Free Painting Estimate Template (PDF Generator)

How to write a painting estimate

1. Add your business details

   Company details and logo, plus your EPA firm certification number when the house was built before 1978.

2. Enter the customer and the property

   Name, contact details and the job address.

3. Number and date it, and set the valid-until date

   The number is prefilled. Give the validity window room for weather on exterior work.

4. Measure each surface and price it with the product and sheen

   Walls, ceilings, trim and doors as rows with the square feet, linear feet or count, the product line and sheen, and the coat count plus the condition for a third coat.

5. Itemize prep and add a wood-repair allowance

   Wash, scrape, sand, caulk and prime as rows; a stated allowance for rotten trim with a rate beyond it, approved by change order.

6. Record colors, RRP scope, exclusions and optional add-ons

   Color codes or a visible blank per surface; lead-safe work practices for pre-1978 homes; exclusions in writing; accent walls or cabinet work marked Optional so they print priced outside the total.

7. Set the deposit, download, and convert when signed

   Deposit as a percent or flat amount, then text or email the PDF. On signature, untick Optional on accepted add-ons and press Convert to invoice.

What to include on a painting estimate

What should a painting estimate include?

Three things decide whether the estimate protects you: whether the prep is itemized, whether the coats and colors are pinned down, and whether the exclusions are written. Everything else is a price the customer will compare, which is fine — you want to be compared on a scope the other bidder did not bother to write.

Itemize the prep the way the sample does: wash as a lot, scraping and sanding by the hour, caulk and prime as a lot, wood repair as an allowance in linear feet with a rate beyond it. Then the finish by surface: siding by the square foot with the coat count and sheen, trim and fascia by the linear foot, shutters and doors by the piece. Then the paint by the gallon with the product named. A customer reading that page understands why it costs what it costs, and a competitor's 'paint exterior — $6,800' looks thin next to it.

Write the exclusions as a list in the notes: furniture beyond moving to room centers, wallpaper removal, plaster restoration, window glazing, gutters, anything requiring a roof harness unless quoted. Then the conditions: colors confirmed by sample before ordering, a third coat priced up front for deep or drastic color changes, and the weather clause for exterior work — coatings need dry surfaces and temperatures inside the manufacturer's range, so the start date can move. None of that is legal boilerplate; it is the list of arguments you have already had.

How do you measure and price a paint job?

1. Walls: perimeter of the room times ceiling height, less the big openings. Do not subtract every window — the cutting-in around them costs what the glass would have.
2. Ceilings: length times width. Trim: linear feet of baseboard, casing and crown. Doors, windows, shutters: by the piece, both sides where applicable.
3. Exterior siding: wall length times height per elevation, with a story or access factor for anything needing staging or a lift.
4. Prep: walk it and count hours. Loose paint, failed caulk, soft trim, nail pops, glossy surfaces needing a scuff — each is time, and time is the number most painters guess low.
5. Materials: gallons from the manufacturer's stated coverage on the product data sheet, times coats, plus primer and sundries. Coverage varies by product and by surface porosity, so use the sheet for the product you are actually buying.
6. Check the number: the hourly rate calculator tells you what an hour has to bill to carry your overhead, and the estimate guide covers the markup-versus-margin math that trips up painters pricing material at cost plus a guess.

Present the result per surface, not as one number. The customer who sees walls, ceilings and trim priced separately can drop the ceilings to fit a budget; the one who sees a lump sum can only say no.

What must a painting estimate say for a home built before 1978?

For a pre-1978 house, apartment or child-occupied facility, the federal RRP rule's duties start before the job, and the estimate is where they should show up. The firm must be EPA-certified and the work performed or directed by a certified renovator — the only exemption is minor repair and maintenance disturbing six square feet or less per interior room or 20 square feet or less on the exterior (EPA). Before work begins, the firm must give the owner the EPA lead-hazard pamphlet no more than 60 days before starting and either obtain the owner's written acknowledgment of receipt or a certificate of mailing at least seven days before the renovation (40 CFR 745.84).

On the estimate that means: your firm certification number in the header or notes, a sentence that the work is performed under a certified renovator, the pamphlet delivery noted, and the cost of containment, wet scraping, HEPA cleanup and disposal built into the prep lines where the customer can see it. The sample estimate does exactly this for a 1965 house. Painters who skip the line and absorb the cost lose bids to painters who skip the practices — put it on paper, price it, and let the customer see the difference. The painting invoice page covers the close-out side: the record-keeping checklist that goes with the final invoice.

How much deposit should a painter ask for?

Enough to cover the paint order and the first day's labor, and never more than your state allows. Painting is labor-heavy, so deposits tend to be smaller than on material-heavy trades — but check the law before you pick a number. California caps the down payment on a home-improvement contract at $1,000 or 10 percent of the contract price, whichever is less, requires the contractor's license number on the contract, and limits later payments to the value of work performed (CSLB). Other states cap at different fractions or not at all; the contractor deposit guide lists the ones with hard limits.

The generator's deposit line takes a percentage or a flat amount and prints 'Deposit due to schedule' under the total, so the customer signs the scope and the deposit in one place. A customer who argues about a deposit that barely covers the paint is telling you something — the red-flags list covers what.

How do you write the scope so touch-ups don't become free repaints?

Name the standard you will be judged by. PCA Standard P1 says a properly painted surface is uniform in appearance, color, texture, hiding and sheen, virtually free of runs, sags, holidays and misses, and is examined without magnification from 39 inches or one meter, under finished lighting, from a normal viewing position (PCA P1). The same standard says the painter corrects deficiencies in its own workmanship, and that damage caused by others is repair — meaning billable. Put one sentence in the estimate: 'Finish inspected to PCA P1 at the final walkthrough; touch-ups for our own workmanship are included, damage by others is billed at the hourly rate.'

Then close the two doors touch-up disputes come through. Color changes after the order are a change order with a new price. And the final walkthrough is a scheduled event with the customer present, not a text the next day. Painters who send the estimate and then go quiet lose the job to the next bid; the follow-up cadence covers the texts that get it signed. Painting companies that run this at volume use TrustPro's painting CRM to send the estimate by text, take the deposit online and convert it to the invoice with the same lines and colors — $29/month, 14-day free trial, no credit card.

FAQ

• EPA — Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) program for contractors
• 40 CFR 745.84 — Information distribution requirements (Cornell LII)
• California CSLB — What is a home improvement contract
• PCA Industry Standard P1 — Properly painted surface and touch-up (PDF)