Welder Invoice Template
A welding invoice has to turn a job that mixes labor, steel, gas and travel into something a plant manager, contractor or homeowner can approve without calling you. The fields that do that are the job reference the client recognises (their PO, work order, drawing number or equipment tag), the location (shop, or the site and the asset welded), and separate lines for shop labor, field labor, materials, consumables, mobilization and any inspection or paperwork. One more field matters for tax: whether the job is a repair of the customer's property, a new fabrication, or work on a building, because states tax those differently. Texas taxes repair labor along with the parts; California taxes fabrication labor but not repair labor, and requires repair parts to be shown separately once they pass 10% of the charge. This template keeps every one of those lines apart and has a stage line for multi-week fabrication billed on order, at fit-up and before release. The download is an editable HTML invoice with invoice number, dates, a line-item table and totals; fill it in your browser and print it or save it as PDF.
Preview this editable document
Download the HTML file to edit its fields, then print or save as PDF. Totals are entered manually.
What This Template Includes
- Job reference: client PO, work order, drawing number or equipment tag
- Location: shop, or site address and the asset welded
- Job type: repair, new fabrication or work on a building
- Shop labor: hours × rate, with dates
- Field labor: hours × rate, with portal-to-portal policy
- Materials: plate, tube, pipe and hardware, with heat numbers if traceability is required
- Consumables: wire, rod, filler, shielding gas, discs
- Mobilization or trip charge
- Inspection, NDT and weld documentation
- Material supplied by customer, noted on those items
- Code or specification, e.g. AWS D1.1
- Stage billed, previously invoiced and remaining (fabrication)
How to Create Your Welder Invoice
- 01
Describe your work
Type a plain English description of the services you provided, the client, and the amount.
- 02
AI generates your invoice
InvoiceQuickly's AI drafts the client, line items, dates, and totals for you to review before saving.
- 03
Review, download, and send
Check every detail, download the PDF, or use Pro to email the PDF directly to your client.
Recommended Payment Terms
Match terms to the job. Walk-in repairs and one-off field calls are due on receipt or on pickup, and the part stays in your shop until it is paid. Custom fabrication suits staged payments agreed on the quote, for example 40% when steel is ordered, 30% when the client approves fit-up and 30% on completion before the part is released, because you pay for steel and coating long before the client sees a finished part. Industrial maintenance and shutdown work runs on the client's PO terms, often after the invoice is matched to the PO; invoice weekly or at the end of each phase with daily hours and equipment tags, so one disputed day does not hold up the rest. Get written approval for rush or overtime premiums before you start, and repeat it on the invoice. Put any late-fee terms on the quote as well as the invoice, within the law that applies to you.
Need help writing payment terms? Read our guide to invoice payment terms for best practices and templates.
Tax Information
Sales tax on welding depends on the state and on whether the job is a repair, a new fabrication or work on real property. Texas: repairing tangible personal property such as a trailer is a taxable service, and tax is due on the whole charge, including separately stated labor, parts and consumables (34 Tex. Admin. Code §3.292); the state rate is 6.25% plus up to 2% local tax. California: charges for fabricating new property are taxable, even when the customer supplies the steel (CDTFA Regulation 1526); repair labor is not taxable, tax applies to the parts, and when parts and materials are more than 10% of the total charge the repairer must state their retail price separately on the invoice (CDTFA Regulation 1546); the statewide base rate is 7.25%, and most areas add district taxes. Welding on buildings and other real property usually falls under construction-contractor rules instead. InvoiceQuickly applies one tax percentage to the whole invoice after any discount, so in a state that taxes only the parts, put the parts on their own invoice or work the tax out by hand and add it as a line. It copies saved tax IDs to new invoice PDFs. General information, not tax advice.
Industry context (2026)
Welding is a skilled trade with no single published rate for self-employed work. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median wage of $25.84 an hour ($53,750 a year) for employed welders, cutters, solderers and brazers in May 2025, with the top 10% earning more than $77,530 a year (Occupational Outlook Handbook, accessed October 2026). That is employee pay: a self-employed welder's rate also has to cover the truck, rig, insurance, consumables stock and unbilled hours. Structural work is often done to a named code such as the American Welding Society's AWS D1.1 for structural steel, which adds documentation time worth quoting. Tax is where welding invoices differ most by location: Texas taxes repair labor with the parts (34 Tex. Admin. Code §3.292), while California taxes fabrication labor but not repair labor and requires repair parts above 10% of the charge to be stated separately (CDTFA Regulations 1526 and 1546). Rates checked 27 and 28 October 2026; general information, not tax advice.
Worked example
Worked example (illustrative rates, not market data): a California welding shop repairs a customer's worn skid-steer bucket brought in on 3 November 2026: it removes the old cutting edge, welds in new plate and replaces the bolts. Invoice WD-0211 is issued on 5 November, due on pickup. Line 1: shop repair labor, bucket for unit SS-2, 3 to 4 November, 4 hours × $105.00 = $420.00 (not taxable: repair labor). Line 2: parts, AR plate cutting edge and grade 8 bolts, retail price, 1 lot = $310.00 (taxable). Subtotal $730.00. Sales tax at an assumed 7.25% statewide base rate on the $310.00 of parts only: $22.48. Total $752.48. Because the parts are more than 10% of the $730.00 charge, California requires their retail price to be stated separately, which is why they sit on their own line; the shop also prices its rod and discs into the repair rate rather than itemizing them, and checks the local district rate for its address, which usually adds to 7.25%. The same repair in Texas would be taxed on the whole charge: $730.00 × 8.25% (an assumed maximum combined rate) = $60.23, total $790.23. In InvoiceQuickly, which applies one tax rate to the whole invoice, the California version needs the tax worked out by hand and entered as its own line.
Common mistakes to avoid
'Welding, 4 hrs' and nothing else
No part, location or PO means the invoice gets queried, and queried invoices miss payment runs.
Taxing a repair the wrong way
Applying a fabrication rule to a repair, or a Texas rule in California, over- or under-collects. Decide the job type first and record it on the invoice.
Parts buried in labor
In California, repair parts above 10% of the total must be stated separately at retail price. A single lump-sum line breaks that rule and hides your margin.
Nothing billed until a long job ships
By then you have paid for the steel, the coating and the labor. Bill fabrication in stages agreed on the quote.
Paperwork done for free
Weld maps, procedure records and inspection coordination on coded work take time. Quote them and bill them on their own line.
Invoicing Tips
- 1Lead every line with the client's reference: 'Field labor, repair hinge mount, trailer unit 7, PO 4471'. Accounts-payable teams match invoices to POs; no match, no payment run.
- 2Bill consumables as a line on stainless and aluminium jobs. Filler and argon on a TIG job cost far more than mild steel MIG wire and C25, and a single labor rate hides that.
- 3Charge mobilization on field calls, even short ones. A 30-minute fix still means loading the rig, driving and setting up.
- 4If you bill portal to portal, say so on the quote and on the field labor line, so travel time is not mistaken for padding.
- 5Note 'material supplied by customer' on those items. It avoids double billing and records who supplied steel if a defect turns up.
- 6On staged fabrication invoices, print the running total: 'Previously invoiced $1,884.00. This invoice $1,413.00. Remaining $1,413.00.'
Related Resources
- How to invoice as a welder: building a shop rate, staged fabrication and a field repair
- Progress billing guide
- Sales tax on invoices in Texas
- Sales tax on invoices in California
- Contractor invoicing guide
- Profit margin calculator
Frequently Asked Questions
What should a welding invoice include?
Your business details, the client, an invoice number and dates, the client's PO or job reference, the location, shop and field labor as hours times rate, materials, consumables, mobilization, any inspection or paperwork, tax where it applies, the total, the due date and how to pay.
Should welders charge for consumables separately?
On jobs where consumables are a real cost, yes: list wire, rod, filler, shielding gas and discs as a lot or per job. Folding them into the hourly rate undercharges stainless and aluminium work and makes mild steel jobs look expensive.
Is welding labor taxable?
It depends on the state and the job. Texas taxes repair of tangible personal property, labor included. California taxes fabrication labor but not repair labor; tax falls on the parts. Work on buildings follows contractor rules. Check your state revenue department.
How do I invoice a large fabrication job?
Agree stages on the quote, such as 40% when steel is ordered, 30% at fit-up approval and 30% before release, and send one invoice per stage with the quote and drawing reference and a running total of what has been invoiced and what remains.
Do I need to list heat numbers on a welding invoice?
Only when the job requires material traceability, for example under the client's specification or a code. Then reference the heat numbers or mill test reports on the materials line so the invoice matches the documents you hand over.
Should a mobile welder charge a trip fee?
A flat mobilization charge or distance band covers loading, driving and setup that hourly labor does not. Quote it up front and show it as its own line rather than adding hours to the labor line.
Can I create a welding invoice in InvoiceQuickly?
Yes. Type or say the job, for example '3.5 hours field welding at $120, $150 mobilization, $85 plate and pins', and InvoiceQuickly drafts an editable invoice you review before saving. It applies one tax rate per invoice, so check the tax line for states that tax only parts. On Pro you can send estimates for fabrication jobs and convert an accepted estimate to an invoice.