do tow trucks charge per kilometer?

A common setup is a base fee that covers the hook up and the first few kilometers, then a rate for every kilometer after that. Write both on the invoice, for example “Hook up and first 10 km” and “22 km beyond the first 10 km”, using the distance from your GPS log as the quantity.

Can I charge storage while the owner decides what to do?

For a trade tow, yes, if your terms say so and the customer accepted them. Show the date the vehicle arrived, the date it left and the daily rate, so the days are easy to count. For accident tows in metropolitan Melbourne, storage fees are regulated, so use the rates in the current determination.

What is a roadside assistance invoice?

It is the bill for help at the roadside without towing the vehicle, such as a jump start, a wheel change, a lockout or fuel delivery. It shows a callout fee, the time and place, and any parts or fuel supplied. If the job turns into a tow, the tow lines go on the same invoice.

Do I need to give a tax invoice for a small callout?

If you are registered for GST and the callout is $82.50 or less including GST, you only need to give one when the customer asks. Above that amount, a registered operator must give a tax invoice anyway. Because the generator makes either version, it is simple to give one every time.

How do I bill a fleet account each month?

List every job as its own line with the date, rego, route and the fleet’s job number, then total them on one invoice at month end. If you run several accounts, WhizInvoice can track which monthly invoices are still unpaid.

Send it today. Get paid on time.

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