GuidesGetting paid

Invoice payment terms for tradies

Updated October 2026. General information, not tax or legal advice.

“Pay on receipt” is not a date. Put a due date on the invoice, print the BSB and account number, and use the invoice number as the reference you will search for in the bank feed.

The terms below are common practice. They are not a debt-collection kit, and building work has extra rules in each state.

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Pick a due date and print it

Small domestic jobs are often due on completion or within 7 days. Trade accounts are often 14 or 30 days. Write the calendar date, not only “14 days”, so there is nothing to count.

Docket’s invoice starts at 14 days from the issue date. Change it if your terms are different. The due date is a field, not a sentence buried in the footer.

Deposits and progress claims

A deposit before you order a hot-water unit or a load of turf is reasonable. Say what it covers.
On a longer job, invoice the stage you have finished: deposit, progress, completion. Each invoice should describe that stage so it does not look like a second copy of the whole quote.
Residential building work often has a cap on the deposit and rules for progress payments. The cap is different in each state and it changes. Check your state building authority before you take a large deposit.
Every state and territory has a security of payment law for construction work. The notice periods are strict. This page will not walk you through a payment claim. If a builder is not paying, read your state’s Act or ask your association or a lawyer.

Make the payment easy to match

Print the account name, BSB, account number, and the invoice number as the reference. PayID is optional. A client who has to text you for the BSB pays later.

If you charge interest on overdue invoices, the rate has to be in the terms they accepted, and it still has to be fair. A surprise percentage on the final invoice is a good way to lose the client and, for a small-business contract, to trip the unfair-contract rules. If interest is not in the quote, do not invent it on the due date.

Short answers

What payment terms should a tradie put on an invoice?

A real due date, the bank details, and the invoice number as the reference. Seven days or due on completion suits small domestic jobs. Fourteen or thirty days is common on account. Use the terms you actually enforce.

Can I add late fees if they were not on the quote?

Do not add a fee the client never agreed to. If you want interest or a late fee, put it in the quote or the contract before the work starts, and keep it modest enough that it is not an unfair term.

Use your own name on the next one.

Start a free quote

GuidesGetting paid

Invoice payment terms for tradies

Updated October 2026. General information, not tax or legal advice.

“Pay on receipt” is not a date. Put a due date on the invoice, print the BSB and account number, and use the invoice number as the reference you will search for in the bank feed.

The terms below are common practice. They are not a debt-collection kit, and building work has extra rules in each state.

Start a free quote

Pick a due date and print it

Small domestic jobs are often due on completion or within 7 days. Trade accounts are often 14 or 30 days. Write the calendar date, not only “14 days”, so there is nothing to count.

Docket’s invoice starts at 14 days from the issue date. Change it if your terms are different. The due date is a field, not a sentence buried in the footer.

Deposits and progress claims

A deposit before you order a hot-water unit or a load of turf is reasonable. Say what it covers.
On a longer job, invoice the stage you have finished: deposit, progress, completion. Each invoice should describe that stage so it does not look like a second copy of the whole quote.
Residential building work often has a cap on the deposit and rules for progress payments. The cap is different in each state and it changes. Check your state building authority before you take a large deposit.
Every state and territory has a security of payment law for construction work. The notice periods are strict. This page will not walk you through a payment claim. If a builder is not paying, read your state’s Act or ask your association or a lawyer.

Make the payment easy to match

Print the account name, BSB, account number, and the invoice number as the reference. PayID is optional. A client who has to text you for the BSB pays later.

Short answers

What payment terms should a tradie put on an invoice?

Can I add late fees if they were not on the quote?

Do not add a fee the client never agreed to. If you want interest or a late fee, put it in the quote or the contract before the work starts, and keep it modest enough that it is not an unfair term.

Use your own name on the next one.

Start a free quote

GuidesGetting paid

Invoice payment terms for tradies

Updated October 2026. General information, not tax or legal advice.

“Pay on receipt” is not a date. Put a due date on the invoice, print the BSB and account number, and use the invoice number as the reference you will search for in the bank feed.

The terms below are common practice. They are not a debt-collection kit, and building work has extra rules in each state.

Start a free quote

Pick a due date and print it

Small domestic jobs are often due on completion or within 7 days. Trade accounts are often 14 or 30 days. Write the calendar date, not only “14 days”, so there is nothing to count.

Docket’s invoice starts at 14 days from the issue date. Change it if your terms are different. The due date is a field, not a sentence buried in the footer.

Deposits and progress claims

A deposit before you order a hot-water unit or a load of turf is reasonable. Say what it covers.
On a longer job, invoice the stage you have finished: deposit, progress, completion. Each invoice should describe that stage so it does not look like a second copy of the whole quote.
Residential building work often has a cap on the deposit and rules for progress payments. The cap is different in each state and it changes. Check your state building authority before you take a large deposit.
Every state and territory has a security of payment law for construction work. The notice periods are strict. This page will not walk you through a payment claim. If a builder is not paying, read your state’s Act or ask your association or a lawyer.

Make the payment easy to match

Print the account name, BSB, account number, and the invoice number as the reference. PayID is optional. A client who has to text you for the BSB pays later.

Short answers

What payment terms should a tradie put on an invoice?

Can I add late fees if they were not on the quote?

Do not add a fee the client never agreed to. If you want interest or a late fee, put it in the quote or the contract before the work starts, and keep it modest enough that it is not an unfair term.

Use your own name on the next one.

Start a free quote