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Invoice for Trades

Free Towing Invoice Template

A tow is a call in the dark, a hook-up, a run across town and a car that now lives on your lot until someone claims it. This towing invoice template itemizes each of those pieces separately (the base tow, the loaded miles, the winch that took twenty minutes, the storage clock that started when the car crossed your gate), so the bill the owner, insurer or police department reads matches the work on the incident.

Sample towing invoice

Billed to State Farm claim / PD case 26-11842, I-95 northbound. Rates are illustrative, not quotes.

DescriptionQtyUnitRateAmount
Base tow, hook-up and first 5 loaded miles, light duty1trip$145.00$145.00
Loaded mileage beyond base, per mile9ea$7.50$67.50
Vehicle storage, secure lot, per day4day$45.00$180.00
Total$392.50

What a towing invoice should show

A towing invoice needs to stand up to three different readers: the vehicle owner paying at the gate, the insurer reimbursing the claim, and the police department that authorized the tow. Each one reads for a different thing, and the invoice should carry all three: the incident or PD case number, the vehicle identification, and the itemized charges by service, mileage and days. A tow invoice that names its incident closes at the window; one that says 'towing' opens a dispute.

Every charge should be traceable: the base tow against the published rate, the loaded miles from the scene odometer or the dispatch record, and the surcharges for the time of day or the equipment the recovery needed. Where a charge is set by local ordinance (many jurisdictions cap the maximums a tow can charge), the invoice rate should match it exactly. The invoice is where a tow company either reads as a professional operator or hands a city council a reason to look closer.

Base rate, mileage and the equipment that came

The standard structure is base tow plus loaded miles: the base covers the hook-up, the driver's time on the scene, and the first miles, with the per-mile rate applying beyond that. That structure is fair, and the invoice should show it cleanly: no shape-changing between a police call and a private customer. Where your area's rules set the base and the mile rate, those numbers are your numbers.

The equipment that did the work belongs on its own line when it is billed separately: a rollback needed for a low-clearance vehicle, a heavy wrecker for a box truck, a second unit for a multi-car incident. Recovery work (winch-outs, off-road extractions, vehicle recoveries from ditches) bills differently from straight tows because the time and the equipment risk are different. The invoice that shows each unit and service separately is doing what the assignment sheet already says, and the insurer processing the claim can see the pieces line up.

Storage days and getting the car out of your lot

Storage is the charge owners dispute most, and the invoice that wins disputes counts honestly: the day count from the date the vehicle entered, the daily rate, and the release that stopped the clock. Be precise about partial days per the rules your jurisdiction sets, and note the date the release paperwork was issued on the last invoice. Owners who understand that the clock stopped when they called are customers who tell the story calmly instead of handing it to the city.

The other reader of the storage line is the insurer, whose adjuster is working the same case number and wants the invoice to show what was actually done: tow, days stored and release. Where an accident report triggered the tow, the invoice should reference the incident so the adjuster can process without calling you. Every vehicle eventually leaves your lot either as a paid release, an insurance settlement, or a lien process; the invoice trail is what shoulders each of those endings.

Getting paid: PD calls, insurers and the gate

A tow company ends up collecting from three kinds of customer, and each pays on a different rhythm: the driver who pays at the gate in cash or card, the insurer reimbursing after the claim documents, and the municipality or motor club account that runs on a monthly statement of calls billed at contract rates. Your invoice should be built to serve all three: itemized enough for the insurer, clean enough for a statement run, and readable by a driver standing at your window at 2 a.m.

The piece that keeps the books healthy is documentation at the scene: photos of the vehicle before the hook-up, the odometer at departure, the incident number and the signature on the release. These go in the job file behind the invoice and turn every later question into a resolved one. Towing runs on volume and thin margins. The operator who invoices completely and collects the same day is the one who is still running trucks in five years.

Taxes on towing invoices

Towing services are taxed differently from most trades: several states exempt them entirely as transportation, while others tax them as a service or treat storage as taxable even where the tow itself is not. Where the tow was police-authorized or insurance-backed, the taxability can change in some jurisdictions. Keep the tow, mileage, recovery and storage separated on every towing invoice so whichever treatment your state applies has clean lines behind it, and confirm the current rule with your department of revenue.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules vary by location.

Frequently asked questions

How should storage days be counted on a towing invoice?

From the calendar day the vehicle enters your lot through the release, per the daily rate, with partial-day handling, holidays, and the release date itself counted however your jurisdiction's rules say. Every jurisdiction has them, and the invoice should match them exactly rather than drift toward whatever the day count feels like. Storage is the line owners photograph when the invoice looks wrong.

Can I charge extra when the tow needed a winch?

Yes. Pulling a vehicle out of a ditch or back onto the roadway is a different job from a straight hook-up and a ride, and pricing it separately is standard across the industry. On the invoice it should be its own line with what it took stated plainly, because the insurer processing the claim can see that a winch occurred. What does not work is folding the winch inside the base tow and arguing about it later.

Who pays when the police authorized the tow?

Usually the vehicle owner at the release, not the department: the PD call authorizes the tow and starts the storage clock, and the invoice goes to whoever redeems the vehicle. In some jurisdictions the city or the motor club pays the contract rate instead, per your agreement. The invoice that names the incident and the vehicle works for whichever payer shows up.

Do I have to bill at the rates the city sets?

In most jurisdictions with police-rotation towing, yes. The city sets maximum rates for base tow, mileage and storage, and your invoice should match them for those calls. Private-property and motor-club tows run on your own published rates unless the contract says otherwise. Where your area has no set schedule, the invoice still has to match your posted or quoted rate exactly, since that is what the customer agreed to.

What payment terms are normal on a towing invoice?

The owner pays at the release, before the vehicle leaves the lot. That is the industry norm and it protects the vehicle as your only security on the charge. Insurers reimburse after the claim, sometimes at a published rate schedule. Municipal and motor-club accounts run on monthly statements with net 15 to net 30. Print the terms the customer agreed to exactly as they were quoted, and there will be nothing to argue at the window.

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