What should a work order include?

The date and a number, the customer and the job site, the work done, who did it and the hours, the materials used with quantity and unit, what is still pending, and the customer's sign-off. Photos help if there is a dispute later. The template has a place for each and flags what is missing, such as hours without a name or a material without a quantity.

Is a work order the same as an invoice?

No. A work order records the job: what was done, by whom and with what. It carries no prices. The invoice comes after, from your invoicing software; here the materials and hours can go to a quote to be priced, but this tool does not issue invoices.

What is the difference between a work order and a quote?

The quote comes before the job and says what it will cost; the customer accepts it. The work order comes with the job and says what was actually done, with the hours and the materials, and the customer signs it off. The materials and hours of a work order go to a quote in one click, so extra work gets priced without retyping.

Can the customer sign off from their phone?

Yes: send the work order as a link. The customer reads it and signs off with a message to your WhatsApp or e-mail carrying the number, the revision, the date and a reference code. It is not a certified electronic signature; for a handwritten one, print the work order, which has a box to sign.

Do work orders need a number?

It helps: the customer, the quote and the invoice can all point to the same job. Type your own numbering, such as WO-2026-001; when you make a series of work orders, the numbers follow on: WO-8, WO-9, WO-10…

Is the work order template free?

Yes, for up to 10 new documents a month between work orders, quotes and the other documents, with photos, the PDF and the link for the customer's sign-off. Pro has no monthly limit.

Documents · Work order

Work order template: the job, the hours and the sign-off

Fill in the job on the left and the work order lays itself out on the right, ready to print or save as PDF: the customer and the site, the work done line by line, who worked and their hours, the materials with quantity and unit, photos marked up in red, what is still pending, and the customer's sign-off. Send it as a link and the customer signs off from their phone. The hours are a figure you type, not a timesheet, and the sign-off is not a certified signature: the printed copy has a box to sign. Kept in this browser: nothing is uploaded.

Your company on the documents

Shown on every document you make here, and on the specification sheet and the schedule report: one set of details for all of them. Saved in this browser.

Company name

Prepared by

Address, phone, email, tax number

Footer line

PNG, JPG, WebP or SVG, up to 900 kB.

What goes on a work order

At the top, your business details, the date and the work order number (WO-2026-001, or the numbering you already use), the customer and the job site. Then the work: one line per operation, the way you would tell it. Then who worked, with their role and the hours each one spent; the materials used, with quantity and unit; photos before and after, with arrows and dimensions drawn in red; what is still pending; notes for the customer; and at the foot, the name of whoever accepts the work and a box to sign. A material with no quantity, or a person with no hours, is shown and flagged, never counted as zero.

A worked example

Made up, like the example in the tool: Work order WO-2026-001, replacing a broken storefront pane at 123 Made-up Street.

Work done: removed the broken pane and cleaned the rebate; fitted 6+6 laminated glass, 2,400 × 1,200 mm, on setting blocks; sealed outside, cleaned up and took the waste away.
Crew: an installer and a helper, 6.5 hours each, 13 hours in all.
Materials: 2.88 m² of laminated glass, 2 cartridges of neutral silicone, 4 setting blocks.
Pending: the vinyl lettering, when the customer sends the artwork.

The customer reads it from the link and signs off with a message that starts “I sign off work order WO-2026-001 (revision 1)”, with the date and the reference code. Then “Send materials and hours to a quote” turns the glass, the silicone, the blocks and the 13 hours into lines waiting for their price on the quote.

Work order, job sheet or job report?

The same paper goes by several names: work order, job sheet, service report, job report. Some businesses write the work order before the job, to say what is to be done, and complete it afterwards; others write it only at the end. Both work here: keep it as a draft while the job is open, and issue it when the work is done, so the customer has the record. Prefer to call it a job report? The job report is the same tool under that name.

Hours: a figure, not a timesheet

The hours are one number per person that you type for this job, to know what it took and to bill it: 7.5 or 7:30 for seven and a half hours. No start or finish time is asked or kept, and the work order is not a record of working time; if you must keep one for payroll or by law, this does not replace it. You can also leave the hours off the printed copy.

The customer's sign-off

“Send to the customer” puts the work order in a link; the photos stay in your copy, and the link says how many there are. The customer reads it and signs off with a message to your WhatsApp or e-mail with the work order number, the revision, the date and a reference code, plus their name and remarks. That is a message, not a certified electronic signature, and nothing here signs on anyone's behalf: when you need a signature, print the work order and have it signed in the box. Once issued, the work order is frozen; a change becomes revision 2, and the two can be compared.

What is free

The whole work order, with its photos, printed or saved as PDF, the link for the customer's sign-off, and sending the materials and hours to a quote. A new work order counts toward the 10 new documents a month of the free plan, shared with quotes and the other documents. The free version prints a small “Prepared with SyntaxFlow” line at the foot; Pro (€3.99 a month with the first 7 days not charged, or €29 once) removes it and the monthly limit, and adds your own templates, duplicating with options, a series of work orders for several days or one per person, and several work orders at once in one PDF or one CSV.

Questions people ask

What should a work order include?: The date and a number, the customer and the job site, the work done, who did it and the hours, the materials used with quantity and unit, what is still pending, and the customer's sign-off. Photos help if there is a dispute later. The template has a place for each and flags what is missing, such as hours without a name or a material without a quantity.
Is a work order the same as an invoice?: No. A work order records the job: what was done, by whom and with what. It carries no prices. The invoice comes after, from your invoicing software; here the materials and hours can go to a quote to be priced, but this tool does not issue invoices.
What is the difference between a work order and a quote?: The quote comes before the job and says what it will cost; the customer accepts it. The work order comes with the job and says what was actually done, with the hours and the materials, and the customer signs it off. The materials and hours of a work order go to a quote in one click, so extra work gets priced without retyping.
Can the customer sign off from their phone?: Yes: send the work order as a link. The customer reads it and signs off with a message to your WhatsApp or e-mail carrying the number, the revision, the date and a reference code. It is not a certified electronic signature; for a handwritten one, print the work order, which has a box to sign.
Do work orders need a number?: It helps: the customer, the quote and the invoice can all point to the same job. Type your own numbering, such as WO-2026-001; when you make a series of work orders, the numbers follow on: WO-8, WO-9, WO-10…
Is the work order template free?: Yes, for up to 10 new documents a month between work orders, quotes and the other documents, with photos, the PDF and the link for the customer's sign-off. Pro has no monthly limit.