ServiceM8 form
ServiceM8 invoice template for real estate and strata work
For rental maintenance, set the ServiceM8 client's billing type to Property Owner, C/- Company Name, put the tenant's address on the job, and use a template that prints three blocks: bill to (job.billing_address), tenant contact (job.contact_first, job.mobile) and site (job.job_address), plus the agency work order number in job.purchase_order_number.
Last checked 25 Sep 2026 against the sources listed at the end of this page.
Free form
Real estate maintenance invoice form for property maintenance
A tax invoice billed to the owner care of the agency that also shows the tenant, the rental address, the property manager and the agency's work order number.
The form: 17 questions
| Section | Question | Type | Req. | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Header | TAX INVOICE heading, your business name and ABN | Static text and merge field vendor.name | Yes | ABN as static text. |
| Header | Invoice number | Merge field job.generated_job_id | Yes | |
| Header | Invoice date and due date | Merge field job.invoice_date / job.invoice_due_date | Yes | Set agency payment terms on the agency client, not per job. |
| Header | Agency work order number | Merge field job.purchase_order_number | Yes | Label it Work order no. so the agency's accounts team spots it. |
| Bill to | Owner care of agency, with postal address | Merge field job.billing_address | Yes | Prints the owner C/- agency block when the client's billing type is Property Owner, C/- Company Name. |
| Bill to | Agency name | Merge field job.company_name | Yes | |
| Property manager | Property manager name | Merge field job.property_manager_first / job.property_manager_last | ||
| Property manager | Property manager email and phone | Merge field job.property_manager_email / job.property_manager_phone | ||
| Tenant | Tenant name | Merge field job.contact_first / job.contact_last | Yes | The job contact is the tenant, not the agency. |
| Tenant | Tenant phone | Merge field job.mobile | Leave off if the agency does not want tenant details on invoices. | |
| Site | Rental property address | Merge field job.job_address | Yes | Where the work was done. Never the agency's office. |
| Site | Date of attendance | Merge field job.completion_date | ||
| Work | Work completed | Merge field job.work_done_description | Yes | Write it for the owner: what failed, what you did, anything still outstanding. |
| Work | Line items | Merge fields in bookmarked row jobMaterial.name / jobMaterial.quantity / jobMaterial.total_price | Yes | Row between blockStart_jobMaterial and blockEnd_jobMaterial. |
| Totals | Subtotal, GST and total | Merge field job.subtotal_price / job.total_tax_price / job.total_price | Yes | |
| Payment | Bank details and pay online link | Static text and merge field {document} | ||
| Attachments | Before and after photos | Email Smart Attachment | Not a template field. Pick photos from the job diary when emailing the invoice. |
Set it up in ServiceM8
- For each agency, open the client, go to Billing Details, choose the billing type Property Owner, C/- Company Name, fill in the billing fields and save.
- Set the agency's payment terms on the same client under Billing Details > Payment Terms.
- Create each maintenance job under the agency client, with the tenant as the job contact, the rental address as the job address, the property manager filled in, and the work order number in the PO number field.
- Download your current invoice template from Settings > Document Templates, and build the three blocks (bill to, tenant, site) as separate table cells using the fields above.
- Upload it as a custom invoice template and produce a test invoice on a job with different billing and site addresses.
- Save an email template for agency invoices that attaches the invoice plus before and after photos through Smart Attachments.
The bill to versus site problem
A property maintenance invoice has three different parties on it. The owner pays, the agency manages and approves, and the tenant lives at the address where the work happened. Most trade invoice templates have one name and one address, so either the agency's office address ends up as the job location, or the tenant's name ends up as the person being billed. Both get invoices bounced back by property managers who process hundreds a week.
ServiceM8 already stores these separately. The client record carries the billing details, the job carries the site address and the job contact, and the property manager has their own set of fields. ServiceM8's own real estate setup uses the billing type Property Owner, C/- Company Name on the agency client, then a job per tenant with the tenant's name and address, and a template that prints job.billing_address and job.company_name. The result is an invoice with Real Estate Client Details, Tenant Contact Details and Tenant Job Address as separate blocks. The table below extends that with the property manager and the work order number.
Work order numbers and where they end up
Agencies send a work order with their own number and expect it back on the invoice. Put it in the job's PO number field and print job.purchase_order_number near the top. If you sync to Xero with ServiceM8 job numbers as invoice numbers, ServiceM8 puts that PO number in the Xero Reference field, so the agency's number is searchable in your books too.
If most of your work arrives as PDF work orders, ServiceM8's Email Inbox can scan a forwarded work order and fill in the job card for you. ServiceM8 says it works best with the templates from popular real estate management software, and results vary with layout, so check the PO number and tenant details it extracts.
Who the tax invoice is addressed to
For sales of $1,000 or more the ATO requires a tax invoice to show the buyer's identity or ABN, and it notes that special rules apply to invoices for transactions made through agents. The owner is the buyer and the agency acts for them, which is why the billing block reads as the owner care of the agency rather than the agency alone. If an agency asks for something different, get their instruction in writing and keep it on the client record.
Photos, access and strata
ServiceM8's published invoice fields do not include job photos, so before and after photos go with the invoice as Smart Attachments on the email, picked from the job diary. The email and its attachments are then saved to the diary as a record of what the agency received.
Access matters on rental jobs. In Queensland the RTA says an owner or manager must give an Entry notice with 48 hours notice to carry out repairs or maintenance, unless the tenant agrees to a time or it is an emergency. Put the agreed entry time in the job description so the tech and the invoice agree on when the work happened.
For strata managers or head offices paying for many sites, ServiceM8's Client Sites add-on is the better fit: invoice templates use the head office details for company name and billing contact, and every site's invoices go to your accounting package under the head office name.
What this form will not do
- ServiceM8's published invoice field list has no photo field, so photos travel as email attachments, not inside the invoice PDF.
- ServiceM8's real estate article sets the billing type on the agency client and does not describe naming a different owner for each property. Confirm with each agency how they want the owner shown.
- Work order scanning fills the job from the agency's PDF but can misread unusual layouts. Check the PO number before invoicing.
- Entry notice rules differ by state. The 48 hour figure is Queensland's.
Sources
- ServiceM8's real estate invoice setup uses the client Billing Details billing type 'Property Owner, C/- Company Name', a job created for the tenant's name and address, and the template fields job.billing_address and job.company_name, producing separate Real Estate Client Details, Tenant Contact Details and Tenant Job Address sections. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- ServiceM8 template fields include job.contact_first, job.contact_last, job.mobile, job.billing_contact_first, job.property_manager_first, job.property_manager_last, job.property_manager_email, job.property_manager_phone, job.job_address, job.billing_address and job.purchase_order_number. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- If the Xero invoice number is the ServiceM8 job number, the Xero Reference field contains the ServiceM8 PO number. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- ServiceM8's Email Inbox can scan PDF work orders from property managers and auto fill a job card; it works best with popular real estate management software templates and results vary with layout. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Tax invoices for sales of $1,000 or more must show the buyer's identity or ABN; special rules apply to tax invoices for transactions carried out through agents (GSTR 2000/37). Australian Taxation Office, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- In Queensland an owner or manager must give an Entry notice with 48 hours notice to enter to carry out repairs or maintenance; entry without notice is allowed if the tenant agrees (at the agreed time) or in an emergency. Residential Tenancies Authority (Qld), checked 25 Sep 2026.
- With the Client Sites add-on, sites have no billing contact of their own, quote and invoice templates use the head office details for company name and billing contact, and invoices for all sites go to the accounting package under the head office name. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.