Free auto repair and mechanic invoice template

The basics

• your shop name, address, phone and any state registration number
• the customer’s name and the vehicle: year, make, model, VIN or plate, and the odometer reading in
• an invoice number and the date
• each part with its part number, and whether it is new, used, rebuilt or reconditioned
• labor as hours times your rate, even when you bill book time
• subtotals for parts and labor, then sales tax and the total
• your warranty on parts and labor, in months and miles

California: Bureau of Automotive Repair rules

California’s Bureau of Automotive Repair sets out the rules in its Write It Right guide for repair shops.

• Before any work, a written estimate describing the job, with the estimated price for parts and labor. Record the customer’s authorization on it, with the date, time, name and contact details.
• A new authorization before any work or charge beyond the estimate.
• On the invoice: your Bureau registration number, your business name and address as the Bureau has them, each service with its price, each part marked new, used, reconditioned or rebuilt (and OEM or non-OEM for crash parts), a labor subtotal, a parts subtotal before tax, sales tax and the total.
• No separate charge for generic shop supplies or miscellaneous parts. If you charge for shop supplies, price them in the estimate.
• Keep invoices and estimates for at least three years.

Source: Bureau of Automotive Repair: Write It Right

Florida: the Motor Vehicle Repair Act

When a repair will cost more than $150, the customer chooses on a printed form: a written estimate, no estimate as long as the cost stays under an amount they set, or no estimate at all.

The invoice shows the date and odometer reading, the work done, an itemized list of all labor, parts and merchandise, whether each part is used, rebuilt or reconditioned, your guarantee with its time and mileage, and your registration number.

Sources: Florida s.559.905, Florida s.559.911

Sales tax on parts, not labor

In California, charges for labor and services are generally not taxable, parts used in the repair are, and labor has to be on its own line of the invoice. This template keeps them apart: enter your rate, untick “Charge sales tax on this line” on each labor line, and tax is worked out on the parts only. Other states set their own rules, so check yours.

Source: CDTFA: auto repair garages

Garages and mobile mechanics in the UK

The normal UK invoice rules apply: a unique number, your name and address, the customer’s name and address, the work done, the dates and the total, with VAT only if you are registered. If no price was agreed beforehand, the customer pays a reasonable price for the service, and no more.

Garages accredited by The Motor Ombudsman follow its Service and Repair Code: an estimate is a guide that can go up or down, a quotation is a firm price, the garage asks before doing any extra work, and unless a fixed price was agreed the final invoice itemises the work, parts, labour rate and hours, other charges and VAT.

Sources: gov.uk: what an invoice must include, Consumer Rights Act 2015 s.51, The Motor Ombudsman Service and Repair Code