Painting paperwork, done properly

Painting bids are the easiest in the trades to underbid and the hardest to compare, because the price is mostly prep and nobody writes the prep down. Two quotes on the same room differ by a factor of two when one includes patching, caulking, priming and two finish coats and the other means one coat over whatever is there. State the number of coats, the prep included, and the product line and sheen, and your bid becomes the one a customer can actually evaluate.

Pick your document

  • Painting estimate

    An estimate is your best professional judgment of what a job will cost, given before the work starts.

  • Painting quote

    A quote is a fixed price for a defined scope of work — the number does not move unless the scope does.

  • Painting invoice

    An invoice is the request for payment once the work is done — the document that actually gets you paid.

What belongs on painting contractor paperwork

  • Number of coats, per surface — walls, ceilings and trim are often different
  • Prep included: patching, sanding, caulking, priming, and what level of repair is excluded
  • Product line and sheen by name, since "premium paint" means nothing on a bid
  • Surfaces excluded — closets, ceilings, inside cabinets are the usual arguments
  • Whether furniture moving, masking and floor protection are yours or theirs

How painting contractors price work

Interior work prices per square foot of wall area or per room, exterior per square foot of surface with adders for height, substrate and prep condition. Labor is usually 80 to 85 percent of a painting job, which is why prep assumptions dominate the price. Charging for prep as its own line, rather than folding it into a per-room number, is the clearest way to show a customer why you cost more than the low bid.

The builder ships with 12 painting line items to start from, grouped into 2 sections. Edit the rates once and they save to your own price book.

Open the Painting builder

Questions

How many coats should a painting estimate specify?
Say it explicitly, per surface. Two finish coats is standard for a color change; one may be defensible on a same-color refresh over sound paint. The number of coats is the single biggest driver of a painting price, so leaving it unstated makes your bid impossible to compare with anyone else's.
Should prep be a separate line item?
Yes, if you want to win against low bids. Prep is most of the labor and all of the quality difference. A line reading "patch, sand, caulk and spot-prime — 6 hrs" tells a customer where the money goes; a single "paint living room" line invites them to assume everyone is offering the same thing.
What should I exclude on an exterior painting bid?
Carpentry repair, glazing, roof and gutter work, and any lead-safe remediation on pre-1978 homes. List them as excluded with a note that they can be priced separately — that way finding rot at the fascia becomes an add-on rather than an argument about what "prep" covered.