Painting quote template that shows your prep

What goes on this painting quote

A free painting quote template for interior and exterior work: prep, coats, materials and labor on separate lines, with a deposit and a valid until date. Open it in the quote maker with the sample lines filled in, or get it as a Word, Excel or PDF file. Send it as a painting work quotation when a client asks for a formal quotation, or retitle it as a painting estimate template when hidden damage may change the price. The sections below also show how to quote a painting job from walk through to signature.

Painting quotes go wrong when the customer imagines more than you priced. This template puts each decision on the page, room by room and coat by coat, so the price, the paint and the work all match what the customer has in mind.

1. Surfaces and roomsName every room and surface: walls, ceilings, trim, doors, cabinets or siding. A customer can then see exactly what is painted.
2. Prep workFilling, sanding, caulking, masking and priming on their own line, because prep is where most painting disputes start.
3. Coats and finishThe number of coats and the sheen for each surface: matte walls, flat ceilings, semi gloss trim.
4. Paint and materialsBrand or grade of paint, plus primer and sundries, so a cheaper quote cannot hide a cheaper paint.
5. Labor by area or by itemSquare feet for walls and ceilings, a count for doors and trim, or hours for prep.
6. Optional extrasAccent walls, extra coats or cabinet doors as optional lines the customer can add.
7. Deposit and valid untilA deposit to secure the dates and a short validity, since paint prices change.
8. ExclusionsPlaster repairs, moving heavy furniture, wallpaper removal or lead paint work, stated plainly.

Sample painting quote with example prices

Interior repaint of four bedrooms and the hallway, priced the way most painters break it down: paint and sundries as materials, then prep, walls, ceilings and trim as labor. The prices are examples to show the structure, so use your own rates.

Edit the Brushline Painting Co. quote

8 lines are filled in, from interior wall paint, premium matte to accent wall in a second color. Put in your own painting rates, then download the PDF.

Open the painting sample

How to price a painting job

Most painters use one of three methods to price a job: by wall area, by room, or by the hour plus materials. Pick one per job and say on the quote which you used, so the customer understands how you reached the number.

1. By wall areaMeasure the wall area, multiply by the coats, and charge a rate per square foot. Fair and easy to check, and it scales from one room to a whole house.
2. By roomA fixed price per room for standard sizes. Quick to quote, but agree in writing what a standard room includes.
3. Hourly plus materialsHours at your rate plus paint at cost with a markup. Best for repairs and jobs you cannot measure before you start.

Put materials on their own lines with your markup built in, and check it with the markup calculator so the margin you want is the margin you get. The how to price a job guide adds overheads and profit.

Worked example: one bedroom, walls only

Here is how one bedroom comes together when you price by wall area. The numbers are rounded and the rate is an example only, but the method works for any room you can measure with a tape and a ladder.

1. MeasureA 12 x 14 ft bedroom with 8 ft ceilings has a perimeter of 52 ft, so the walls are 52 x 8 = 416 ft².
2. Take off openingsSubtract one door (about 21 ft²) and two windows (about 15 ft² each): 416 minus 51 leaves 365 ft².
3. Multiply by coatsTwo coats means 730 ft² of painting.
4. Work out paintDivide by the coverage on your can. At 375 ft² a gallon, 730 ft² needs about 2 gallons.
5. Price the laborAt an example rate of $1.60 per ft² for two coats on 365 ft², the walls come to $584, before prep, ceiling and trim.

Paint coverage differs by product and surface, so use the figure printed on the can you are quoting.

Inclusions and exclusions to write down

Common painting quote mistakes

Painting quotes rarely fail on the rate. They fail on what was left unsaid, and the customer fills the gap with their own expectations. These are the gaps behind most call backs and arguments on painting jobs.

• Quoting walls but saying nothing about ceilings and trim, then arguing about them on day two.
• Leaving prep as one vague line. Write what you will fill, sand and prime.
• Not naming the paint, which lets a cheaper quote look the same as yours.
• No validity date, so a quote from last spring is held against this year’s paint prices.
• Forgetting access: ladders, scaffolding or a lift for high walls and stairwells.