ServiceM8 how-to

How do you invoice progress claims in ServiceM8?

Use the Partial/Progress Invoicing add-on (Starter plan and up). Each claim is split off the job as a new completed job with its own invoice, and the original job carries a matching negative line. ServiceM8 does not track percent complete, claimed to date or retention, so keep the claim schedule yourself.

Last checked 25 Sep 2026 against the sources listed at the end of this page.

Partly

Partly: the Partial/Progress Invoicing add-on raises each claim as its own invoice, but you track the schedule, claimed to date and retention yourself.

Step by step

Go to Settings, ServiceM8 Add-ons and switch on Partial/Progress Invoicing (Starter plan or higher).
Quote the job with one line or bundle per stage if you claim by stage.
When a claim is due, open the job and click Quotes & Invoicing.
Click the arrow next to Produce Invoice, then New Partial Invoice.
Claim by stage: tick the items for the completed stage. Claim by percentage: click Add Material/Service and add a line such as 'Progress claim 3: 60% complete' at this claim's amount.
Click Confirm Invoice. ServiceM8 creates a completed job with the original job number plus a letter.
Write the claim description so it identifies the work and stage, states the amount and requests payment.
Send the claim, then go to Invoicing, Awaiting Approval, tick the claim job and click Approve to send it to Xero.
Update your claim schedule (spreadsheet or Xero report) with the amount claimed and any retention withheld.
At practical completion, invoice the balance from the original job, which already shows every claim as a negative line.

Gotchas

Ticking an existing item moves the whole item to the claim. To claim part of a line, add a new line for the amount instead.
No claimed to date figure prints on the claim. If the builder wants to see previous claims, list them in the description or on a schedule you attach.
ServiceM8 cannot create credit notes. Adjust a synced claim with a credit note in Xero.
Retention withheld shows as an unpaid balance. Exclude those claims from automatic payment follow ups or customers get chased for money not yet due.
Each claim is a separate Xero invoice. On Xero Ignite, claims count toward the invoice limit, and app created invoices may count too.
If a claim has to be reversed before approval, fix the claim job and the matching negative line on the parent job in the same sitting, or the final balance invoice will be out.

What the official help article misses: It shows the clicks for one partial invoice but not how to run a series of claims, how to claim a percentage of a line, what to do about retention or claimed to date, how claims appear in Xero, or what a claim needs to contain to count as a payment claim in Queensland. Read ServiceM8's article.

What partial invoicing does, and what it does not

A progress claim in ServiceM8 is a partial invoice. From the job's Quotes & Invoicing screen you choose New Partial Invoice, then either tick items already on the job or add a new line for the amount you are claiming. ServiceM8 creates a new completed job numbered with the original job number plus a letter (job 1450 becomes 1450A, 1450B and so on), and adds a negative line to the original job so the balance invoice is reduced by the same amount.

That is all it does. There is no contract sum field, no percent complete, no running "claimed to date" figure and no retention ledger. ServiceM8 says itself that it is built for a high volume of shorter jobs lasting hours or days, not project tracking. For a builder or commercial job with five or six claims, that means the claim schedule lives outside ServiceM8: on the quote, in a spreadsheet, or in Xero.

Two ways to structure the claims

Claim by stage. Build the quote with one line (or a bundle) per stage: rough in, fit off, commissioning. When a stage is done, create the partial invoice and tick that stage's items. The claim describes exactly what was done, and the original job shows what is left. This is the cleanest option when your contract pays on stages.

Claim by percentage. When the contract pays a percentage of value each month, add a new line to each partial invoice, for example "Progress claim 3: 60% complete, less previous claims", priced at this month's amount. You work out the amount yourself. The original job's negative lines add up to what has been claimed so far, which gives you a rough claimed to date check on the job card.

The Xero side

Each claim is approved from Invoicing, Awaiting Approval like any other job and arrives in Xero as its own invoice. Nothing links the claims together in Xero, so set up a tracking category or use the customer PO to group them for reporting. On Xero's Ignite plan, which points businesses sending more than 20 invoices to the Grow plan, every claim counts.

ServiceM8 cannot create credit notes. If a builder rejects part of a claim after it has synced, raise the credit note in Xero.

Retention. If the head contractor withholds retention, your claim is for the full amount and they pay less. The difference stays as an unpaid balance on that claim invoice until you claim it back. Mark those invoices so your follow ups do not chase retention that is not due yet.

Queensland payment claims

Under Queensland's security of payment law, a payment claim must identify the work, state the amount claimed and request payment. A ServiceM8 invoice can meet all three if the description names the work and the stage. If the contract has no reference date, it is the last day of the month the work was done, and you can give one claim per reference date. If the contract states no due date, payment is due 10 business days after the claim is given.

Sources

A partial invoice creates a new completed job with the original job number followed by a letter and adds a negative partial invoice item to the original job; items already on the job can be ticked to invoice them. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
On ServiceM8's Australian pricing, Partial/Progress Invoicing is included from the Starter plan up. ServiceM8, checked 25 Sep 2026.
ServiceM8 describes itself as focused on managing a relatively high volume of smaller or shorter jobs that might last hours or days. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
ServiceM8 cannot create credit notes; adjustments after sync are made in the accounting package. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
In Queensland a payment claim must identify the work, state the amount claimed and request payment. Without a contract date, the reference date is the last day of the month the work was carried out, one claim can be given per reference date, and payment is due within 10 business days after the claim if the contract states no date. Queensland Building and Construction Commission, checked 25 Sep 2026.
If a building contract does not specify a defects liability period, retention amounts or security must be released 12 months after practical completion. Queensland Building and Construction Commission, checked 25 Sep 2026.
Xero's Ignite plan points businesses sending more than 20 invoices to the Grow plan, and transactions initiated by app partners may count toward the Ignite invoice limit. Xero, checked 25 Sep 2026.