Measure, then price the prep separately
Prep is where painting bids go wrong. Two houses with the same square footage can need a day or a week of scraping. Pricing prep as its own line lets you explain the gap between your bid and a cheaper one, and shows the client what the lower bid probably skipped.
Price with your own production rates
Square feet per hour for walls, linear feet per hour for trim, for your crew, on your kind of jobs. Published averages are a starting point. Your own numbers from past jobs are what make a bid profitable. Once a job is done, check it with the job profit calculator and adjust the rate you bid next time.
Say what happens when you find rot
On exteriors you will find it. Put a per-foot price for trim replacement in the estimate, with approval required first, so the job keeps moving instead of stopping for a new quote.
Questions painters ask
How do I bid a painting job?
Measure the surfaces, estimate prep separately, apply your own production rates to get labor hours, add paint and materials, then add overhead and profit. Price trim and repairs as their own lines.
Should a painting estimate include the paint brand?
Yes. Naming the product line makes bids comparable and heads off a cheaper bid that uses cheaper paint.
Missing a line you always need? Email support@vanreceipts.app and we will add it to the template.