Landscaper Invoice Template AustraliaFree, ATO-Compliant & Ready to Use
A free landscaping invoice template for Australian sole traders and small landscaping businesses. Covers plant/machine hire, material supply, green-waste disposal, labour, ABN, and 10% GST - for both one-off builds and recurring maintenance work. Or skip the template and use Invio to invoice straight from your phone.
No credit card - GST calculated automatically - Send from your phone
Example INV-0038
- C
Machine hire
Mini excavator hire, A$530.00
Job and line items
- C
Materials
Retaining wall blocks & drainage, A$1,850.00
Job and line items
- C
Crew labour
15.0 hrs x A$145.00/hr
Job and line items
- C
Green-waste disposal
A$330.00
Job and line items
The template
A filled-in landscaper invoice, shown at A4 widthExample figures, not a real jobABlue Gum Landscapes Pty Ltd
14 Grevillea Street
Ashgrove QLD 4060
0417 662 038
ABN: 63 218 745 390
TAX INVOICE
BINV-0038
Issue: 27 Jul 2026
Due: 10 Aug 2026
Sent
Bill To
Callum & Priya Ferris
9 Boronia Street
Ashgrove QLD 4060
| CDescription | Qty | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mini excavator hire. 2-day hire, 1.7t digger for excavation and levelling2 x A$265.00 | 2 | A$265.00 | A$530.00 |
| Labour - landscaping crew (2 person). Excavation support, wall build, planting, clean-up15 x A$145.00 | 15 | A$145.00 | A$2,175.00 |
| Retaining wall blocks & drainage. Concrete sleeper blocks + geotextile, materials at cost + margin1 x A$1,850.00 | 1 | A$1,850.00 | A$1,850.00 |
| Topsoil & garden mix. 10m3 delivered and spread10 x A$95.00 | 10 | A$95.00 | A$950.00 |
| Plants & mulch. Native planting + bark mulch, materials at cost + margin1 x A$680.00 | 1 | A$680.00 | A$680.00 |
| Green waste & spoil removal. 3 trailer loads to the transfer station3 x A$110.00 | 3 | A$110.00 | A$330.00 |
BPayment Details
Please use the following details to make a payment.
Bank: Bank of Queensland
Account name: Blue Gum Landscapes Pty Ltd
Account: 2345 6789
BSB: 124-001
Reference: INV-0038
Notes
Retaining wall + garden makeover - side and rear yard
Thank you for your business!
What this invoice should carry
Seventeen fields, in four groups, keyed to the letters on the sample invoice above. Where a value is shown, it is the one you can read off it.
Your business details
Business name or trading name
On the sample: Blue Gum Landscapes Pty Ltd
ABN, required on every tax invoice
On the sample: 63 218 745 390
Landscaping/building licence number, if your state requires one for the work
Phone number and email
On the sample: 0417 662 038
Physical or postal address
On the sample: 14 Grevillea Street, Ashgrove QLD 4060
Invoice identifiers
Invoice number, sequential for your records
On the sample: INV-0038
Invoice date
On the sample: 27 Jul 2026
Payment due date
On the sample: 10 Aug 2026
BSB and bank account for payment
On the sample: 124-001 / 2345 6789
Job and line items
Description of the work done - specific enough to identify it
On the sample: Retaining wall + garden makeover - side and rear yard
Machine or plant hire (digger, mulcher, etc.), on its own line
On the sample: Mini excavator hire, A$530.00
Materials at cost plus your markup, listed separately from labour
On the sample: Retaining wall blocks & drainage, A$1,850.00
Labour hours x your crew rate, on its own line
On the sample: 15.0 hrs x A$145.00/hr
Green-waste or spoil disposal fee
On the sample: A$330.00
Any deposit already paid, shown as a deduction
GST breakdown
Subtotal (ex GST), GST at 10%, and the GST-inclusive total, as three separate lines
On the sample: A$6,515.00 / A$651.50 / A$7,166.50
Customer's identity - name and address, or their ABN - required for invoices of A$1,000 or more
On the sample: Applies here - the Ferrises' name and address, shown in Billed To, satisfy it
Rules that vary by state, not just GST
Landscaping sits across several rules that are set by state, not nationally. Get the mechanism right and check your own regulator for the number.
Licensing varies by state and scope
Soft landscaping - planting, turf, garden beds - generally needs no trade licence. Structural landscaping - retaining walls, paving, decking, fencing, drainage - is regulated per state with different value thresholds: NSW over A$5,000 (Home Building Act 1989, NSW Fair Trading), Queensland over A$3,300 (QBCC), Victoria over A$10,000 for domestic building work (VBA registered building practitioner - planting-only work stays exempt regardless of value). Check your own state or territory regulator before quoting a structural job.
Deposits are capped by law
Landscaping jobs tempt a big deposit because you are paying suppliers and hire companies before the job starts. In NSW it is an offence under the Home Building Act 1989 (s8) to demand or receive more than 10% of the contract price as a deposit for this kind of work. Victoria and Queensland cap deposits at 5-10% depending on the contract. There is no national figure - check your own state before you ask for anything upfront.
Progress claims on bigger jobs
Landscaping counts as construction work under every state's and the NT's Security of Payment legislation, which gives you a formal right to make a progress payment claim on a multi-stage job, separate from your normal invoice terms. The process and timeframes are set per state - there is no single national timeframe, and Western Australia only joined the eastern-states model in August 2022. Check the Act in your own state or territory.
Pools and water restrictions
Working near a pool means minding the fence's non-climbable zone - roughly 900mm under Queensland's pool safety standard - where plants, retaining walls and decking cannot intrude. Ongoing barrier compliance is the pool owner's responsibility once your work is done, not yours, but it pays to plan planting around it. Garden watering and turf-laying can also be restricted by state and local water utility, and change with drought conditions - check your local water authority before a big turf job.
How to fill out a landscaper invoice
Follow these steps after every job to get paid faster and stay on the right side of the ATO.
Fill in your business details
Add your trading name, ABN, licence number if your state requires one for the work, address, phone, and email at the top. If you trade as Blue Gum Landscapes Pty Ltd, use that - not your personal name. Your ABN must appear on every tax invoice you issue.
Set the invoice number and dates
Use a sequential number - INV-0038 after INV-0037. The invoice date is today. Set a due date (14 days is standard for larger builds; maintenance work is often invoiced weekly or fortnightly on a shorter term). Consistent numbering helps if you ever need to prove payment history.
Add the customer details
For invoices A$1,000 or more you must include the customer's identity - name and address is the simplest way to satisfy this. Do this on every job - most landscaping invoices cross that threshold once machine hire and materials are included.
List plant hire and material supply separately from labour
Split machine/plant hire, materials (soil, pavers, retaining wall blocks, plants) at cost + markup, and crew labour into their own lines. If you took a deposit, show it as a deduction rather than folding it silently into the total - "Less: deposit paid $650.00" - and remember that deposit amount is capped by your state's building law, not by what the job costs you upfront.
Add green-waste or spoil disposal
If you removed spoil, old plants, or green waste, add it as its own line - flat fee or per-load - rather than absorbing it into your labour rate. It is a real cost, not a hidden markup, and the customer should see it.
Calculate GST and show it clearly
GST applies to the full invoice, including any hired-in machinery you are passing through. Multiply your subtotal by 0.10 and show subtotal, GST, and total as three separate lines. Use the free Invio GST calculator at /gst-calculator-au if you want a quick check before sending.
Add your BSB and bank account details, then send
Include your BSB and account number and ask the customer to use your invoice number as the payment reference. For one-off builds, send it as soon as the job is finished. For maintenance contracts, set the schedule up once and let it repeat automatically.
Common landscaper invoice mistakes
These mistakes slow payment, create disputes, or put you offside with the ATO or your state regulator. Easy to fix once you know them.
No GST charged on hired-in plant
e.g. "Digger hire passed on at cost, no GST added"
If you are GST-registered, charge 10% GST on the full invoice - including any machinery or materials you are passing through. You claim back the GST the hire company charged you separately as an input tax credit; it is not deducted from what you charge the customer.
Taking a deposit above your state's cap
e.g. "$3,000 deposit requested on a $6,500 retaining wall job (46%)"
NSW caps residential building deposits at 10% of the contract price and it is an offence to demand or receive more; Victoria and Queensland cap at 5-10%. Check your state's limit before asking for anything upfront, especially on jobs where plant hire tempts a bigger ask.
No ABN on the invoice
e.g. Invoice with only a business name, no ABN
A tax invoice without an ABN is not legally valid, and clients paying you without a quoted ABN may be required to withhold tax at 47%. Always show your ABN clearly.
Materials and labour lumped together
e.g. "Retaining wall job - $6,515"
List plant hire, materials (soil, pavers, plants), and labour as separate lines. Many customers - and any that need to claim GST credits - will not approve payment until it is properly itemised.
No green-waste or disposal fee shown
e.g. Spoil and old plants removed with no line item for it
Add disposal as its own line - flat fee or per-load. It is a genuine cost and should not be hidden inside your labour rate.
Sending the invoice weeks after a multi-day job
e.g. Invoice sent 3 weeks after a 4-day retaining wall build
Invoice promptly once the job is done, or use a progress claim under your state's Security of Payment Act for longer builds. See our guide on chasing overdue invoices at /chase-overdue-invoices-au if one is already late.
What goes on the lines, and what it usually costs
The lines a landscaping invoice tends to have, in the three groups they fall into.
Labour and design
Priced per hour, per visit, or as a flat fee
Landscaping crew labour
Per hour, 2-person crew
$120 - $160/hr
Ex GST, for a 2-person crew. Solo operators often bill $60 - $85/hr.
Design consultation
When quoted separately from the build
$80 - $130/hr or flat fee
For jobs where design is quoted separately from the build.
Maintenance visit
Mowing and garden upkeep
$65 - $120/visit
Well suited to a recurring invoice schedule.
Plant hire and materials
At cost, or cost plus your markup
Machine/plant hire
Diggers, mulchers, and similar
$180 - $380/day
Usually passed through at cost, sometimes with a small margin.
Plant & material supply
Soil, pavers, retaining wall blocks, plants
Cost + 20 - 30%
List at your sell price - you don't need to show your cost.
Disposal
Green waste and spoil, by the load
Green waste & spoil disposal
Per load
$90 - $220
Flat fee or per trailer/skip load, depending on volume and transfer station fees.
Indicative GST-exclusive ranges for 2026, to sanity-check a line you have not priced before. GST itself is 10% on top of the subtotal once you are registered - use the free GST calculator to check. They are not a price guide and not advice on what to charge: rates vary by region, by job, and by how far the machine has to travel to get there.
Why Invio beats Word and Excel for landscapers
Templates are a fine starting point. But most landscapers move to proper software once they are juggling builds and maintenance rounds at the same time.
Invoice from the truck after the job
Fill in plant hire, materials, and crew hours before you pack up the trailer. No paperwork to reconstruct at the end of the week.
Before you pack up
GST calculated automatically
Invio does the 10% for you across labour, materials, and any plant hire you're passing through - no spreadsheet formula to accidentally break.
INV-0038Sent
SubtotalA$6,515.00
GST (10%)A$651.50
TotalA$7,166.50
10% on every line
Saved clients and standard rates
Store your repeat customers and standard crew and hire rates. Next job for the Ferris family? Two taps and the invoice is half-filled already.
Two taps
Recurring invoices for maintenance work
Set a mowing or garden-upkeep client up once and let the invoice go out automatically every visit - no more remembering to bill for a fortnightly round. Invio Pro also sends automatic reminders when one-off invoices go overdue.
Every visit, automatically
ATO-compliant every time
Every Invio invoice has the right fields: ABN, GST breakdown, date, customer identity when required. You can't accidentally send a non-compliant invoice.
INV-0038Example
HeadingTAX INVOICE
ABN63 218 745 390
Issue27 Jul 2026
Due10 Aug 2026
Every required field
PDF ready to email or print
Send the invoice by email directly from Invio, or download a clean PDF if the customer prefers paper.
Example e-mail
Invoice INV-0038 from Blue Gum Landscapes Pty Ltd
Here's your invoice from Blue Gum Landscapes Pty Ltd - a PDF copy is attached, and you can also view it online anytime.
Invoice-INV-0038.pdfOne click
What a landscaper's invoice carries that the others do not
Every Australian trade invoice needs the same GST basics. Past that, the paperwork splits by trade - here is what is specific to landscaping work.
3 states, 3 rules
Structural work needs a licence above a threshold
Soft landscaping - planting, turf, garden beds - needs no licence anywhere. Structural work - retaining walls, paving, decking - is licensed per state above a dollar threshold; see the block above before you quote a structural job.
3 lines, not 1
Plant hire, materials, and labour - always split
Machine hire, materials, and crew labour are listed as their own lines rather than one lump "landscaping" total - easier to check against the quote and easier for the customer to see what they paid for.
$90 - $220/load
Green-waste disposal, its own line
Removing spoil, old plants, or green waste is a real cost, not a hidden markup - list it separately, the same way a painter lists a disposal fee for old paint tins.
One-off or recurring
The one trade invoiced two different ways
A retaining wall or garden build is a single detailed invoice once the job is done. Mowing and maintenance work is better set up as a recurring invoice that goes out automatically - a split none of the other trades on this page need to make.
Landscaper Invoice FAQs
Common questions from Australian landscapers about invoicing, GST on plant hire, deposits, and getting paid.
Do I need to add GST to my landscaping invoice?
What's the minimum information a landscaper invoice needs in Australia?
Do I charge GST on hired-in machinery I am passing through to the client?
How much deposit can I ask for before ordering materials or booking machine hire?
Do I need a licence for landscaping work in Australia?
Can I make a progress claim on a larger landscaping job?
What should I know about pools and water restrictions?
Should maintenance contracts be invoiced differently from one-off jobs?
Invoice every landscaping job correctly, from your phone
Invio is free for sole traders. Set up your crew rates once, send GST-compliant tax invoices from site with your ABN and BSB saved, and let recurring billing handle your maintenance rounds automatically - 1 recurring series free, unlimited on Pro.
Free to start - GST calculated automatically - No credit card required