A checklist makes the record consistent. It does not deliver a legal opinion.
Rate's checklist helps an operator inspect the actual invoice the same way every time. “Observed” means the expected information appears in the document. “Not detected” means a human should inspect the original. Neither result decides legal validity.
Use the source document. Never complete this checklist from an accounting summary, memory, or extracted text alone.
Check each item against the invoice that was actually sent.
- 01
Contractor name and business address
The invoice identifies the contractor and its business address.
- 02
Invoice date
The invoice has a clear invoice date.
- 03
Work or materials period
The billing period for the work or materials is shown.
- 04
Contract authority
The contract or other authority under which the work was done is identified.
- 05
Description of work or materials
The supplied work or materials are described.
- 06
Amount and payment terms
The amount requested and payment terms are broken down.
- 07
Payee contact
The payee name, title, and contact information are present.
- 08
Explicit proper-invoice statement
The invoice states that it is intended to be a proper invoice.
The invoice fields are only part of the payment record.
- When the invoice was sent and when the payer received it
- Evidence supporting the receipt date
- The last date physical work or materials were supplied
- The project type, payer tier, and related upstream invoice when applicable
- Known disputes, notices, partial payments, and missing documents
- The next action, internal owner, approver, and review date
Do not let a clean-looking PDF create false confidence.
Assuming send equals receipt
Preserve the payer receipt date and supporting evidence separately.
Using the invoice date as the last-work date
Work and supply events can be different from the date paperwork was created.
Ignoring the contract and project context
Public works, road projects, reserves, federal land, notices, and disputes can require a different path.
Treating extraction as verification
Document-reading software can miss or misread fields. A human checks the original before approval.
Alberta Proper Invoice checklist FAQ
Does completing a checklist make an invoice legally valid?
No. A checklist is an operating observation, not a legal opinion. Contract terms, project facts, legislation, regulations, and qualified advice control legal validity and next steps.
Is the invoice date the same as the receipt date?
Not necessarily. The invoice should have an invoice date, while the operating record should separately preserve when the payer received it and the evidence supporting that receipt date.
Does a subcontractor's invoice always start the owner's 28-day clock?
No. Subcontractor payment can depend on the related upstream Proper Invoice, upstream payment, notices, and other facts. Record the tier and controlling upstream dates rather than assuming every invoice uses the same anchor.
Official sources: Alberta prompt-payment rules and the Prompt Payment and Construction Lien Act.