Skip to content
Invoice for Trades

Free Tree Service Invoice Template

A tree service invoice prices living things by the foot of height, the inch of trunk and the hour of crane time, and it should show all three. This tree service invoice template itemizes work the way crews actually sell it: removals per tree by diameter, crane hours as their own line, stump grinding by the inch, and haul-off where the wood leaves the property. Log the trees, download the PDF, and bill before the chipper is unloaded.

Sample tree service invoice

Billed to Willow Street oak, crane removal, three stumps. Rates are illustrative, not quotes.

DescriptionQtyUnitRateAmount
Tree removal, up to 30 in diameter, climbed and rigged1job$1,250.00$1,250.00
Crane-assisted removal, crane and operator, per hour6hr$385.00$2,310.00
Stump grinding, per inch of diameter, 6 in minimum18ea$6.00$108.00
Total$3,668.00

Itemizing a tree service invoice by the tree

A tree service invoice should name every tree it touched: species or location, trunk diameter at breast height (the DBH that most of the trade prices from) and what was done to it. Removal, crown pruning, deadwooding and cabling each stand as their own line per tree, because a three-tree job quoted as one lump number invites the customer to mentally reprice the maple they decided to keep at the last minute.

The measurements do the arguing for you. A removal quoted by diameter and access is checkable against the stump that is now in the ground, and a customer who walked the job with the estimate can match every line to a tree they can point at. Tree work is expensive and visceral (these were living things in someone's yard), and the invoice that shows exactly what was done to each one reads as respect rather than a bill.

Diameter, height and access: sizing the removal

Diameter drives the price, but access and height decide it. A 24-inch oak in an open field is a routine removal; the same oak leaning over a garage, between two power drops, with no room to lay it down is a rigging job twice the price, and the tree service invoice should say why (tight access, sectional rigging, utility coordination) rather than just a bigger number. Distance to the chipper and drop-zone size belong in the estimate for the same reason.

Hazard and decay reprice the work in ways nobody can see from the ground. Hollow trunks, prior topping cuts, root rot at the lean: condition found in the wood at cutting changes the plan, and the terms should allow a re-quote before the work continues. The invoice then carries the change as its own line with the reason, which is how a climbing job that turned into a crane job gets paid without a standoff in the driveway.

Crane days, crews and storm calls

The crane line is the most misunderstood number on a tree service invoice, and it deserves its explanation. A crane and operator bill by the hour (several hundred dollars an hour with the truck) but over a house, over a greenhouse, over a pool cage, an hour of crane removes what a full day of climbing risks. On the invoice, crane hours appear as their own line beside the removal they served, and the crew hours separate from them, because a customer comparing bids needs to see the method, not just the total.

Storm work runs on its own terms: overtime rates, dispatch minimums, and triage: the tree on the roof before the tree in the yard. The invoice for an emergency call should carry the response line plainly, with the cleanup and haul-off that follow as their own items. Insurance may be involved when a tree hits a structure, but the invoice reads the same either way: what came out, what it took, and what the clock said.

Stump grinding, wood and the close-out

Stump grinding bills by the inch of diameter with a minimum, and the invoice should state the depth included. Grinding to below grade is the expectation, surface roots and flare cuts are extra. It is the most commonly forgotten line on the estimate and the most common callback in the trade, which is why it belongs on every removal quote as a line the customer checks or declines in writing.

The close-out is where tree work gets judged. Wood left on site or cut to fireplace length is one invoice; haul-off with the chipper is another, and the terms should say which one is happening before the first cut. Rake-out of the work area, lawn repairs scheduled for spring where the equipment tracked, and a final walkthrough with the customer turn a tree service invoice from a charge into a finished job, and finished jobs are what the neighbors call about.

Taxes on tree service invoices

Tree work is taxed unevenly: many states treat tree removal, pruning and stump grinding as untaxed services, while others tax them outright, and wood products, mulch and firewood split off as taxable goods where the distinction applies. Emergency and insurance-adjacent work can also be treated differently. Keep per-tree services, crane time and haul-off on separated lines so the invoice supports whichever treatment applies, and confirm the rules with your state's revenue department before setting the taxable flags.

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

Frequently asked questions

How do I price a tree removal by diameter?

Measure the trunk at breast height (the DBH most of the trade prices from) then adjust for height, lean and access. Diameter sets the base, and the multipliers come from what stands around the tree: structures, wires, drop zones and the distance to the chipper all show up in the final number. The invoice should carry the measurement and the access notes beside the price, because a customer who can see how the tree was sized rarely argues with what the tree cost.

When does a crane make removal cheaper than climbing?

Over structures, over pools and cages, and on big hazardous trees where hours of rigging time in the canopy cost more than an hour of lift. The crane bills hourly with an operator (a serious-looking line on the invoice) but it replaces a full climbing day and its risk. Show crane hours and crew hours as separate lines so the customer sees the method alongside the money, and the expensive-looking line explains itself as the one that kept everyone off the roof.

Should stump grinding be on the same invoice as the removal?

Yes. Same invoice, own line, priced by the inch of trunk diameter with the included depth stated. It is the line most often left off the estimate and most often argued about afterward, so put it in front of the customer with the removal and let them decline it in writing if they mean to. Grinding depth, surface roots and flare cuts each belong on the paperwork, because below-grade is the expectation and its definition is the argument.

Do I need a permit to remove a street tree, and who files it?

Many municipalities require a permit for removing or majorly pruning street trees (the strip between sidewalk and curb) and some require one for significant private removals as well. Who files is local: some cities want the homeowner's application, others accept the contractor's. On the invoice the permit appears as a passthrough line at cost, and the inspection that follows belongs to the job file. Removing a regulated tree with no permit is the kind of shortcut that shows up at the property's sale.

How do I bill emergency storm cleanup?

With the emergency stated plainly: an overtime or storm-response line for the dispatch itself, then the removal, cleanup and haul-off as their own items at the posted rates. Storm calls run on minimums because the crew left other work and the roads are a mess, and the customer whose tree is on their roof does not begrudge a minimum they were told about at the door. Photograph everything before the first cut. Insurance adjusters and the invoice tell the same story that way.

Other trade invoice templates