What goes on a painting quote
Exteriors are quoted because you can see the whole job from the street. The elevations are measurable, the substrate is visible, and the customer is comparing three prices for what looks like identical work. What they cannot see is the difference between two coats and one, or between proper preparation and a wash — so the quote has to say.
- Each elevation, with its area and what is on it
- The preparation: scraping, sanding, filling, priming, and how far it goes
- The system — primer and topcoat by brand and product, with the number of coats
- Trim, fascias, soffits, gutters and doors, named rather than assumed
- Access: ladders, towers or scaffold, and who is paying for it
- Weather: what season the price assumes, and what happens if it slips
- The fixed price, the payment stages, and how long it stands
The sample line items and example prices this sheet opens with are on the painting invoice template — the same table, which is about the trade rather than about this paper, so it lives in one place rather than on all six. Working out the price itself? The markup calculator turns your cost and markup into the figure to put on the quote, and shows the margin it leaves.
What you get
A PDF, and a link your customer can open in any browser. Word and Excel versions are not available yet — if a spreadsheet is what you need, this is not yet the tool for it, and saying so is cheaper for both of us than you finding out after typing everything in.
Pick how it looks
Six looks, from a plain classic sheet through a bold top band to a shop ticket, and your initials go on automatically until you upload a logo. See all six.
How to send it
Most customers want the paper on their phone, so the quote goes out by WhatsApp, text or email, or as a link that needs no app and no account on their side. Or download the PDF to print it or keep it for your own records.
Questions
How do I show that my prep is better than the cheap quote?
Write it in steps. “Scrape, sand, fill, spot-prime bare wood, two full coats” is a specification; “prepare and paint” is a hope. The customer cannot judge the work but they can compare two lists, and the list is where the price difference becomes legible.
What if the weather pushes the job?
Say on the quote what season the price assumes and what happens if it moves. Exterior work has a window, and a job pushed from September to November is a different job — colder, slower, and in some products not paintable at all. Agreeing that in advance avoids being blamed for the sky.