A £14,000 rewire, billed as it lands
Four stages, each with its own labour split and its own CIS deduction.
Full rewire — 14 Cotham Brow
£14,000 · split 60% labour / 40% materials · CIS 20%
| Stage | Value | Labour | CIS | Net |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deposit on acceptance | £2,800.00 | £1,680.00 | −£336.00 | £2,464.00 |
| First fix complete | £5,600.00 | £3,360.00 | −£672.00 | £4,928.00 |
| Second fix & test | £4,900.00 | £2,940.00 | −£588.00 | £4,312.00 |
| Retention — due 12 Feb 2027 | £700.00 | £420.00 | −£84.00 | £616.00 |
| Total | £14,000.00 | £8,400.00 | −£1,680.00 | £12,320.00 |
CIS is per payment, not per job. Each stage deducts 20% of its own labour element. Bill this as one £14,000 invoice at the end and you carry £5,600 of materials yourself for three months — and the amber row is the money most people never get round to invoicing at all.
What's included
Templates to start from
Common shapes ready made - deposit and final, thirds, or stages with retention - rather than a blank form.
Warns when it doesn't add up
If the stages do not total 100% of the contract, you are told before you send anything.
CIS-aware
Each stage raises labour and materials lines so the deduction is taken on the labour within that payment, which is how the scheme actually works.
Retention held properly
Retention is a stage like any other, raised when it is due rather than remembered or forgotten.
Raise when you're ready
A stage exists as a plan until you raise it. Nothing is sent to a customer on a schedule you did not choose.
Refuses to price at nothing
If the contract value cannot be read, the stage will not raise. Nil invoices are worse than an error message.
Deposits, Stage Payments & Retentions — your questions
Can I take a deposit before starting?
Yes - that is the most common shape. A deposit stage raises its own invoice, payable by card through the portal like any other.
What happens if the job changes?
Stages are a plan, not a contract. Adjust the remaining stages and the warning tells you whether the plan still totals the contract.
Can I take a deposit before any work starts?
Yes. A deposit is the first stage. If you took it before the job existed in ServicePay, record it against the job so the stage totals and the final balance still reconcile.
How does CIS apply to a staged payment?
Per payment, on the labour element of that payment. Each stage raises two lines — labour and materials — from the contract split you set on the job, so the deduction is calculated on the right figure every time instead of once per job.
What if the job changes halfway through?
Adjust the contract split before raising the next stage. Stages already raised are historical records of what was billed and are not rewritten. That is deliberate: an invoice you have already sent should not change under the customer.
Does retention work the same way?
Retention is a stage like any other, raised when the retention period ends. Having it on a list rather than in someone's head is the whole point — it is the single most commonly forgotten money in the trade.
Not sure how it all fits together?
See Deposits, Stage Payments & Retentions alongside everything else
A guided tour of the whole product — the quoting and invoicing everyone has, and the register, the tags, the compliance board and the CIS handling that only we do. No sign-up, no card, about four minutes.