Manpower Supply Invoice Format: GST, Wages and Service Fee

A manpower supply invoice format is how a labour contractor or staffing agency bills a client for workers deployed at the client's site. It lists the categories of workers, days or hours worked, the rate per worker, statutory costs such as PF and ESI, the agency's service charge, GST and the total. In India, manpower supply is generally taxed at 18% GST on the full invoice value, which is the single point that catches most new contractors out.

This guide gives a field-by-field format, a worked sample with the math, and the documents clients expect with the bill. For white-collar temp staffing priced on bill rate versus pay rate, see our staffing agency invoice template.

What goes into a manpower supply invoice

Block	Fields
Supplier	Agency name, address, GSTIN, PAN, labour licence number if applicable, PF and ESI codes
Client	Name, site address, GSTIN, work order or purchase order number
Invoice	Invoice number, date, billing period (e.g. 1 to 31 October), place of supply, SAC code
Manpower lines	Category (skilled, semi-skilled, unskilled, supervisor, guard), headcount, man-days, rate per day or month
Statutory costs	Employer PF, employer ESI, bonus or leave provision if billed separately
Service charge	Agency fee as a percentage or fixed amount
Tax and totals	Taxable value, CGST and SGST or IGST, total, amount in words
Footer	Bank details, reverse charge yes or no, signature, attachments list

Use a fixed invoice series for each financial year, such as MP/26-27/001. If you bill several sites, a site prefix keeps numbers unique; our invoice number generator can help you plan the pattern.

Two common pricing structures

Cost-plus: wages plus statutory plus service charge

The client sees the wage, each statutory component and the agency's percentage. This is common with factories and government departments that want to verify minimum wage compliance.

All-inclusive rate per worker

The agency quotes one rate per worker per month (for example ₹22,500 for a security guard) that already covers wages, statutory costs and margin. The invoice is simpler, but the rate needs revising whenever minimum wages change. A published rate card for each category makes those revisions easy to communicate.

Sample manpower supply invoice (cost-plus)

The figures below are illustrative. Wage rates must follow the applicable minimum wage notification for your state and category, and statutory percentages should be confirmed against current EPFO and ESIC rules.

Description	Calculation	Amount (₹)
Unskilled helpers, 10 workers x 26 days	260 man-days x ₹600	1,56,000
Semi-skilled operators, 4 workers x 26 days	104 man-days x ₹700	72,800
Supervisor, 1 x 26 days	26 man-days x ₹900	23,400
Gross wages		2,52,200
Employer PF (on wages billed, illustrative 13%)	2,52,200 x 13%	32,786
Employer ESI (illustrative 3.25%)	2,52,200 x 3.25%	8,197
Wages plus statutory		2,93,183
Service charge at 8%	2,93,183 x 8%	23,455
Taxable value		3,16,638
CGST 9%		28,497
SGST 9%		28,497
Invoice total		3,73,632

Every figure is rounded to the nearest rupee. Note that GST is charged on ₹3,16,638, the whole taxable value, and not only on the ₹23,455 service charge. If the client deducts TDS at 2% on the value before GST, they would withhold about ₹6,333 and pay ₹3,67,299.

GST rules for manpower invoices

Manpower supply is classified under SAC heading 9985 (support services) and is generally taxed at 18%. Several authority for advance ruling decisions have held that the reimbursed wages and statutory contributions form part of the taxable value, so the full amount attracts GST. You can check rate schedules on the CBIC GST rates page.

Two points to watch:

• Reverse charge for some security services. Security services (supply of security personnel) provided by a supplier other than a body corporate to a registered person are generally taxed under reverse charge, so the client pays the GST. If that applies, show "Tax payable on reverse charge: Yes" and do not add GST to the total.
• Input tax credit for the client. The client can usually claim the GST you charge, subject to the normal conditions in our input tax credit guide, but only if your invoice is correct and you file your returns on time.

This section is general information and not tax advice; GST rates and notifications change, so confirm your position with a GST practitioner.

TDS on manpower bills

Clients usually deduct tax at source on contractor payments. The Income-tax Act, 2025 applies from 1 April 2026, and the contractor TDS provision formerly in section 194C now sits in section 393(1), with rates of 1% for individuals and HUFs and 2% for other payees. Show the gross invoice value on your bill, record TDS when the client pays, and match it against your annual tax statement.

In your books, treat the TDS as tax already paid on your behalf, not as a discount. If the client pays ₹3,67,299 against an invoice of ₹3,73,632, record the receipt of ₹3,67,299 and a TDS receivable of ₹6,333, which you later claim against your income tax. Ask clients to file their TDS returns on time and share certificates, because credit only appears once the deduction is reported. A customer ledger that shows invoice, TDS and net receipt on separate lines makes year-end reconciliation much faster.

How to prepare the invoice each month

1. Close attendance. Get the attendance sheet signed by the client's site supervisor on the last working day.
2. Compute man-days per category. Count paid days including weekly offs if your contract pays them.
3. Apply contracted rates. Use the work order rates, adjusted for any minimum wage revision the contract passes through.
4. Add statutory lines if your contract is cost-plus.
5. Add the service charge on the agreed base.
6. Apply GST at 18% or the reverse charge note.
7. Attach compliance proof: PF and ESI challans for the previous month and the wage register summary.
8. Send the PDF to the address in the work order and log the date.

Variations by industry

• Security agencies bill guards per shift or per month, with overtime and relievers listed separately. See our security guard invoice template and the matching security services quotation format.
• Housekeeping contractors often add consumables (cleaning chemicals, garbage bags) as a separate goods line, which may carry a different GST rate.
• Construction labour is often billed per man-day by trade (mason, helper, bar bender) with the site and work order on each invoice.
• Event staffing is billed per shift with a minimum hours clause.

The attendance sheet that supports the invoice

The invoice is only as strong as the attendance record behind it. Clients approve manpower bills by comparing them with their own gate or biometric records, so a clean attendance annexure saves days. A practical layout:

Worker name	Category	Days present	Weekly offs paid	Overtime hours	Paid days
Worker 1	Unskilled	22	4	6	26
Worker 2	Unskilled	21	4	0	25
Operator 1	Semi-skilled	22	4	10	26

Total the paid days for each category and carry those totals to the invoice. If overtime is billable, put it on its own invoice line with hours and rate, for example 16 hours at ₹150 = ₹2,400, rather than hiding it inside the days. Get the sheet signed and stamped by the client's site in-charge before you raise the bill.

Handling arrears and rate revisions

Minimum wages in India are revised periodically, and many contracts let the agency pass the increase through to the client. When a revision is backdated, do not rework invoices already issued. Instead, raise a supplementary invoice for the arrears that lists each month, the old and new rate, the man-days and the difference. Example: 260 man-days in October at a revised rate ₹20 higher equals ₹5,200 in wage arrears, plus the related statutory costs, service charge and GST. Reference the notification that triggered the revision so the client's auditors can follow it.

Clients also check that the agency is actually paying the revised wage to workers, so keep wage registers and bank payment records ready for inspection.

Common mistakes on manpower invoices

• Charging GST only on the service fee instead of the full value.
• Billing more man-days than the signed attendance shows.
• Forgetting to revise rates after a minimum wage notification, then billing arrears without a separate, explained line.
• Missing the GSTIN or place of supply, which blocks the client's input tax credit.
• Sending invoices without PF and ESI proof when the contract requires it.

You can prepare this manpower invoice in our free invoice generator by entering each worker category as a line item, adding the statutory and service charge lines, and downloading a PDF to send with your attendance sheet. No sign-up is needed.