Free welding invoice and fabrication estimate templatesFrom cut list to clear payment.

Shop hours and any site hours on separate lines, the steel or other metal by grade and size, consumables, and finishing such as powder coating. Add travel or a mobile charge for site work, the drawing or job number, and the install address if the piece was fitted on site, so every line traces back to the job.

It depends on the process (MIG, TIG or stick), the material, whether the work is structural or decorative, any certification it needs, and your shop overhead: equipment, gas, power and insurance. TIG work on aluminum or stainless usually takes longer than MIG on mild steel. The generator opens this line at $75 an hour as a placeholder; type your own rate.

Yes for custom work, because steel cut to a drawing has little value to anyone else if the client walks away. Invoice a materials deposit before ordering, and bill the balance on delivery or installation. Put the deposit on its own line and show it as a credit on the final invoice.

For shop work, keep the piece until it is paid for, which is simplest when your terms make payment due at pickup or delivery. For work installed on a property, many states give you mechanic's lien rights, with notice rules and deadlines that vary, so check yours early. Send a statement of the balance before anything else.

It depends on the state and the job. A gate or trailer part built in your shop and sold to a customer is often taxed as a sale of goods, fabrication labor included, while work installed into a building may be treated as construction, where you pay tax on the steel instead. Repair labor has its own rules. Set tax per line and check your state.

Charge a trip or truck fee that covers travel and bringing the rig, then site hours with a minimum, as your terms state. List them as separate lines with the date and site address. If you waited for access or for another trade to finish, record those hours as well and bill them if your terms allow.

Many fabricators do, to cover the time spent ordering, collecting and handling stock, plus offcuts that cannot be used on another job. State the markup in your quote or show materials at a price that already includes it; either works if it matches what the client agreed. The markup calculator works out the sell price from your cost.

Give each material its own line with the section, grade and thickness, the quantity and the unit price, for example rectangular tube 2 x 2 x 1/8 in., A500 Gr. B, 120 ft at $6.25. A client can check that against the drawing, and when steel prices move you can show which line changed.

Yes. Bench time in the shop and installation time on site usually carry different rates, and field work adds travel, setup and waiting for access. Two lines with their own hours and rates show the client what each part of the job cost.

Treat it as a change order: describe the change, reference the drawing revision, and price the new material and hours on their own lines, including cut steel that can no longer be used. Get the client's approval in writing before the work, then add the same lines to the final invoice.

Long enough for the client to decide, short enough that steel prices cannot move far. Many shops quote for 15 to 30 days and say that materials are repriced after that. Put the valid-for period and that condition in the estimate's notes.