On the job
Send the invoice before leaving the job
The last action on the job is the text, not the packing. If the text is unsent, the job is not finished.
Make the send part of packing up
Packing up is a ritual, and the invoice should be in it, like the tools and the mats. The mechanic example is a driveway job. The same ending works for a clean, a lesson or a repair. You send, you watch the message leave, and then you leave. “I’ll send it when I get home” is how the alternator price becomes a guess. If you are waiting on a part number, write the description you know and the price you charged. You do not need the supplier’s SKU to bill the customer.
Before I go: diagnostic, two hours and the alternator, due today. https://invoicetxt.com/i/your-link
Put “send invoice” on the close-down list
Next to “lock the door” or “bonnet down”.
Use the prices from the note, not from the drive home
The drive edits your memory.
Confirm the message sent
A failed text in a pocket is not a sent invoice.
Then leave
Staying to redesign the wording is how the next job starts late.
What to put on this invoice
- A close-down list that includes the text
- Prices written before you pack
- A sent message, not a draft
- The next job not started yet
Questions about this job
What if they ask me to invoice the office later?
Send it now to the office number, or send the PDF address to the person in front of you so someone has it. Later is how offices “never got it”.
What if I finish after dark and they are asleep?
Send it anyway. A night text with a clear total is better than a missing invoice. If you know they hate night texts, send it at the agreed morning and keep the draft ready.
Can an apprentice do this step?
Yes, if they have the prices and they do not invent a line. Check the first ten. Then let them close the job.
If you remember one workflow, remember this one. Unsent means unfinished.
Related guides
Follow up an unpaid invoice by text
Reply in the original thread, after the due date, with the same link. Do not create a second invoice to get their attention.
Open guide →Request a deposit via text message
A deposit text has to say what the money reserves and that it is not the final bill. The line item should use the word deposit.
Open guide →Send the final invoice after project completion
The final invoice lists what was delivered, subtracts the deposit in words, and asks for the balance. Send it when the work matches the scope, not when the calendar says the project ended.
Open guide →