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 published invoices, 26 line rows stated a tax-inclusive total against 173 exclusive, with 22 undetermined. Those are counts from that corpus rather than a rate to expect anywhere else, but they are enough to show both kinds arrive in ordinary paperwork — and a column that mixes them without recording which is which can be summed into a figure nobody can check.
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. Its export carries supplier, invoice number, net, VAT and totals; the cost code and paid status stay yours, because no extraction can decide them. 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 published invoices we found 26 line rows stating a tax-inclusive total against 173 exclusive, with 22 we could not determine. Those are counts from that corpus, not a rate to expect anywhere else — the point is that both kinds turn up in ordinary paperwork, so summing a column that mixes them without recording which is which can produce a figure nobody can check.
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. Its export gives you supplier, invoice number, net, VAT and totals; the cost code and whether it has been paid are yours to add, because no extraction can decide them for you.
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