Day Labour Docket Template (Free) — Australia

By Cal Crane — founder, TradeControl; Operations Manager, Barzen Projects

Disclosure: Cal Crane is the founder of TradeControl and also Operations Manager at Barzen Projects, where TradeControl is used on live commercial sites. Barzen is not an independent customer; it is where the product is built and tested in the field. Figures shown are from Barzen's real usage and are verifiable.

A day labour docket records labour, hours, materials and site conditions for work outside your contracted scope, signed by the builder's representative on the day the work is done. A signed docket is contemporaneous evidence supporting payment for the work.

Download PDF templateDownload Excel template

What to record on a day labour docket

A docket only does its job if it is complete. Record all of the following before you ask anyone to sign it:

  • Date and job or project name
  • Supervisor running the work
  • Each worker on the docket, with their trade
  • Ordinary hours and overtime hours per worker
  • Materials used — description, quantity, unit, supplier and invoice reference
  • Description of the work performed
  • The reason the work sits outside your contracted scope
  • Photos of the work and site conditions
  • The builder or head contractor representative's signature, with their name printed next to it

Why the same-day signature matters

A docket signed on the day the work is done is a contemporaneous record. The builder's representative confirmed the labour, hours and materials while the work was in front of them. Months later — when the account is queried, the site team has moved on, or the project has changed hands — that signature is what stands between a paid invoice and an argument about what happened.

A docket written up days or weeks after the event is a reconstruction. It can still be useful, but it invites dispute in a way a same-day signed record does not. The discipline is simple: no crew leaves site on extra work without a completed, signed docket.

How TradeControl does this automatically

TradeControl's Day Dockets module runs this whole process from a phone on site. The supervisor captures crew, hours, materials and photos as the work happens, the builder's representative signs on the phone, and a finished PDF docket is emailed to the builder the same day. Every docket is stored against the job, so the register builds itself.

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Related

TradeControl provides commercial support tools only. It does not provide legal advice.