What a Handyman Invoice Needs for Strata and Property Accounting

Good work alone does not keep a handyman on a property manager's roster. The invoice does a lot of that job. An invoice that arrives as one line, with no breakdown and no GST, gives strata accounting nothing to match against a budget line. Someone has to email back, wait, and open the file again. So I treat the invoice as part of the job.

Below is how I format invoices for the property managers and strata councils I work with. It is the same standard I describe on my commercial handyman for property managers page, written out so your accounting contact knows what to expect before the first job.

What a strata-ready invoice has to show

• Property address, unit number and the date of the work, so it maps to one building and one budget line
• A short scope line naming what the visit covered, such as a turnover, a common-area repair or a tenant request
• Labour itemized by category instead of one lump sum: drywall, doors, plumbing fixtures and so on
• Materials listed with receipts, with the handling fee on its own line and never buried in labour
• GST on its own line, with my registration number printed on the invoice
• Business name, contact details and one person to ask about any charge
• Photo references beside the line items they prove
• Your PO number or cost code, if your accounting uses one

A strata-ready handyman invoice, line by line

Here is what one looks like. This is an example with placeholder values, not a real job or a real price. Unit 204 and every bracketed field stand in for your own details.

• From: Summit Handyman, with my business number, GST registration number, phone and email
• Bill to: [management company or strata corporation], attention [accounting contact]
• Reference: PO or work order [number], cost code [code]
• Property: [building name], Unit 204, [street address]
• Date of work: [date]. Scope: turnover repairs after move-out
• Labour, drywall: patch anchor holes and one dent in the living room, sand, prime and touch up paint. Photos 1 and 2. [amount]
• Labour, doors: rehang the bedroom door and replace the latch. Photo 3. [amount]
• Labour, plumbing fixtures: replace the bathroom faucet cartridge and recaulk the tub. Photos 4 and 5. [amount]
• Materials: latch set, faucet cartridge, caulk, filler and paint, receipts attached. [amount]
• Handling fee on materials, on its own line. [amount]
• Subtotal. [amount]
• GST, on its own line. [amount]
• Total due and payment terms, as agreed in writing before the first job

Each labour line names the room, the work and the photos that prove it. A council member who never saw the unit can read the invoice and know what was done where. If the job was small, the $200 minimum per job shows on the estimate first, so it is never a surprise on the invoice.

Why itemization is the part that matters

Strata accounting checks every charge against a line in the budget or a work-order category. When an invoice arrives as one number, the person approving it cannot do that. When labour is split by category and materials sit apart from labour, they can match each piece to the right budget line in a few minutes. That is why I itemize. It removes the back-and-forth that makes a contractor slow to pay and annoying to work with.

The same logic runs through my tenant turnover checklist, where the billed lines match the approved scope one to one. At move-out, a landlord may also need wear and tear kept apart from tenant damage. My guide to landlord vs tenant repair responsibilities explains that line.

Photo proof tied to each line

For a strata council, a photo turns a claim that the work was done into a record they can file. When a council asks for them, I take before-and-after photos, numbered and referenced by line item. A drywall repair in Langley, for example, gets a before shot of the damage and an after shot of the painted wall, both tagged to the drywall line.

GST, the business number and one accountable contact

I am GST registered, so GST is charged and shown on its own line. My registration number, GST # 79853 7957 RT0001, is printed on every invoice. My business number is there too, which your accounting needs for a proper vendor record. There is also one person behind the invoice. If a line is unclear, you email me and I answer. You are not chasing a dispatcher or a rotating crew.

Format, timing and terms

I send invoices as a PDF by email, on completion, so the manager can attach it to the work order. Management companies that need it get net 30. Otherwise payment is by e-transfer the day the work is done. I set the terms in writing before the first job, not after it.

I cover buildings from home repairs in Abbotsford to home repairs in White Rock, and the invoice looks the same in every town. One format across the portfolio means one way for your accounting to check it.