How to send an invoice from the truck

None of this is exotic — it's the same handful of fields whether you write it on a carbon-copy pad or generate it from an app. Your business name, phone number, and (if you have one) license number identify who did the work. The customer's name and the job address matter more than you'd think once you have more than a few open invoices — “the Tuesday job” stops being enough to find later.

The line items are what actually gets read: labor as its own line, materials as their own (or itemized if the customer asked for a breakdown), and a total. Whether tax applies, and at what rate, depends on your state and sometimes on whether you're billing labor, materials, or both separately — check your state's rules rather than copying what a shop in another state does. Finally, say when it's due and how to pay. “Due on receipt” with a card link gets paid faster than an invoice that's silent on both.

QuickBooks mobile is the straightforward choice if QuickBooks is already your books — you create the invoice where it's eventually going to live anyway, no export or re-entry later. A field-service management app (if you're running one for scheduling and quotes) usually turns a completed job straight into an invoice with the line items already attached, which is the appeal of those platforms in general — check their current site for exactly what their mobile invoicing covers, since features move.

A standalone invoice app is the lightest option if you don't want a full accounting or FSM system at all — good for volume that doesn't justify a bigger platform, though you'll likely re-enter totals into your books by hand at tax time. The newer option is voice-drafted: instead of typing on a small screen with gloves half-off, you say what happened on the job and a tool drafts the invoice for you to check. That's the shape Rivet takes — more on where it fits below. Whichever you pick, the test is whether it adds a step to your evening or removes one; see our fuller rundown of what software a one-person shop actually needs if you're still deciding on the rest of your stack.

The math here isn't about any invented percentage — it's just how people work. A customer who just watched you fix the problem is motivated to pay; a customer who gets an email three days later has moved on to something else. If you can take a card on the spot, or text a payment link before you pull out of the driveway, do that by default. Cash and checks work too — the point isn't the payment method, it's closing the loop while you're still standing there.

Invoice-and-wait has real, legitimate uses: commercial clients with an AP department that only pays on terms, property managers who need to route the bill to an owner, or work a homeowner explicitly asked to be billed for later. Those are fine — just send the invoice the same day rather than letting it sit in a stack, and set clear terms (net 7, net 15, whatever you use) so both sides know when it's due.

A sensible line to draw is materials cost. If you're special-ordering a part or buying something expensive before you can start, a deposit — sized to roughly cover that material cost — means a cancellation costs you nothing but time. For a routine service call where you're carrying standard stock on the truck, invoicing the whole job at completion is simpler; the deposit step adds friction without buying you much protection.

Whatever you decide, put it in writing before you start: the deposit amount, what it covers, and what happens to it if the job is cancelled. A verbal understanding about money is the single most common source of a dispute later, and a one-line note on the quote or invoice avoids most of them.

The tone that works is matter-of-fact, not apologetic and not stern: “Hi [name], just following up on invoice #[number] for $[amount], due [date] — let me know if you need me to resend it or if there's a question about the work.” That last clause matters; sometimes a late invoice is actually a customer who has a question they never asked, and giving them an easy way to raise it gets you paid faster than a pure reminder does.

If a second reminder goes unanswered, switch to a call rather than a third email or text — it's harder to ignore a real person, and a stalled invoice is often a scheduling or cash-flow problem on their end that a two-minute conversation resolves. Keep a simple running list of what's outstanding — a spreadsheet or even the invoice app's own status view works — so nothing quietly ages past 60 or 90 days unnoticed. The same matter-of-fact tone works one step earlier, on quotes that go quiet: how to follow up on an estimate without nagging.

Rivet doesn't replace your books — QuickBooks is still the system of record. What it replaces is the typing: instead of pulling up an app and filling in fields with your hands still dirty, you say something like “invoice the Rivera job, two hundred forty for the capacitor swap,” and Rivet turns that into a proposal with the line items spelled out. A second AI checks the draft before it reaches you, and nothing goes to the customer until you approve it — the same approval step covers bookings, replies, and invoices alike, and it's the honest answer to worrying an AI might send the wrong amount: it can't, because a draft isn't a sent invoice.

This is one piece of the broader question of what a one-person shop actually needs to run — the phone answered, the job booked, the invoice out, and the follow-up sent, without turning every evening into a paperwork session. Rivet is a flat monthly price with no per-invoice fee, in early access for HVAC, plumbing, and electrical shops; the plans are on the pricing page if you want to see where it fits your own numbers, or you can watch a call turn into an invoice in the demo.

Do I need special software to invoice from my phone?

Not strictly — a phone with a notes app, a camera for photos, and email can produce a legal invoice. Dedicated tools (QuickBooks mobile, a field-service app, or a standalone invoice app) mostly save time: templates, saved customers, and payment links instead of retyping the same header every time.

What if a customer wants to pay by check instead of card?

Take it — a check is still a valid payment method, and plenty of homeowners prefer it to avoid card fees. Just make sure the invoice states how to pay (mail it, hand it to the tech, or drop it at the office) so the customer isn't guessing, and log it as paid the same day so it doesn't sit as an open invoice by mistake.

Do I need to charge sales tax on a service invoice?

It depends on your state and sometimes on whether the work is labor, materials, or both — rules vary widely by state and even by trade. Check your state's department of revenue guidance or ask your accountant rather than guessing; getting this wrong is a bigger problem than a late invoice.

How soon after the job should I send the invoice?

Same day, ideally before you leave the driveway. Invoices sent same-day get paid faster than ones that arrive a week later, mostly because the job is still fresh in the customer's mind — the longer the gap, the more it starts to feel like an old bill instead of today's work.