Clearing and Grading Invoice Template
Download a clearing and grading invoice template to bill labor, equipment, excavation, fill, hauling, disposal, erosion control, change orders, and retainage.
Create Clear Invoices for Clearing, Earthwork, and Grading
A clearing and grading invoice gives sitework contractors a structured way to bill labor, equipment, clearing, grubbing, excavation, fill placement, hauling, disposal, compaction, fine grading, erosion control, testing, approved changes, stored materials, and retainage. It helps customers and general contractors understand what work was completed, how quantities were measured, and how the current payment amount was calculated.
This Clearing and Grading Invoice Template is designed for grading contractors, excavation subcontractors, earthwork contractors, land-clearing companies, site-development contractors, demolition contractors, project managers, office administrators, accounting teams, and construction business owners.
What Is a Clearing and Grading Invoice?
A clearing and grading invoice is a billing document issued for completed site-preparation and earthwork services. It may be used for lump-sum progress billing, unit-priced work, time-and-material work, equipment rental, approved change orders, retainage release, or a final contract balance.
Depending on the project, the invoice may cover mobilization, survey support, clearing, grubbing, tree and stump removal, topsoil stripping, excavation, imported fill, unsuitable-soil removal, rock excavation, hauling, disposal, moisture conditioning, compaction, rough grading, fine grading, erosion control, dust control, testing, cleanup, and demobilization.
When to Use This Template
- Billing land clearing, grubbing, and tree removal
- Submitting mass excavation or grading progress invoices
- Billing imported fill, aggregate, or structural backfill
- Charging for export, hauling, disposal, or tipping fees
- Billing unsuitable-soil removal and replacement
- Charging for rock excavation, ripping, hammering, or processing
- Billing equipment and operators by hour, day, or shift
- Submitting unit-priced or time-and-material earthwork invoices
- Billing approved change orders or delay-related standby
- Requesting retainage release or final payment after closeout
Who Should Use This Template?
This template is suitable for clearing contractors, grading contractors, excavation subcontractors, earthwork companies, demolition contractors, site-development contractors, utility contractors, civil subcontractors, project managers, superintendents, office administrators, and accounting teams.
It can be adapted for residential subdivisions, commercial sites, multifamily projects, industrial facilities, municipal work, schools, healthcare projects, roadway improvements, warehouses, utility corridors, renewable-energy sites, and public infrastructure.
What a Clearing and Grading Invoice Should Include
| Invoice Section | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Contractor and Customer Details | Identifies the sitework contractor, customer, general contractor, owner, project, billing contact, and remittance information. |
| Invoice Information | Records the invoice number, billing period, invoice date, due date, payment terms, contract number, and purchase order. |
| Earthwork Line Items | Lists clearing, grubbing, stripping, excavation, fill, import, export, rock, compaction, grading, and restoration activities. |
| Quantity and Rate Details | Shows acres, bank cubic yards, loose cubic yards, compacted cubic yards, tons, loads, hours, unit rates, and extended amounts. |
| Labor Charges | Separates foremen, operators, laborers, grade checkers, mechanics, survey support, regular time, overtime, standby, and rework. |
| Equipment Charges | Tracks dozers, excavators, loaders, scrapers, graders, compactors, water trucks, haul trucks, rock equipment, and support equipment. |
| Hauling and Disposal | Records haul routes, truck types, payloads, loads, haul quantities, trucking rates, tipping fees, borrow fees, and disposal costs. |
| Contract Billing | Summarizes original contract value, approved changes, previous billing, current billing, stored materials, retainage, and remaining balance. |
| Adjustments | Records taxes, deposits, discounts, credits, backcharges, allowances, escalation, and retainage release. |
| Supporting Documentation | References quantity reports, truck tickets, scale tickets, disposal receipts, equipment logs, time sheets, test reports, daily logs, and change approvals. |
How to Use the Template
- Enter the contractor, customer, project, billing contact, and remittance information.
- Assign a unique invoice number and confirm the billing period, invoice date, due date, and payment terms.
- List each work area, cost code, schedule-of-values item, unit-price item, or approved change separately.
- Enter measured quantities using the correct basis, such as bank cubic yards, loose cubic yards, compacted cubic yards, tons, loads, acres, or equipment hours.
- Separate labor, equipment, fuel, trucking, disposal, import material, erosion control, survey, testing, and subcontractor charges where required.
- Reference the contract, purchase order, work order, unit-price schedule, quantity report, or change order supporting each charge.
- Record previous billing, stored materials, retainage, deposits, credits, taxes, backcharges, and payments received.
- Attach required time sheets, truck tickets, scale tickets, disposal receipts, test reports, delivery records, and approved change documentation.
- Review quantity basis, rates, haul routes, tax treatment, and calculations before issuing the invoice.
- Track payment, disputes, retainage, and the remaining balance until the invoice is closed.
A grading subcontractor submits a monthly progress invoice for a warehouse site. The invoice bills 7.5 acres of clearing, 12,400 bank cubic yards of excavation, 9,800 compacted cubic yards of fill placement, 4,350 tons of unsuitable-soil export, 620 truckloads, 41 hours of rock hammering, 18 acres of rough grading, and erosion-control maintenance. It also includes an approved change order for undercut below the building pad, deducts previous billing, applies contract retainage, and references quantity surveys, truck tickets, disposal receipts, daily logs, and compaction-test reports.
Best Practices for Clearing and Grading Invoices
- Use descriptions that match the contract scope and earthwork cost codes.
- Identify the work area, phase, material type, haul route, and quantity basis.
- Keep bank, loose, and compacted cubic yards separate.
- Show measurable quantities for unit-priced work.
- Separate equipment hours, labor hours, trucking, disposal, and imported materials.
- Reference approved change orders individually.
- Reconcile trucking charges with tickets, payloads, routes, and disposal receipts.
- Document standby, rework, weather impacts, and changed conditions separately.
- Apply retainage and taxes consistently with the agreement.
- Preserve revised, credited, disputed, and voided invoice history.
Common Clearing and Grading Invoice Mistakes
- Using vague descriptions without work areas or quantities
- Mixing bank, loose, and compacted cubic yards
- Billing unapproved change work as base-contract work
- Failing to separate previous billing from current billing
- Applying the wrong retainage percentage
- Billing trucking without supporting tickets or haul-route records
- Failing to deduct credits, rejected loads, backcharges, deposits, or prior payments
- Using inconsistent tax treatment for materials, fuel, equipment, hauling, and disposal
- Submitting standby, rock, undercut, or weather charges without authorization
- Closing the invoice before payment, retainage, testing, and closeout obligations are reconciled
Frequently Asked Questions
What should be included on a clearing and grading invoice?
Include contractor and customer details, project information, billing dates, payment terms, work descriptions, quantities, units, rates, equipment charges, trucking, taxes, retainage, previous billing, payments, and the current balance due.
What units are commonly used for earthwork billing?
Common units include acres, square feet, linear feet, bank cubic yards, loose cubic yards, compacted cubic yards, tons, truckloads, equipment hours, labor hours, and lump-sum schedule-of-values amounts.
How should excavation quantities be identified?
State whether the quantity is bank, loose, or compacted and identify the measurement source, such as survey volumes, truck tickets, scale tickets, field measurements, or an approved schedule-of-values percentage.
Can the template support progress billing?
Yes. Track the original schedule-of-values amount, previous billing, current completion, stored materials where permitted, retainage, and remaining balance for each billing item.
How should trucking and disposal be billed?
List the material, origin, destination, truck type, quantity, payload, loads, rate, tipping fee, scale fee, permit fee, and disposal receipt reference.
Can equipment be billed separately?
Yes, when allowed by the contract. Record the equipment type, equipment ID, operator, hours, rate, fuel, delivery, pickup, standby, and supporting daily equipment record.
What backup may be required?
Supporting records may include time sheets, daily logs, survey quantities, truck tickets, scale tickets, disposal receipts, equipment logs, delivery tickets, compaction tests, proof-roll reports, photos, approved change orders, and lien waivers.
When should a final invoice be issued?
Issue the final invoice after the billable earthwork scope, final grading, erosion-control obligations, cleanup, testing, punch-list work, approved changes, closeout documents, and contractual billing conditions are complete.
Keep Earthwork Billing Clear and Traceable
A structured clearing and grading invoice helps contractors bill completed work accurately, document measured quantities, track equipment and hauling, manage retainage, and maintain consistent project records.
SimplySub can help clearing and grading contractors organize customers, jobs, invoices, estimates, change orders, purchase orders, time records, daily logs, equipment, documents, and job-cost information within one workflow.