Welding invoice template for mobile repairs, fabrication and metalwork

What a welding invoice template needs to show

A welding job can be a two hour repair in a paddock or a week of fabrication from drawings, and the invoice should make clear which it was. State where the work happened, what was repaired or made, the steel used and any work sent to another firm.

• Your business name, address and GST number if registered.
• The customer’s name and an address, phone or email.
• The site, or “workshop”, and the drawing or job number.
• Labor hours or fixed prices, kept apart from materials.
• Steel sizes and lengths, consumables and any outside processes.

Workshop fabrication versus onsite welding

The two kinds of work are usually priced differently. Workshop fabrication from a drawing suits a fixed price per item, because you control the time and the setup. Onsite repairs are harder to predict, so most welders charge a callout fee to cover travel and setup, then an hourly rate once the welding starts.

Put both on the same invoice when a job mixes them. A farm might need yard rails repaired in place and two new gates made back at the workshop. Bill the repair as callout plus hours, and each gate as a fixed price, so the customer can see that the gates cost what was quoted.

Example lines for a welder invoice

A welder invoice usually carries five kinds of line: callout, labor, fabricated items, materials and outside processes. Figures here are illustrations in NZD excluding GST, showing the usual basis for each line.

Charging for steel, consumables and outside work

A fabrication invoice should describe steel by section, size and length, so the customer can compare it with what they see on site. “RHS 100 x 50 x 3 mm, four 6 m lengths” is checkable; “steel, $368” is not. If you charge a markup on materials, build it into the unit price rather than adding a mystery line.

Consumables such as wire, rods, shielding gas and grinding discs can sit in your hourly rate or on one small line per job. Galvanizing, powder coating or laser cutting done by another firm goes on its own line, marked as sent out, with any handling charge shown separately.

GST on welding invoices in New Zealand

A GST registered welder adds 15% GST. Since 1 April 2023, Inland Revenue requires taxable supply information rather than a formal tax invoice, though you can still call the document a tax invoice. For sales over $200, show your GST number, the date, a description, and the GST exclusive, GST and inclusive amounts.

The sample totals $2,855.00 before GST. GST at 15% is $428.25, so the farm pays $3,283.25. Because that is over $1,000 and the farm is GST registered, the invoice also needs the buyer’s name and one identifier, for example their postal address. A registered buyer can ask for this information, and you then have 28 days to provide it. You must register when taxable turnover hits $60,000 over 12 months. The New Zealand tax invoice template sets out each threshold.

Extra work found once the grinder comes out

Welding repairs often grow once the old paint and rust are off. A cracked hinge mount turns out to be a rotten post. When that happens, stop and tell the customer what you found and what it will cost, then note their approval on the invoice line.

A line such as “Additional 2 hours, replaced corroded post base found during repair, approved by phone 14 Oct” heads off the question before the customer asks it. Our guide on adding GST to an invoice shows how to keep extra lines and the tax adding up.

Using the Hamilton welding sample

Download the layout in Word, Excel or PDF with the buttons on this page, or open the welding invoice generator with the farm sample. It loads a callout, onsite hours, two fabricated gates, steel, galvanizing and consumables, with GST at 15% and space for the farm’s details.

For larger jobs billed in stages, the construction progress invoice fits better. Welders working as subcontractors on someone else’s site can use the contractor invoice. More layouts are in the free invoice templates section.