Job papers for one-truck trades · US · Canada · Mexico

Did they say Friday after the work was already in?

You finished the panel, the condenser, the fence, the paint. They still said they would pay Friday. “While you’re here” never got a price. That is how a one-truck job goes unpaid. Not because the work was bad. Because nothing on paper said what was in, what it cost, or when the money was due.

The Job File is that paperwork. Estimate. Signed job agreement. Job list you can add lines to. Change order. Invoice with the deposit on it. Cash receipt. Four late-pay emails. A tracker.

I want this — $8 Pay once. Use it on every job.
Filled Reed Electric invoice for a 200-amp panel and two circuits, deposit paid, balance due
Sample invoice · print size
$8Once. No monthly fee.
US LetterPrint at 100%. Hand it over.
US · CA · MXTell us the trade and the state.

What’s inside

What you hand the owner before you start.

The same kind of pages a shop would print, written so a one-truck person can fill them in. Buy once. Use them on every job.

  1. 00

    Setup

    Open this first. Write your trade, country, state or province, the name on the truck, address, phone, and license. Drop a picture of your logo so you can see how it sits on the page. If your state or province makes you put a homeowner notice on a written job agreement, there is a blank for the real text. We also look that up for you after you buy.

  2. 01

    Estimate

    What they asked for, line by line, with a price and the deposit to start. You send this before they hire you. It is not the agreement. A filled electrician sample is in the kit so you can see how dense the page should look.

  3. 02

    Job agreement

    Both of you sign this before work starts. Who is doing the job, where, the total including tax, the deposit, when the rest is due, what happens if they pay late, change orders, access, materials, labor warranty, cancel. There is a blank for a homeowner notice if your state or province requires one. This is a template, not a lawyer. Have a lawyer where you work read the version you actually send on a real job.

  4. 03

    Job list

    What is in, what is out, room by room, with a price. “While you’re here” either gets a line and a price, or it is marked not included. Add as many rooms and lines as you need. Totals count the new rows. Stuck on wording? Paste what you told the owner into any AI, ask for short lines (room, work, material, qty), paste them in, and read them before you print. They have to match the actual job.

  5. 04

    Change order

    You opened the wall and found rot. They asked for a second fixture. Stop. Write what changed and the new price. Both of you sign. Then do the extra work. A nod is not a price.

  6. 05

    Invoice

    Deposit the day they sign. Progress when a stage is due. Final when the job is finished. The deposit already paid is on the page, so the balance is not a fight. Add check, card, Zelle, Venmo, cash, or bank transfer and type your own details. Do not put routing or account numbers on the page unless you mean for anyone with the PDF to copy them.

  7. 06

    Cash receipt

    If any of the deposit is cash, write the true amount, sign it, and hand it over that day.

  8. 07

    Four late-pay emails

    The morning after the due date. Seven days. Fourteen. Thirty. Copy, attach the invoice, send. Written like you, not like a lawyer. If they want a bank transfer, reply and send those details in a separate message.

  9. 08

    Job tracker

    One row per job. What they owe, how many days late, which of the four emails to send next. Excel, or a CSV for Google Sheets. Type in the next empty row.

  10. 09

    Full-size examples

    A made-up electrician job (panel and two circuits) as HTML you open in Chrome and as PDF you can open on a phone. Print US Letter at 100%. That is the real size of the page you hand the owner. Type your name over the sample. Do not send the sample names to a real customer.

Already built for one trade

This is what the plumber version looks like.

A one-truck plumber in Arizona hears “we’ll pay Friday” after the water heater is already in. The Plumbing File is the same kit, already filled in for that trade, with Arizona’s contractor notice on the agreement. Same estimate, job list, change order, invoice. The trade is already typed in. $8.

If that is you, buy The Plumbing File. If you are any other trade, or a plumber outside Arizona, buy The Job File. Tell us the trade and the state or province. We make that version.

Hale Plumbing estimate for a water heater and two faucets
Plumbing File · estimate
Plumbing service agreement with Arizona contractor notice, deposit, and progress payments
Plumbing File · agreement
Plumbing job list with rooms, fixtures, and line items
Plumbing File · job list
Hale Plumbing invoice, deposit paid, balance due
Plumbing File · invoice
Open The Plumbing File Arizona one-truck plumbers. $8.

How it works

You buy. You get papers today. We finish them with your name on them.

  1. 1
    Buy. Tell us the trade and where you work. At checkout: what you do, country (United States, Canada, or Mexico), and the state or province. That is how we look up the homeowner notice your place actually uses, if it uses one. We will not make up a law. This product is not sold outside North America.
  2. 2
    You get the zip immediately. Then we email you. Open start-here. Open an example at real paper size if you have a job today. Reply to our email with a picture of your logo, the name on the truck, your license, and how you take money (check, Zelle, Venmo, card, cash). We put that on every page, add the real notice for your state or province, and email you the finished file. Gumroad checkout cannot take a logo picture. That is why we email.
  3. 3
    Open a real-size example. The electrician papers are in the zip as HTML and PDF. The plumber example is The Plumbing File, already live. Print US Letter at 100%. That is the page you hand the owner.
  4. 4
    Write this job. Get it signed. Take the deposit. Then start. No signature, no start. If they pay any deposit in cash, hand them the cash receipt. Extra work later gets a change order, not a nod.

Who this is for

If you invoice a house after the work is already in.

For you if

You run a small independent trade in the United States, Canada, or Mexico. One truck. You work in houses. People hire you, you do the job, then you wait on Friday.

  • Electrician, HVAC, landscaper, painter, cleaner, handyman, plumber, or another trade you type in
  • You want papers a homeowner will actually sign, not a dispatch app
  • You already have a license number to put on the page, or you will write n/a

Not for you if

This will not replace a lawyer, a license, or a five-truck shop.

  • You work outside the United States, Canada, and Mexico
  • You need dispatch, GPS, or software for a crew
  • You want someone to license you or tell you the building code
  • You are an Arizona one-truck plumber — that kit is already built as The Plumbing File

One time

$8

Pay once. Use it on every job this year.

Not a monthly fee. The files stay on your computer. United States, Canada, or Mexico.

I want this — $8

This is a template kit. It is not legal advice, not a contractor license, and not building-code or permit advice. Using these papers does not make you licensed and does not mean the job will pass inspection. We look up the homeowner notice your state or province publishes. We will not make up a law. Have a lawyer where you work read the version you actually send. One purchase, one practice. United States, Canada, or Mexico only.

The Job File: Papers for Independent Trades $8 · once
I want this