Builder Invoice Template: Stage Payment Requests Written With AI

Name each stage exactly as your contract does, say what is finished, then show the stage amount, agreed variations, what has been paid and the amount due with a payment date. Give AI those facts and ask for a short request and a polite reminder sequence. You check the figures, the tax and CIS lines, and the stage itself.

Blank templates cover the boxes. What decides whether a stage is paid on time is the wording around them: whether the stage name matches the contract, whether the client can see why money is due now, and whether the reminder that follows keeps the relationship intact. That is the part AI drafts well, provided it is fed the contract's own words and never asked to do the sums or make tax decisions.

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Start from the contract's payment schedule, word for word

An argument about a stage payment is often an argument about what the stage means. If the contract says "Roof structure and covering complete" and your request says "Roof done", the client is entitled to ask what "done" covers. So the first job is to copy the payment schedule into a table you reuse for every request, with the stage names exactly as written and the evidence you will hold when each stage ends.

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Here is the schedule behind every example below: a single-storey rear extension on a contract sum of $84,000. It is an illustration with round numbers, not a recommended split.

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The last column matters more than it looks. It is the answer to "why is this due now?", and it is what you attach to the request. The total row is a control: the shares must add to 100% and the amounts to the contract sum, so a mis-copied percentage shows up before it is repeated on every later request. If your contract holds back retention until a defects period ends, give it its own row at the foot of the schedule.

You can ask an assistant to pull the schedule out of a contract, but you must give it rules that stop it tidying the wording.

Below is the payment clause and schedule from my building contract.
The contract sum is $84,000.
1. List every payment stage in order, copying the stage name exactly as
   written. Do not shorten, reword or merge names.
2. Give each stage's percentage and amount. If only percentages are given,
   work the amount out from the contract sum and show the working.
3. Note anything other than completion that triggers payment, such as a
   certificate, an inspection or written approval of a variation.
4. If anything is unclear, say so. Do not guess.
[contract text pasted here, names and addresses removed]

Compare its table with the contract by eye. That one check stops a wrong stage name or percentage from being copied onto seven invoices.

What each stage request carries, line by line

A stage request is an invoice with a short story attached. These lines, in this order, answer the questions a client is likely to ask before they ask them.

1. Request number and date. Numbered in your own sequence, so a reminder can quote it.
2. Contract reference. The contract date and a short site description.
3. The stage, as written. The exact name and its number, such as "Stage 4 of 7".
4. What is complete. One or two sentences from your site notes, the date the stage finished and the photo numbers attached.
5. Stage amount. With the percentage and the contract sum it comes from.
6. Agreed variations billed with this stage. Each with its reference, the date the client approved it and its price.
7. Tax lines. Placeholders until your accountant has set the treatment (see below).
8. Paid to date and balance. The balance is measured against the adjusted contract sum, meaning the contract sum plus approved variations.
9. Amount due and the due date. With the contract clause that sets the term.
10. The next stage and when you expect to start it.

Bank details and the payment reference sit at the foot. Items 8 and 10 are the easiest to leave out. They show the client where they are in the job, and they tell them what happens next and when.

Stage 4 of the extension, with one variation, worked through

Stages 1 to 3 have been paid: $8,400, $12,600 and $16,800, so $37,800 in all. Stage 4 is finished. Two variations have been approved by the client in writing, and the log keeps track of which stage bills each one.

The request for stage 4 therefore works out as follows. Each figure comes from the schedule or the log, not from the assistant.

There is a second control here. The balance of $29,820 must equal what is still to come: stage 5 at $12,600, stage 6 at $12,600, stage 7 at $4,200 and VO-2 at $420. If those do not add up to the balance, a variation has been billed twice or forgotten. Check that sum before every request; it takes under a minute.

Site notes and photos: the evidence behind the request

The "what is complete" line is only as good as the note you wrote on site. A useful completion note takes two minutes and has four parts: the stage name as written, the date the last operation finished, what you checked, and what remains outstanding, if anything. Photos get a file name that starts with the stage number and the date, such as 04_2026-09-12_roof-flashing-rear, so you can find them again when the client asks.

STAGE 4 COMPLETION NOTE
Stage:       Roof structure and covering complete (stage 4 of 7)
Finished:    12 September
Checked:     covering laid to all pitches; flashings and verge finished;
             ridge bedded; roof void cleared of debris
Outstanding: none for this stage
Photos:      41 to 47 (front pitch, rear pitch, both flashings, verge,
             ridge, view from the scaffold)
Client:      not on site; visited 13 September and saw the finished roof

Compare that with the request typed at the end of a long day: "Roof finished, please pay stage 4." The client has no idea what was checked, which photos to look at or what the amount includes. The note turns into the "what is complete" sentence with one instruction to the assistant, and with one more rule it will refuse to write that sentence when the outstanding line is anything other than "none".

A prompt that drafts the request, and what the draft looks like

Keep the schedule, the variation log and these writing rules in one place. A ChatGPT or Claude Project does this well, because each new request starts from the same instructions instead of from your memory of last time. Remove names and addresses, or check the privacy settings on your plan, before you put client details in.

You are drafting a stage payment request for a small building firm.
Plain, courteous English. Covering email no longer than 180 words.
Use only the facts below.

Client: [first name]
Contract date: [date]  Site: [short site description]
Stage as named in the contract: "Roof structure and covering complete"
(stage 4 of 7)
Stage amount: $16,800.00 (20% of $84,000.00)
Variation VO-1, steel beam over the new opening, approved by email on
3 September: $1,350.00
Paid to date: $37,800.00 (stages 1 to 3)
Balance after this request: $29,820.00
Evidence: roof covering finished 12 September; photos 41 to 47 attached
Payment term: [X] days from the date of this request, as clause [number]
Next stage: "Windows and doors fitted; first fix complete", expected to
start 22 September

Rules: copy the stage name exactly. Do not add, change or round any figure.
Do not mention VAT or CIS; I will add those lines myself. Do not mention
interest or fees. If any fact is missing, write [TO CONFIRM].
Write the line items as a table, then the covering email.

A draft email like this (illustrative) is close to what you would send.

Subject: Stage 4 payment request: Roof structure and covering complete

Hi [first name],

The roof structure and covering were completed on 12 September, so stage 4
of the contract is now due. Photos 41 to 47 are attached, and the request
(number 0412) is below.

Stage 4, Roof structure and covering complete: $16,800.00
Variation VO-1, steel beam over the new opening (approved 3 September): $1,350.00
Subtotal before tax: $18,150.00

Paid to date (stages 1 to 3): $37,800.00
Balance after this request: $29,820.00

Payment is due within [X] days of today, as clause [number] of the contract
sets out. Bank details and the payment reference are on the attached request.

Next is stage 5, windows and doors fitted and first fix complete, which we
expect to start on 22 September.

Thanks,
[your name]

Assistants tend to do three things you must catch in a draft like this. They paraphrase: "your roof is now watertight" is not the stage name and promises something the contract does not. They add courtesies that become commitments: "a small late fee may apply" appears nowhere in the contract. And they reorder: putting the variation before the stage amount makes the first figure on the page look like a bigger bill. The rules in the prompt are there to head off each of those, and you still read the draft against the schedule before it goes anywhere.

Tax and CIS lines are placeholders until your accountant says

The tax treatment of a build depends on who the client is, what the work is and where you trade, and it changes. That is a decision for your accountant, so the prompt leaves those lines out and you add them yourself. The useful thing to do with your accountant is settle four questions once, then store the answers beside the schedule:

• Which tax rate or treatment applies to each kind of job you do, and what the line should say.
• Whether a CIS line belongs on invoices to contractors, and how to show it.
• How to split labour from materials when a client is a contractor.
• Whether the tax line goes on each stage request or only on a final tax invoice.

For the general trade-invoice version of those questions, the tradesman invoice template tutorial covers the tax and CIS lines and reminder wording on an everyday trade invoice. Here the point is narrower: a stage request must not carry a tax line the assistant invented.

The same stage, billed to a householder and to a main contractor

CIS deductions come into play when the client is a contractor paying you as a subcontractor. The scheme's own guide, CIS 340, says private householders are not counted as contractors and so are not covered by the scheme (section 1.2). The guide does not tell subcontractors what to put on an invoice. The deduction is the contractor's job, and it appears on the statement they give you later. I would still show the split between labour and materials, because the contractor works the deduction out from it and the guide lets them ask you for evidence of what the materials cost (section 3.13). Let your accountant confirm the format. That is why the same stage looks different on paper for the two clients.

Take stage 4 at $16,800 and leave the variation out to keep the sums short. Say you supplied $7,000 of materials and the rest is labour.

The rate depends on the result of the contractor's verification check on you, and the split is something your accountant should confirm. If you work under CIS, the CIS deduction statement tutorial lists what the contractor's monthly statement to you must show and how the deduction on it is worked out, so you can match it against the stage requests you sent.

A four-step reminder ladder that stays polite

A late stage payment is not always a refusal. The request may have gone to the wrong inbox, a bank transfer limit may be in the way, or nobody may have the figures to hand. A ladder with a fixed rhythm lets you chase without improvising, and it lets AI draft each rung in the same voice. The broader tutorial on chasing unpaid invoices for trades covers tone for any invoice; this ladder is built around stage payments, where the next stage often depends on the money.

STEP 0 (two working days before the due date)
Hi [first name], just a heads-up that stage 4 (request 0412, $18,150.00 before
tax) falls due on [date]. The request and bank details are attached again in
case that is easier. We're on track to start stage 5 on 22 September. If
anything in the request needs explaining, call me on [phone].

STEP 1 (the day after the due date)
Hi [first name], I wanted to check request 0412 reached you. It fell due
yesterday and I haven't seen the payment yet, which is probably crossed wires.
Could you confirm you have it? [your name]

STEP 2 (seven days after the due date)
Hi [first name], request 0412 for stage 4 is now a week overdue and I'd like
to keep stage 5 on schedule. Could you tell me by [date] when it will be paid?
If anything about the stage or the figures is unclear, I'm happy to go through
it on [phone]. [your name]

Compare step 2 with the message you might type at the end of a long week: "Hi, you owe me 18k for the roof. Pay today or my lads come off site." It is understandable, and it hands the client a grievance. The step 2 version asks for one thing, a date, gives a reason that benefits both sides and offers a conversation. If a two-person crew costing $520 a day stands idle for three days waiting for a stage payment, that is $1,560 gone, which is why the step 0 heads-up is worth sending.

I have not drafted step 3 in full on purpose. Anything that mentions suspending work, interest or formal notice depends on your contract and on the law where you trade. The payment notice tutorial covers the deadlines that matter. Have a solicitor read your step 3 wording once, then reuse it.

Where stage requests go wrong in practice

• The assistant renames the stage. It writes "roof complete" for "Roof structure and covering complete". Fix: paste the names in, tell it to copy them, and compare the output.
• It rounds a site note up to "complete". Your note says the roof covering is 90% done and the rear flashing is outstanding; the draft says the stage is complete. Fix: add the rule "if the notes mention anything unfinished, do not say the stage is complete; list what is outstanding", and remember that you, not the assistant, decide when a stage ends.
• A variation is billed twice, or forgotten. The balance check against the remaining stages catches both.
• The percentage is mis-copied. A stage at 25% instead of 20% goes out for $21,000 instead of $16,800. The total row on the schedule catches it before it is used.
• The assistant picks a tax treatment. It adds a tax line at a rate it has seen often, because the request looked as if it needed one. Fix: the prompt rule above, and a placeholder.
• A reminder goes to someone who has already paid. Check the bank before each rung of the ladder, and have the prompt ask you for the payment status.

A realistic dispute shows why the stage name matters. The homeowner writes: "The roof is finished but there are no windows in yet, so why am I paying for stage 4?" The reply below keeps to the contract's own words and offers a call instead of arguing by email.

Hi [first name], good question. Stage 4 in the contract is "Roof structure and
covering complete", and that is the work finished on 12 September. The windows
and doors are in stage 5 ("Windows and doors fitted; first fix complete"),
which starts on 22 September and is billed when it ends. If you'd like to go
through the schedule together, I can call you at [time]. [your name]

If a variation changes what a stage covers, the sibling tutorial on pricing variations and change orders shows how to price and record it before it reaches a request.

Setting it up in QuickBooks or on a plain sheet

If you already use QuickBooks Online, Intuit's help article on progress invoices describes the route. You turn it on under Settings, Account and settings, then the Sales tab, in the Progress Invoicing section ("Create multiple partial invoices from a single estimate"). Build an estimate with the seven stages as lines, then invoice one stage at a time by line item (the other choices are the whole estimate or a percentage of the work done). The article's product list covers all the QuickBooks Online plans, and it says that if you try to invoice past 100% of the estimate you can only add what is left of the balance, which is a handy guard against billing a stage twice. Confirm what your own plan shows before you rely on it.

If you do not use accounting software for this, a sheet does the job. One row per stage with these columns is enough:

• Stage number, name as written, share and amount.
• Date complete and evidence reference.
• Request number, date sent, due date and date paid.
• Days to pay, worked out by formula, and a notes cell for conversations.

Beneath the table keep the variation log, and put the two controls in cells so they show red if they fail: the shares and amounts equal the contract sum, and the balance equals the unbilled stages plus unbilled variations.

How to tell the new routine is working

Track four numbers for a month or two. The time between a stage finishing and the request going out should shrink towards the same day. Days from request to payment, by stage, show which stage the client finds hardest to accept, which often points to a vague stage name. The number of reminders that reach step 2 tells you whether the heads-up at step 0 is doing its job. And the number of disputes should fall, because the stage name, the evidence and the figures now arrive together.

On time, say you send eight stage requests a month. At 30 minutes each, finding the notes, writing the lines and checking them, that is four hours. At 12 minutes each with the prompt and the checks, it is 96 minutes. The saving of just under two and a half hours is real but it is not the main gain; requests going out on the day a stage finishes is. If you would rather map this onto your own jobs and software with someone, that is what my AI implementation consultation covers, and you can book it through the contact page.

Questions builders ask about stage payment requests

Can I put interest or a late fee in a reminder?

Only if your contract provides for it or the law where you trade allows it. Don't let AI add a fee on its own, because an invented charge can sour the relationship and may not be enforceable. Ask a solicitor once what your contract supports, then paste that exact wording into your prompt so the assistant repeats it and nothing more.

Do I need to attach photos to every stage request?

Not always, but photos tied to the stage definition answer 'why is this due now?' before the client asks. Send a handful of clear ones named by stage and date, keep the originals, and leave out anything showing other people or private belongings. Your contract may also name other evidence, such as an inspection record, so check it.

What should I do if the client disputes a stage?

Reply calmly with the stage name from the contract and the evidence you hold, and offer a call. Then read what your contract says about disputed amounts, since some let you ask for payment of the undisputed part. Avoid AI-written threats in the meantime. If the argument is about money owed, a solicitor should read your next letter.

Further reads

• Tradify for Builders: Set Up Quotes, Variations and Stage Payments — Setting up quotes, variations and stage payments inside Tradify.
• Fergus for Builders: Job Costing and Progress Claims, With Fergus AI — Progress claims and job costing in Fergus, with its AI features.
• How to Chase Late Payments With AI Reminders That Sound Human — Reminder tone for any trade, not only stage payments.
• Best AI App for Carpenters: Measuring, Quoting and Invoicing Compared — One wardrobe job, run through measuring, cut-list, quoting and invoicing apps, with the right answers to check and vendor-page prices.
• Bathroom Renovation Scope of Work: Draft Room-by-Room Lines With AI — How to turn site notes into numbered scope lines for each bathroom, with exclusions, allowances and client-supplied item rules that prevent disputes.
• Best AI for Builders: Pick the First Job by Hours Lost and Risk — A scoring sheet for small building firms: rank missed calls, quote follow-up, payment chasing and site notes by hours lost and risk, then start with the winner.
• AI Tools and AI Development: The Complete 2026 Guide — the AI hub, including every tutorial in the AI-for-business series.

Sources: Intuit help article on setting up and sending progress invoices in QuickBooks Online (read October 2026); the gov.uk Construction Industry Scheme guide CIS 340, sections 1.2 and 3.13 (updated 27 August 2026). Contract figures and sample messages are illustrations, not templates to send unchecked.