Job sheet template
The job sheet is what turns a day's work into an accurate invoice and, if it ever comes to it, into evidence. These are the fields worth having on it.
Job identification
- Job number
- Unique, and carried through to the invoice so the two can be matched.
- Date and times on site
- Arrival and departure. This is the line that settles an hours dispute.
- Customer name and site address
- The site address, which is often not the billing address.
- Site contact and number
- Who let you in and who to call about access.
- Operative(s) on site
- Who did the work. Necessary if you are ever asked to account for it.
The work
- Reported fault or scope
- In the customer's words as well as yours. It shows what you were asked to do.
- Work carried out
- What was actually done, in enough detail to justify each invoice line.
- Parts and materials used
- Quantities and part numbers. This feeds both the invoice and your stock.
- Labour hours
- Actual hours, per operative, separate from travel.
- Travel and mileage
- Recorded separately from labour so it can be charged, or absorbed, deliberately.
- Further work required
- What you could not do today and why. This is where the next quote comes from.
Evidence and sign-off
- Before photographs
- Timestamped. The condition you found it in.
- After photographs
- Timestamped. The completed work, especially where it will be hidden or is out of sight.
- Meter readings or test results
- Where the trade requires them.
- Customer signature
- Confirming the work described was carried out. Capture the printed name too.
- Customer comments
- Anything they raised on the day, recorded at the time rather than remembered later.
Why the photographs matter more than the signature
Most trade payment disputes are not about whether the invoice arrived. They are defended on quality: the work was not done, or not done properly. A signature confirms someone was present. Timestamped, location-stamped before-and-after photographs answer the actual allegation, and they are unusually persuasive precisely because they are hard to reconstruct after the fact.
Record the reported fault in the customer's words
Scope disputes come from the gap between what the customer thinks they asked for and what you understood. Writing their description down at the start, in their language, closes that gap on paper before the work begins. It also makes the “that is not what I asked for” conversation short.
Times on site, not just hours
Recording arrival and departure rather than a total is a small difference that settles hourly-rate arguments outright. A total is an assertion; two clock times are a record. Where a job spans several visits, keep them as separate lines rather than one accumulated figure.
Keep it with the invoice, not in a folder
A job sheet that lives in a van, a folder or a phone camera roll is not evidence you can produce quickly. If it ever supports a claim, you need the quote, the job sheet, the photographs and the invoice as one chain. Six years is the limitation period for a debt claim, which is a long time to keep a paper pile findable.
Questions
What should a job sheet include?
A unique job number, the date and times on site, the customer and site address, who attended, the reported fault, the work actually carried out, parts used, labour hours, travel, any further work required, before and after photographs, and a customer signature with printed name.
What is the difference between a job sheet and an invoice?
A job sheet records what happened on site. An invoice requests payment for it. The job sheet is the evidence the invoice is built from — which is why the job number should appear on both, so one can be traced to the other.
Does a customer have to sign the job sheet?
There is no legal requirement, but an unsigned job sheet is materially weaker if the work is later disputed. Where nobody is available to sign, note that on the sheet and rely on the timestamped photographs instead.
How long should I keep job sheets?
At least six years. That matches the record-keeping period for accounts and the limitation period for pursuing an unpaid debt through the courts. Digital copies are fine and are far easier to retrieve than paper.
Can a job sheet be digital?
Yes, and it is generally better. A digital job sheet captures the timestamp and location automatically, attaches the photographs to the job rather than to a camera roll, and can populate the invoice directly instead of being retyped.
Guidance, not tax or legal advice. UK requirements checked against GOV.UK and HMRC guidance in September 2026. If you are unsure about VAT, CIS or the reverse charge, see the VAT, CIS and MTD guide or ask your accountant.
A template you fill in is still paperwork.
Love Invoicing builds the same document from the job, with the numbers already in it, and chases it until it is paid.
Explore related pages
All Templates
Every invoice, quote and job sheet template.
CIS Calculator
Deduction with the labour and materials split.
Reverse Charge Wording
Exactly what to put on the invoice.
Late Payment Calculator
What you can charge on an overdue invoice.
Features
Every Love Invoicing feature explained.
Pricing
Simple per-seat pricing.