How Much Do Self-Employed Service Workers Lose on Materials They Forget to Charge For?

By Dan Reeve — Working handyman and founder of SMASH Invoices. Dan has been a sole trader for over a decade and built SMASH after losing $1,200 in uninvoiced jobs in a single year. He still takes on handyman work and uses SMASH on every job. About Dan →

Self-employed service workers lose an average of $5,200 per year on materials they forget to itemise. That's $100 per week in consumables — drill bits, silicone, sandpaper, cable ties, blades — bought for every job but never appearing on an invoice. According to ATO small business income and deductions data, consumable materials are among the most commonly under-claimed business expenses for sole traders. The annual total is roughly equivalent to a ute registration, a family holiday, or four months of insurance premiums.

Why does $100 a week in materials disappear without a trace?

It disappears because the materials feel small at the point of purchase. A $4 tube of silicone. An $8 pack of sandpaper. A $6 drill bit. None of them feel like invoice line items. But three of those purchases per job, five jobs per week, fifty weeks per year — that's $5,200 walking out of your pocket without anyone signing for it.

The materials aren't lost. They're just never asked for.

My dad is a carpenter. Thirty years in the trade. On every single invoice, at the bottom, he writes: Miscellaneous — $20. That covers drill bits, blades, grinder discs, sandpaper, screws, silicone — all the consumables that go into every job. I asked him once what it actually covers. He said "just random stuff."

He's been undercharging on materials his entire career and doesn't know it. The $20 miscellaneous line covers maybe a third of what he actually spends. The other two-thirds? Gone. Every job. For thirty years.

"I did a rough calculation after talking to my accountant. I was spending about $180 a month on consumables — sandpaper, bits, blades, caulk — and charging maybe $40 back. I wasn't even close. Been doing that for six years." — Terry M., Handyman, Newcastle NSW [PLACEHOLDER]

Which trades lose the most on uncharged materials?

Painters lose the most. Every job involves undercoat, topcoat, brushes, rollers, roller covers, tape, drop sheets, sugar soap, sandpaper — and most painters invoice by the room or the job without itemising any of it. A single interior repaint can involve $60–$90 in consumable materials that never appear on the invoice.

Plumbers and electricians lose the most per line item. A bag of cable clips is $12. A length of conduit is $8. A P-trap is $14. These are small numbers individually, but a plumber doing five service calls per day might have $40–$80 in uncharged fittings per day — or $800–$1,600 per month.

Handymen lose the most consistently. Every job is different, which means every job has a different consumables list. No pattern makes it easy to remember. No system makes it automatic.

How do you fix a problem that happens before the invoice is even started?

The problem is timing. Materials get used during the job. The invoice gets written hours later, or the next morning, or Sunday night. By then you're working from memory. Memory is not a reliable materials tracker.

The fix happens at the job. Not at home. Not on Sunday night.

You finish the job. You look at what you used. You speak it out loud: "Replaced tap washers and flexi hose, two P-80 silicone, sandpaper, and a half tube of PVC cement." That's 12 seconds. Every item is captured. Nothing is lost to memory.

Here's what it looks like in practice. You're cleaning the brushes after an interior repaint. You speak: "Interior repaint, living and dining, two coats. Labour six hours. Undercoat two litres, topcoat four litres, sandpaper, four roller covers, tape." Materials priced automatically. Labour at your rate. $780 plus GST. Sent. Customer has a payment link before you've finished cleaning up. That's the invoice. That's all of it.

SMASH Invoices builds the invoice from that 12 seconds of voice. The materials are priced automatically from a 2,250+ item Australian materials catalog — Bunnings-seeded, current pricing. You don't look anything up. You don't guess. The invoice is sent before you leave the driveway.

"I was losing maybe $80 a week on materials. Not huge but it adds up — nearly a grand over winter. Now I just say what I used while I'm cleaning up and it's on the invoice. Takes me less time than locking the van." — Scott D., Plumber, Gold Coast QLD [PLACEHOLDER]

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to charge GST on materials when invoicing in Australia? If your annual turnover exceeds $75,000 and you are registered for GST, you must charge 10% GST on materials included in your invoice. GST-registered businesses can also claim back the GST paid on materials purchased. If you are below the $75,000 threshold, GST registration is optional.

How should I itemise materials on an invoice? Each material should be listed as a separate line item with a description, quantity, unit price, and line total. Grouping all materials under a single "materials" charge reduces customer transparency and reduces your ability to claim accurate business expenses at tax time.

Is there a legal minimum for how much a sole trader must charge for materials? No minimum exists. You can charge at cost, at cost-plus-markup, or at a flat rate. Most trades add a 15–25% markup on materials to cover sourcing time, delivery, and carrying cost. This is standard industry practice and customers generally expect it.

What's the easiest way to track materials used on-site? The most reliable method is to invoice on-site immediately after completing the job, while the materials are still visible. Voice-to-invoice tools allow you to describe what you used in natural speech and generate an itemised invoice automatically, eliminating the need for manual tracking or end-of-day data entry.

Is there an invoicing app that automatically prices Australian materials? SMASH Invoices includes a catalog of 2,250+ Australian trade materials priced from Bunnings supplier data. When you describe a job by voice — "replaced flexi hose and two tap washers" — the app identifies the materials and prices them automatically. No manual lookup required.

Stop losing $100 a week on uncharged materials. SMASH prices them automatically. Start Free →