Painting Estimate Template: Free Quote and Invoice, PDF, Word or Excel

This painting estimate template works out the quantities while you type. Enter the wall area, the number of coats and the coverage per gallon from the paint can, and it shows how many gallons to buy. Add prep, ceilings, trim and doors as their own lines, then switch the document between estimate, quote and invoice. The preview on the right is exactly what your client receives, as a PDF, a Word file or an Excel sheet. No account, no email.

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How to Write a Painting Estimate

A painting estimate that lists every surface and every step gets signed faster, and it stops arguments about what was included. Here is the order we use in the template.

1. Add your business once. Logo, name, phone and your license number if your state issues one. They stay saved in your browser for the next job.
2. Describe the job. Client name, the address of the property, whether the work is interior or exterior, the paint brand and the sheen. A one-line scope such as “Living room and hallway, walls and ceilings, two coats” saves questions later.
3. Fill in the measurements. Enter the wall area in square feet, the number of coats, and the coverage per gallon from the label of the paint you are quoting. The template has no default coverage, because it changes with the product and the surface. It then calculates the gallons.
4. Price labor by task. Prep (patching, sanding, caulking), walls, ceilings, trim and doors each get a line, with hours and a rate or a flat price. Separate lines make it easy to drop one if the client does part of the work.
5. Add materials at your cost. Paint, primer, tape, plastic and supplies. Set your markup once for all materials or per line. The client sees the final price, never your cost.
6. Set the terms. Sales tax, deposit to start, how long the price is valid, and what happens if the client changes colors after painting starts. Then download the PDF.

When the job is done, switch the tab to Invoice. The client, scope and lines carry across, so you only change the final numbers and add the payment details. If you want one document that works for any trade, use our estimate template.

Measuring Walls and Ceilings

Most painting estimates go wrong at the measuring step, so it is worth doing in the same way every time.

The Wall Area Formula

For each room:

Wall area = perimeter of the room × wall height − openings

The perimeter is the sum of the lengths of all the walls. The openings are doors and windows you will not paint. Measure the openings you have and subtract them. Many painters leave small openings in, because the paint saved is less than the extra cut-in time; pick one rule and use it on every estimate.

A worked example with made-up numbers, to show the steps: a room with a 52 ft perimeter and 8 ft walls has 416 sq ft of wall before openings. If the doors and windows you measured add up to 40 sq ft, the paintable wall area is 376 sq ft.

Ceilings

Ceiling area is length times width of the room. Give ceilings their own line, because they often take a different paint (flat, in most cases) and a different roller, and clients sometimes want walls done and ceilings left alone.

From Area to Gallons

Gallons = wall area × coats ÷ coverage per gallon

Take the coverage from the label of the product you are quoting, since it differs between paints and between smooth and rough surfaces. Round up to a full gallon. Bare drywall, patched areas and big color changes usually need primer, so add it as its own material line with its own coverage figure.

Use the Wall area and Number of coats fields in the template, and type the coverage in. The gallons show under the measurements and print on the estimate; put that number in the Paint line’s quantity, so the client sees the same figure in the materials table.

Trim, Baseboards and Doors

Trim does not use the wall formula. Price it by the linear foot for baseboards and crown, and per item for doors, door frames and windows. The template starts with “Paint ceilings and trim” as a labor line, and you can add baseboards, interior doors and closets as separate lines or as optional add-ons.

Interior vs Exterior Estimates

The structure is the same, but the lines change. Use the scope field in the template to switch.

Interior

• Prep is mostly patching and sanding. Fill nail holes and dings, sand glossy surfaces, caulk gaps along trim and wipe down.
• Protection takes real time. Moving and covering furniture, laying drop cloths, taping edges and removing switch plates are part of the job. Put them in the estimate, at least inside the prep line.
• Rooms are the natural unit. Many clients want a price per room, so label each room’s lines clearly.

Exterior

• Prep is heavier. Pressure washing, scraping, sanding, priming bare wood and caulking joints often take longer than the painting. Give each step a line so the client sees where the labor goes.
• Access costs money. Ladders, lifts or scaffolding for a two-story house are a real cost. Add them as a fee line if they are not part of your hourly rate.
• Weather moves the schedule. Say that rain or cold can delay the start, and state how the price holds if the work slips.
• Measure per surface. Siding, trim, soffits, fascia, doors and shutters are different surfaces with different prep and different paint. List the ones you will paint, and the ones you will not.

For either type, write down what is excluded. “Does not include moving heavy furniture” or “does not include painting inside closets” costs one line and avoids the most common disagreement.

Good, Better, Best Options

Offering three tiers gives the client a choice between your options instead of between you and another painter. In the template, use optional lines, which print with a checkbox so the client can tick what they want when they sign.

• Good: the basics in the scope, one coat of the cheaper paint over sound surfaces, or the minimum prep the surface allows.
• Better: your standard job, with full prep, primer where needed and two coats of a mid-grade paint.
• Best: premium paint, extra prep or extras the client may not have thought about, such as ceilings, trim and doors in the same visit.

You do not have to build three estimates. Put the standard scope as the main lines, then add the upgrades as optional lines: interior doors, an accent wall in a second color, closets, garage walls or a higher-grade paint. The preview shows the base total and the add-on total separately, so the client sees what each choice costs before signing.

Keep the wording specific. “Upgrade to premium washable paint in the kitchen” sells better than “premium option”, and it tells the client exactly what changes.

Painting Software

A template is enough while you send a few estimates a week. Once you are juggling follow-ups, scheduling crews and chasing invoices, software saves time: clients approve estimates from their phone, an approved estimate turns into an invoice without retyping, and reminders go out for you.

Our guide to the best painting business software compares the options for painters, including what they cost for a small crew. Two general tools worth a look first are Joist, which is built around estimates and invoices, and Jobber for scheduling and payments as well.

If your work is wider than painting, the contractor estimate template and the contractor invoice template cover general jobs with phases and progress billing.