Is contractor required to provide detailed invoicing once the job is completed?

6/26/2014 at 11:25:07 PM

Whether it is fair or not, or if he needs to produce the invoices depends on how your contract with him reads.

There are a couple different ways your contract with him may have been set-up. Either it was a quote for the job, including materials and labour (all-in), or it was T&M (time and material). It sounds to me like it was a flat price, whereby the entire project was quoted, he did the work, and that's-that. Regardless, if a client asks to see the invoices, he should be able to produce them for you, without too much concern. All parties involved realize the contractor is charging more then the material and labour costs, otherwise he won't last long in business. So the fact remains, that, unless he picked up the materials from some guy in the building supply store parking lot after hours, or charged way too much for the project, he should provide you with the invoices.

What I find most particular about this, is that this is all because you wanted the warranty for the materials. Is the contractor not warrantying his workmanship, and thereby since he was the one who purchased the materials, and has the receipts (hopefully) the materials are then warrantied, through him.

Bottom line is, if it was a quoted job, he doesn't need to show you the receipts.

Probably not the answer you were hoping for.

Olaf, Master Builder

"Authentic Craftsmanship leads to Exceptional Results"

6/26/2014 at 11:34:51 PM

We are discussing a material list and receipts that have a great deal to do with the warranty on your decking,

When we build a deck, copies of the receipts for materials are provided to the home owner for warranty purposes.

Hope this Helps,

James Fram

6/27/2014 at 4:01:32 PM

You must differentiate warranty on material and warranty on labor. Contractor can only warranty his workmanship not the material. If You requested specific material and he used that material, ask him to give you receipts of the material and hold on to that for future reference.

You sad yourself that he is a good and respected contractor, then ask yourself, are you being little harsh on him or is there something personal?

6/27/2014 at 6:22:18 PM

Thanks to those who have responded. I appreciate the comments.

I would like to state that I have (had?) no beefs with the contractor, in fact I hired him because he is a decent, respected local person and someone who I have trusted with work before. I am wanting invoicing for the decking materials (warranty is on deck material - not on the labour). The decking material was purchased by him through Windsor Plywood, after I had chosen the type, colour, etc. I have not seen any invoicing for this material and when I asked him for this he indicated I would have to talk with Windsor Plywood as his invoicing includes materials for other jobs, etc. I am truly not trying to be hard on the contractor, but rather just looking for advice as to whether I insist on receiving this from him or do I try to get this information through the lumber store.

PS - I was also hoping to receive a more detailed invoice breaking out labour and materials, however based on comments, I think I am out of luck as I guess the "estimate" he gave me to do the job is, in fact, a quote and thus, he is not obligated to do so. Unfortunate, but I guess a lesson learned for future work.

Jerry

6/27/2014 at 7:00:00 PM

Jerry not many contractors want to give an invoice that breaks down the labor and material separately. I've had this conversation with more than a few customers. From my experience customers look at the labor cost and try to bargain you down.

For example I had one customer say to me that he had priced out the material for a job and he thought I was charging to much for labor. When I told him that I had to make a pay check and the company had to make a profit (tools, truck, trailer, ins. repairs) and so on he said to me well it's not like you are a big company like Microsoft or something. I was dumfounded by that comment. So I said to him give me the name of the company you work for and your bosses name, and he ask me why. I said I will call him tomorrow and tell him that you really don't need your whole pay check because I think you are getting paid to much for what you do. He was not impressed.

6/28/2014 at 1:22:13 AM

Hi Jerry,

When a contractor supplies and installs a product that carries a manufacturer's warranty, product details should be clearly written on the quote, estimate or final invoice. Also the amount of materials and any accessory products that carry a warranty should also be detailed. In the event you do have to start a warranty claim, a manufacturer may require a copy of your invoice for proof of purchase.

If you selected the product and your sure the product installed is what you selected, then I would suggest you check that manufacturers warranty. Timbertech does have a registration process online, where you would tell them the details of the project, including the supplier and installer's name.

I hope that helps and it should never be an unreasonable request to have more product details on the final invoice. Although I would say that breaking down the cost of materials and labour on an invoice is not something most contractors would do. The true cost of any project is the material and labour, plus overhead, and I don't know any company in any industry that would divulge their cost. And that can be said for any company in any industry, profit margin is a necessity to stay in business.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Regards,

Cory

3/2/2023 at 6:22:37 PM

I'm about to find that out myself, Idk the law in Canada as I'm near the border but in the U.S. But In my opinion because i did do construction half my life in huge citys. Is that he most likely doesn't want you how much more he was charging you for labour. Now lets be honest here from the sounds of most of these replies it seems like contractors who are doing the same exact thing. Which is usualy because they are over charging for something, However their are some "Emotional" contractors I've seen in my life that get offended at little things even though really they are just work for hire at the end of the day. But their is some difficult customers as well people that think they know but don't so forth so on. But nonetheless its not about whatever a contractor thinks its more about what the law says. For instance in the u.s. law on reciepts are as follows, When receipts are available, no other proofs of payment are required. A receipt is any document that contains the following five IRS-required elements:

1. Name of vendor (person or company you paid)

2. Transaction date (when you paid)

3. Detailed description of goods or services purchased (what you bought)

4. Amount paid

5. Form of payment (how you paid cash, check, or last four digits of credit card)

Regardless if a company or contractor is refusing to give you access to know exactly what you paid for, i would stay away from that business, Because they have it, they are required to give it to the government every year by law. So the only excuse not too really is because your charging for something that either isn't there or Over charging for either materials or labor both happen quite alot especially in big area's. I'm having the same issue with a hvac company atm.

The one comment about different types of quotes may be correct, you would want to check your country & local laws. Which are their for a reason to keep each party honest & so people don't get ripped off, If anyone is offended at that well they shouldn't be because thats the whole purpose for law.

For instance in the u.s. A quote is just a round about of what it could cost or what they believe it will cost, usualy they leave a bit of wiggle room. But in the u.s. their is also law that states they must provide you with the exact price before they start work which they can go off the quote, but really the quote isn't supposed to be like that. Its mainly a rounded number to give you a idea of what it could cost. Not a contract. This is why regardless of what people or Company's are saying you should really check your laws. As most people especially company's will say & do pretty much anything to protect their own bottom line, Yes it is disgusting, But its just the way people are. Its good to get advice but thats all it should be,

is Advice & then do your own do diligence by checking your laws, seeing if they have any legal issues, **sometimes** getting someone else in to make sure everything was done right, & whatever else may need to be done depending on your situation.