Free invoice template for lawn mowing

A clean mowing invoice takes two minutes once you know what goes on it. Here's the structure - the line items, the required fields, and a checklist you can keep.

The line items a mowie actually bills

Don't send one vague line saying "yard work". List what you did as separate items, so the customer sees the value at a glance and never rings to ask what they're paying for. The usual suspects:

Use the ones that match the job and put your price against each, or one price for the lot with the items listed underneath. Either works. The point is the customer can see exactly what happened in their yard.

What makes it a valid invoice

Most mowies start out under the $75k GST threshold, and that decides what the document is called. Not registered for GST: it's headed "Invoice", with no GST line anywhere. Registered: it becomes a "Tax invoice" with the GST shown. That's the $75k question, and the full field rules live in what has to be on a tax invoice.

The copy-and-keep checklist

• Your business name and ABN
• "Invoice" - or "Tax invoice" only if you're GST-registered
• Invoice number and the date you issued it
• Customer's name (required over $1,000, a good habit always)
• The job address and the line items above
• GST shown if registered, no GST line if not
• Total, due date, and how to pay - a pay link beats typed bank details

Send it from the job

Mowing runs on regulars, and regulars run on rhythm: invoice the same day, every time, before you've left the kerb. Fresh invoices get paid; Sunday-night batches get chased. Keep a copy of every one for 5 years, because the ATO expects it.

General information only - check the ATO or your accountant for your own situation.