Construction job cost spreadsheet template
A working Excel template for tracking what a build actually costs: one sheet of supplier invoices, one linked sheet of purchased line items, and a budget-versus-actual sheet whose actual column is a live formula over your invoice rows rather than a number you retype. Free, no sign-up and no email address.
What is in it
| Sheet | One row per | What it does for you |
|---|---|---|
| Invoices | Supplier invoice | Date, supplier, invoice number, cost code, net, VAT, gross, paid. Gross calculates itself from net and VAT. |
| Line items | Purchased item | Description, quantity, unit price, line total and a “total includes VAT?” column, linked to its invoice number. |
| Budget vs actual | Cost code | Your budget beside a live SUMIF of everything coded to it, and the variance. Nothing to retype. |
Why it is built this way
Two decisions are worth explaining, because most free templates get them wrong. First, invoices and line items are separate linked sheets rather than one flat grid: an invoice with nine items does not fit in a row, and flattening it makes both totals and item-level analysis unreliable.
Second, the line-items sheet records whether each row's total already includes VAT. That column looks like clutter until you know that invoices genuinely disagree — in our field-by-field study of 87 real invoices, roughly one line-item row in eight was VAT-inclusive while most were not. Sum a mixed column and your costs are overstated, with nothing on screen to tell you.
Filling it in without typing
The template is the easy half. The work is turning a folder of supplier PDFs, scans and phone photos into those rows. That is what Invoices to Spreadsheets does, and its export uses these same columns, so it drops straight in. Try one invoice free, without an account.
Is the construction cost spreadsheet template free?
Yes. Download it, use it, change it. No account, no email address, no card.
What is in the template?
Three sheets. Invoices — one row per supplier invoice, with a gross column that adds itself up. Line items — one row per purchased item, linked to its invoice number. Budget vs actual — one row per cost code, where the actual column is a live SUMIF over your invoice rows, so it is never out of date.
Why is there a "total includes VAT?" column on the line items sheet?
Because invoices disagree. In our own study of 87 real invoices, about one line-item row in eight had a total that already included VAT while most did not. Summing a mixed column without recording which is which silently overstates your costs, and nothing in the spreadsheet tells you it happened.
Can I change the cost codes?
Yes. The eight codes are a starting point for a build or refurbishment job. Edit them on the Budget vs actual sheet and use the same code in the invoice rows — the SUMIF matches on whatever you type.
Does it work in Google Sheets or Numbers?
Yes. It is a standard .xlsx file, and the formulas are SUMIF, SUM and IF, which both import cleanly. Set your locale before importing so dates and £ parse as dates and numbers.
Do I have to type the invoices in by hand?
That is the part this template cannot do for you. Filling it from a folder of PDFs and photos is what Invoices to Spreadsheets does — the export matches these columns, so it drops straight in.
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