Free Fencing Invoice Template & Generator

Count the holes, not just the feet

Linear footage alone doesn't price a fence, because the digging follows the post count and the post count is what a customer audits. On a continuous run, posts equal sections plus one; each gate opening then needs its own pair of posts, and those gate posts double as the terminals for the runs beside them, so they don't get counted twice. The Hollis backyard below is 182 ft of enclosure — 168 ft of picketed fence plus a 4 ft walk gate and a 10 ft drive gate opening — and the two gates split the fence into runs of 64, 72, and 32 ft. At 8 ft on center that is 8 + 9 + 4 = 21 sections across three runs, so 21 + 3 = 24 post positions, four of them gate posts. Read it instead as one uninterrupted 168 ft run and you get 22 line posts plus 4 gate posts, and you bill two holes nobody dug. Put the footage, the hole count, the hole depth, and the post size on the invoice — frost depth and local code set the depth — so a customer comparing two bids can see why the cheaper one has fewer posts.

Tear-out, footings, and the dump ticket are three separate lines

Pulling an old fence is not one job. Cutting chain link fabric and top rail loose is per-foot work; breaking concrete footings out of the ground is slow per-footing work that has nothing to do with the fence you're building; and the transfer station charges by weight, not by the load. Price all three separately or the customer reads the entire removal charge as padding on the new fence. Weight is the part that surprises people: old footings and steel posts outweigh the fabric several times over, so the dump ticket on a chain link tear-out looks nothing like the one on a wood fence. Bill unseen conditions the same way — rock that stalls the auger, or a grade drop that forces racked panels instead of stepped ones. And calling 811 before you dig is a legal requirement in every state, not a scheduling nicety: the locate itself is free, but it marks public utility lines only, so the irrigation zones, landscape lighting, and the feed to a detached garage or pool that run through a backyard like this one are the owner's responsibility and usually need a paid private locate. Your state sets the 811 lead time, so book both before you promise a start date.

A 6 ft cedar job for the Hollis backyard, itemized

Bramblewood Fence Co. replaces a chain link backyard fence with 6 ft cedar privacy — 4x4 posts, two 2x4 rails, 5/8 in dog-ear pickets, post caps. Removal first: tear out and haul 182 linear feet of 4 ft chain link fabric, top rail, and hardware at $3.75/LF = $682.50; break out and remove 21 old post footings at $22.00 each = $462.00; transfer-station disposal, 3.2 tons at $58.00 per ton = $185.60. Removal and disposal: $1,330.10. Then the new fence: cedar materials — posts, rails, pickets, caps, fasteners — 168 LF at $21.50/LF = $3,612.00; concrete, 80 sixty-pound bags at $6.50 = $520.00 (three per line post, five per 6x6 gate post); a 4 ft walk gate with frame and hardware at $385.00; and a 10 ft double drive gate with drop rod and heavy hinges at $1,150.00. Materials and gates: $5,667.00. Stating the height and the picket and rail spec is what lets a homeowner compare that $21.50/LF against another bid at all.

Labor, tax, and what is actually due

Two labor lines finish it, scoped so nothing gets billed twice. Post setting is priced per hole because that is how it is dug: 20 line posts in 30 in holes at $28.00 = $560.00, and 4 gate posts, 6x6 in 42 in holes, at $65.00 = $260.00 — auger, set, plumb, and brace only, with the concrete already billed as material above. Everything else is one line that says on its face what it excludes: framing, pickets, caps, and gate hanging, 46 crew-hours at $58.00 = $2,668.00, excluding post setting and tear-out. Those hours span two visits, because the footings cure before rails and pickets go on. Removal, disposal, and labor come to $4,818.10; with $5,667.00 of materials and gates the pre-tax invoice is $10,485.10, roughly $62 a foot all in. If your state taxes the material portion of a fence job — many treat a permanent fence as a real-property improvement and don't, so confirm the treatment with your accountant before you bill it either way — an example 7% on $5,667.00 adds $396.69, for $10,881.79. Less the $4,350.00 deposit, the balance due is $6,531.79.

Deposit at the lumber order, balance at the last picket

Your money leaves the account when posts, pickets, and concrete get loaded, often a week or two before anyone digs — so tie the deposit on the invoice to that order date and the estimate number it came from, not to a vague "start of work." Fence contractors commonly ask 30% to 50% up front for exactly this reason; the $4,350.00 here is right at 40% of the accepted estimate, which is why the final invoice shows the deposit and its date rather than just a smaller total. Put Net 15 or Net 30 on the balance and reference the signed estimate number in the notes. On long commercial runs, bill completed footage instead: 400 of 1,200 feet set, capped, and gates hung is a progress invoice a customer can walk and verify. "Phase one" is not.

How do I make a fencing invoice for free?

Start from this template and enter the job the way the crew actually ran it: the fence line at your per-foot rate, line posts and gate posts on their own per-hole lines, each gate as its own line, and tear-out, footing removal, and the dump ticket kept apart from the new fence. Add your business details and the job address, and the line totals, deposit, and any tax line update as you type. Building and previewing the whole invoice is free. Downloading the finished PDF for one fence costs $2.29, or Unlimited is $9 per month or $69 per year if you are closing out several jobs a week.

The fence line came out longer than my estimate. How do I invoice the difference?

Re-measure the as-built line post to post before you invoice, not off the plat. Bill the actual footage on the fence line item, then show the added posts, concrete, and pickets as separate lines so the extra feet don't look like a markup on the original rate — an extra 16 ft at 8 ft on center is two more sections and two more holes. Reference the estimate number and the date the customer approved the longer run, and get that approval in writing before the extra holes are dug.

Do I charge sales tax on the whole fence or only the materials?

It depends on your state and how the contract is written. Many states treat a permanent fence as a real-property improvement, where the contractor pays tax on posts, pickets, and concrete at purchase and charges the customer no sales tax on the finished job; others expect tax on the material portion of the invoice. Itemize materials, gates, and concrete separately from post setting and install labor either way, so the split already exists if it turns out you need it. Have your accountant confirm which treatment applies before you bill a fence job that way.

How should I bill removal when the old posts are set in concrete?

Split it into three lines, because they are three different costs. Charge per linear foot for pulling fabric, top rail, and hardware; charge per footing — or hourly, if they have to be jackhammered — for concrete that has to come out of the ground; and put disposal on its own line at the transfer station's weight-based rate. On the job above, the 21 footings are most of the 3.2 tons, while the fabric and steel posts are a small share and a scrap yard may take those for credit instead. Quoting removal as one per-foot number hides all of that, and you eat the difference when the footings turn out bigger than they looked.