Contractor Invoice vs. Proposal: What's the Difference (and When to Use Each)

New contractors often confuse proposals and invoices.

Here's the simple breakdown:

Proposal = the quote (before the job)
Invoice = the bill (after the job)

What a proposal does

A proposal is a sales document. It's sent before the job to help the customer decide.

It should include:

Scope of work (what you'll do)
Price breakdown
Deposit amount + payment link
Terms (timeline, weather policy, cancellation)

The goal: get approval + deposit.

What an invoice does

An invoice is a payment request. It's sent after the job (or at a milestone).

It should include:

Description of work completed
Amount due (total minus deposit)
Payment terms (net 15, net 30, etc.)
Payment instructions

The goal: collect final payment.

When to use each

| Scenario | Use This | |----------|----------| | Customer asks for a quote | Proposal | | Customer approved the work and paid deposit | No document needed (job is locked) | | Job is complete | Invoice (for final balance) | | Job requires progress payments | Invoice per milestone | | Recurring work (monthly maintenance) | Invoice monthly |

Do you always need an invoice?

Not always.

If you collected 100% payment up front (via the proposal), you don't need an invoice.

If you collected a deposit and the customer pays the balance on-site (cash/check), you might skip the invoice (but give them a receipt).

If the customer needs documentation for bookkeeping, send an invoice even if they already paid.

How BidBlitz handles this

BidBlitz is built for proposals (the quote + deposit).

For invoicing:

You can manually create an invoice after the job (or use your accounting software)
Or use a tool like QuickBooks (BidBlitz has a QuickBooks integration on paid plans)

Most BidBlitz users:

Send proposal → collect deposit
Complete job → collect balance on-site
Send invoice only if customer requests it

The bottom line

Proposals close the sale. Invoices collect payment.

Don't confuse the two.