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Common auto detailing jobs
Not sure whether to charge sales tax?
Two questions, in this order: is this job taxable at all, and if it is, at what rate. Both depend on where the work is.
Is it taxable at all?
- Improving real property — a new install, a remodel, an addition — usually makes you the end user of the materials. You already paid sales tax at the supply house, and you don't add tax to your customer's invoice.
- Repairs and maintenance are taxable far more often, and several states treat residential and commercial work differently.
When a customer says they're exempt
Churches, schools, charities and municipal work are often genuinely exempt, and a general contractor buying your work to resell to their client is usually a resale rather than an exemption. In both cases they'll have a certificate, and a copy of it is what protects you — it's the piece of paper that puts the tax on them rather than on you if anyone ever asks. Most customers hand it over without blinking; it's routine paperwork on their end, not a favour you're asking for.
There is no federal sales tax — nothing on this document is federal. Your federal tax is income and self-employment tax, settled with the IRS, not collected from your customer.
State rates as published January 2026; local rates change often. This is general information, not tax advice — your state's revenue department or your bookkeeper has the last word.
Sending opens your phone's share sheet, so you can text or email it from the contact you already have — the amount due, how to pay and your payment link ride along in the message. Save to Photos hands over the same document as an image — tap “Save Image” in the sheet to keep it.
Documents saved on this device (0)
Saved automatically when you print. Stored only in this browser — nothing is uploaded, ever. Clearing browser data erases them.
Pro
Unlimited invoices and estimates, customer autocomplete, your own saved items and prices, one-tap backups, and CSV export for your bookkeeper — $4.99/month, cancel in two clicks. Your invoice contents still never leave your device.
See Pro pricingCommon questions
Is this auto detailing invoice generator really free?
Your first 3 invoices are completely free — no account, no card, no watermark. After that it's $4.99/month for unlimited.
Do I need an account or an app?
No app, and no account for your first three invoices — build them, print them, send them, nothing to sign up for. Once you've used those three, unlimited invoices are $4.99/month and that's when you'd create an account. Your invoice contents never leave your device either way.
How do I send the invoice to my customer?
Tap “Send as PDF” and your phone's own share sheet opens with the finished invoice attached — pick Messages, Mail, WhatsApp, whatever you use, and the customer is already in your contacts, so there's nothing to type. “Send via SMS” sends it as a picture instead, which previews right inside the message thread. Either way the amount due, your payment instructions and your payment link travel in the message, and the file is built on your phone — it never passes through us.
How do my customers pay me?
Put your payment link or handle in “Get paid online” and every invoice gets a scan-to-pay code: your customer points their phone camera at it and their payment app opens, already pointed at you. Three ways in, because customers read invoices in different places — scan the code off a printed copy, tap the code itself in the PDF (a phone can't photograph its own screen, so on a phone the tap is the one that works), or tap the link in the message you sent. The money moves directly between your customer and your own payment account — we are not a payment processor, we never touch it, and we never see whether you were paid.
Which payment apps work with the scan-to-pay code?
Cash App, PayPal and Venmo can carry the amount in the link, so the customer's app opens with the balance already filled in — enter your $cashtag, your @venmo handle, or your paypal.me address. Any other payment link works too (a Stripe or Square link, or your own booking page); those just can't take an amount, so the customer types it themselves. Zelle has no link standard at all, so put your Zelle number in “How to pay” instead. Whichever you use, tap Test this link once — it opens the page your customer will land on, so you can check the name on it is yours. One wrong character in a handle sends your money to a stranger, and no payment app will warn you about that.
Should I use my personal Venmo or Cash App to get paid?
Check first — this one bites tradespeople. Venmo's user agreement doesn't allow receiving business payments on a personal profile, and accounts caught doing it can have money held, reversed, or frozen, which is your payroll sitting in limbo. Cash App and PayPal draw the same line between paying a friend and taking money for work. All three offer a business profile that is allowed to take customer payments; expect a small fee per payment and IRS reporting, which is what you want anyway once you're invoicing. Ask your bookkeeper before the first invoice, not after the account is locked.
Can I reopen a previous invoice?
Yes. Every document you print is saved automatically on this device. Open it from “Documents saved on this device,” edit, and re-print. Use the same browser and it's always there.
What should an auto detailing invoice include?
Your company name and license number, the customer's name and service address, itemized work (for example: Full detail — interior shampoo, clay bar, sealant), tax if it applies, any deposit already received, and your warranty terms. Beyond that, auto detailing invoices carry a few things the generic list misses: the vehicle's year, make, model and plate or VIN, and the condition you found it in — existing scratches, chips or interior damage noted before you start is the single thing that protects a detailer from a claim afterwards.
Can I make estimates too?
Yes — switch Document type to Estimate. Numbering, saving, and printing work exactly the same.
What if I don't have a license number?
Leave it blank — it's optional, and an empty license field is automatically left off the printed invoice. Not every state licenses every trade. Detailing needs no trade license in most places. What does catch people is water: many municipalities prohibit wash runoff entering a storm drain, and a mobile operation is the one most likely to be doing it. Rules change and vary by state and city, so confirm yours with your state licensing board rather than taking a web page's word for it — including this one.
How do I keep track of who still owes me?
Every invoice you print is saved with an UNPAID status. Open “Documents saved on this device” to see your outstanding total at a glance, and tap the status to mark an invoice paid when the money lands.
What if my customer says they're tax exempt?
Get the exemption certificate and keep it with the job. Churches, schools, charities and city or county work are often exempt, and a general contractor buying your work to resell to their client is usually a resale rather than an exemption — either way it's the customer's job to prove it, not yours to assume. If you don't charge tax and there's no valid certificate on file, an auditor bills the uncollected tax to you, with interest. Ask before you invoice, and put a line in the notes so a zero-tax invoice still explains itself years later.
What tax rate should I charge on an auto detailing invoice?
Start with a different question: is the job taxable at all? In most states, work that improves real property — a new install, a remodel, an addition — makes you the end user of the materials. You paid sales tax at the supply house and you don't add tax to the customer's invoice. Repairs and maintenance are taxable far more often, and some states treat residential and commercial work differently. If tax does apply, the rate is the one at the job's service address: only a handful of states are a single statewide rate, and everywhere else counties and cities add on top of the state share. Tap “Not sure whether to charge sales tax?” under the tax field, pick your state, and we'll show you the state rate and link you straight to your revenue department's own guidance. And there's no federal sales tax — your federal tax is income and self-employment tax, which you settle with the IRS, not something you collect from a customer. When no tax applies, leave the rate at 0.