A painting bid is built in a fixed order: walk the job, measure, turn the measurements into gallons and labor hours, put overhead and profit on top, then put it in writing the client can sign. Most underpriced jobs skip a step in that chain, usually prep time or the difference between markup and margin.
The calculators in this section each cover one link of the chain and the templates carry the result into documents. Homeowners checking a quote can start with the room cost guide or the whole-house cost guide to see what drives the number they were given.
CALCULATORS
9Paint Calculator
Gallons from wall area, openings, coats and the can's coverage
Interior Painting Cost Calculator
Ballpark interior price by rooms, size and prep level
Deck Stain Calculator
Stain quantity from deck, rail and stair area
Exterior Painting Cost Calculator
Ballpark exterior price by siding, stories and prep
Cabinet Painting Cost Calculator
Per-door and per-drawer pricing, sprayed or brushed
Painting Labor Cost Calculator
Production rates to hours, wage to burdened cost
Painting Markup Calculator
Convert markup to margin and back before you quote
Painting Overhead Calculator
Overhead per billable hour, % of revenue and break-even sales
Fence Paint Calculator
Gallons for a privacy or picket fence, posts and rails included
TEMPLATES
6Painting Estimate Template
Itemized labor and materials, ready to print or copy
Painting Invoice Template
Bill the finished job with terms and change orders listed
Painting Contract Template
Scope, schedule, payment and change terms the client signs
Painting Proposal Template
Good-better-best options for selling up a tier
Painting Estimate Checklist
What to record at the walk-through before pricing
Painting Work Order Template
Turn the signed estimate into crew instructions, prices left off
GUIDES
7How Much Does It Cost to Paint a House
What drives a whole-house quote, inside and out
How Much Does It Cost to Paint a Room
What moves a single-room quote up or down
Popcorn Ceiling Removal Cost
Removal priced per square foot, plus the asbestos question
Epoxy Garage Floor Cost
Garage floor coating priced by size, system and prep
Drywall Repair Cost
Patches, ceilings and replacement priced per repair and per square foot
How Many Square Feet Does a Gallon of Paint Cover
Spread rates per gallon from the makers' sheets, and the gallons a bid needs
How to Price Painting Jobs
Hourly, square-foot or fixed bid, and how to build each
SOFTWARE
3BUILD A BID, STEP BY STEP
The nine steps from walk-through to invoice, and the tool that handles each one.
1. At the walk-through: what do I need to write down?
Surfaces, square footage, condition, access, furniture and the client's expectations, before any number is quoted.
Painting estimate checklist2. How many gallons does the job take?
Wall area minus openings, times coats, divided by the coverage rate on the can.
Paint calculator3. How many labor hours, and what do they cost me?
Production rates per surface turn square feet into hours; burden turns a wage into the real hourly cost.
Painting labor cost calculator4. What should I charge on top of cost?
Markup is figured on cost, margin on the selling price, so a 50% markup is only a 33% margin.
Painting markup calculator5. Is there a quick ballpark for an interior or exterior job?
The cost calculators give a range by room count, siding, stories and prep, useful as a sanity check on a detailed bid.
Interior painting cost calculator6. Pricing a cabinet job?
Cabinets are priced per door and drawer front, not per square foot, and spraying changes the labor math.
Cabinet painting cost calculator7. How do I put the numbers in front of the client?
An itemized estimate for straightforward jobs; a proposal with options when you want to sell up a tier.
Painting proposal template8. The client said yes. Now what gets signed?
A contract that fixes scope, schedule, payment terms and what happens if the job changes.
Painting contract template9. The job is done. How do I bill it?
An invoice that matches the signed estimate, lists any approved change orders and states the payment due date.
Painting invoice template
ESTIMATING FAQ
Should painters price by the hour, by the square foot or by the job?
Most established painters quote a fixed price per job but build it from square footage and production rates underneath. Hourly billing suits small or unpredictable repair work. The pricing methods guide compares the approaches.
What is the most common estimating mistake?
Underestimating prep. Scraping, patching, caulking, masking and moving furniture can take as long as the painting itself on older homes, and it is the part a quick square-foot price leaves out.
Is popcorn ceiling removal priced like painting?
No. It is priced per square foot of ceiling with its own prep and cleanup, and older ceilings may need an asbestos test first. See the popcorn ceiling removal cost guide.
How do I price a deck or exterior job?
Start from the material quantity, then the surface condition and access. The deck stain calculator and the exterior painting cost calculator cover both.