Invoicing and quoting software for builders

Stage payments, not one invoice at the end

Nobody should fund a six-week build from their own account. Break the quote into stages — groundworks, structure, first fix, second fix, completion — and invoice each as it finishes. Cash comes in as costs go out, and a customer who stops paying stops the job early rather than at the end.

Variations are where the margin goes

Every "while you're here" costs a builder money unless it is written down. Raise each variation as its own priced document, get it agreed, and add it as a separate line on the next stage invoice. It keeps the original quote clean and defensible.

Track materials against the job

Log merchant spend, plant hire, skips and fuel against the job as you go, mark what is rechargeable, and you can see the real margin while there is still time to do something about it — not at year end when your accountant tells you.

Contractor work: CIS and reverse charge

If you invoice other contractors, labour is subject to CIS deductions and the VAT domestic reverse charge usually applies. Both need to appear correctly on the invoice or it comes straight back. Telaro handles both as explicit lines with the right wording.

What builders use most

• Quotes with itemised stages, exclusions and a validity window.
• Deposit and retention tracking with a running balance.
• Job costing against materials, hire and labour.
• Site address recorded separately from the client's billing address.
• Branded A4 PDFs and emailed documents with your logo on every page.