Workeey is built for your phone. Scan the code with your phone to get the Android app, or open workeey.com on your phone. The iPhone app and a desktop version are coming soon.
Get the Workeey app. Same account, same jobs.
Free painting estimate template, with an exterior repaint priced by the square foot
Painting quotes vary more than almost any other trade, because the difference is in prep the homeowner never sees. A painting estimate that shows the square footage, the prep and the paint by the gallon explains why yours is not the cheapest and why it will last longer. Copy the free painting estimate template below, compare it with the exterior repaint sample, and send it today. Once the last coat is dry, use the painting invoice template.
Download this estimate template: Word, Excel or PDF
Free to download, with no sign-up and no email. Open the Word file to type over the brackets, or the Excel file to swap in your own lines — the totals follow. Prefer paper? Print the blank PDF and fill it in by pen.
- Word (.docx) — the blank estimate, ready to fill in
- Excel (.xlsx) — the sample lines with amounts, tax and the total that work themselves out
- PDF (.pdf) — the filled-in sample, drawn the way Workeey draws a quote
- Blank PDF (.pdf) — print it and fill it in by pen
- Google Docs — your own copy of the Word file, in your Google Drive (Google asks you to sign in)
- Google Sheets — your own copy of the Excel file, in your Google Drive (Google asks you to sign in)
Fill in this estimate online
Change anything and download the PDF — free, no sign-up. What you type isn't sent to Workeey. The PDF is made in your browser.
Quote it, then invoice it, in Workeey
- Share quote produces a quote PDF good for 30 days that you send from your phone, and its Email button opens your own mail app.
- The homeowner says yes to you, and when the job is done one tap turns the estimate into the invoice, which Workeey emails with a pay link.
- The free plan includes 23 quick estimates a month.
What goes on a painting estimate
A painting estimate should let the homeowner see what they are paying for before a brush touches the house. That means the surfaces, measured: square feet of siding, linear feet of trim, how many doors and shutters. It means the prep, written out, because washing, scraping, caulking and priming are what separate a job that lasts eight years from one that peels in two.
Name the paint by brand, product line and sheen, and give the number of coats. Homeowners compare paint names more than prices, and a quote that says "two coats of a premium exterior acrylic" beats one that says "paint house". Add colors if they are chosen, and what is not included, like carpentry beyond a small allowance or painting the deck.
- Business name, phone, email and any license or registration number
- Client name, address, estimate number, date and expiry
- Surfaces measured: siding in square feet, trim in linear feet, doors by count
- Prep written out: wash, scrape, sand, caulk, spot-prime
- Paint brand, product, sheen, colors and number of coats
- Labor and paint shown separately, or one rate that clearly includes both
- An allowance for rotten wood repair, and what is excluded
- Deposit to start, weather terms, and the acceptance line
Copy this painting estimate template
Paste the plain-text template below into your notes or a document, then replace the brackets with your measurements and prices. For an interior job, swap siding for walls and ceilings and drop the pressure wash.
Keep the weather line on exterior quotes. It tells the client up front that rain or cold can move the start date and that you will not paint in conditions the paint can't handle. The skeleton:
- [Your business name] · [license # if required] · [phone] · [email]
- Estimate #[2001] · Date: [date] · Valid until: [date, e.g. 30 days]
- Prepared for: [client name] · Address: [address]
- Scope: [exterior or interior, which surfaces, colors]
- Prep: [wash, scrape, sand, caulk, prime] — [$]
- [Surface] — [sq ft or linear ft] × [rate] = [$]
- Paint: [brand, product, sheen] — [gallons] × [price] = [$] · Coats: [number]
- Wood repair allowance: [$], billed only if used
- Not included: [e.g. deck, fence] · Weather: start date may move for rain or cold
- Subtotal [$] · Sales tax [rate]% [$] · Estimated total [$]
- Deposit to start: [%] · Accepted by: [name] · [date]
Sample painting estimate (quote), filled in
This is the template filled in for a two-story house: 2,400 square feet of wood lap siding, 420 linear feet of trim, fascia and soffit, and the front and back doors, two coats throughout. Labor for the siding is priced by the square foot and the paint by the gallon. Business, client and prices are made up, and this sample taxes the whole subtotal for simplicity; check your state.
| Qty | Price | Amount | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pressure wash, scrape loose paint and spot-prime | 1 | $850.00 | $850.00 |
| Caulk gaps, window and door casings | 1 | $380.00 | $380.00 |
| Labor: siding, two coats | 2,400 sq ft | $2.00 / sq ft | $4,800.00 |
| Labor: trim, fascia and soffit, two coats | 420 ft | $3.00 / ft | $1,260.00 |
| Exterior doors, both sides | 2 | $175.00 | $350.00 |
| Siding paint, premium exterior acrylic, satin | 18 gal | $62.00 / gal | $1,116.00 |
| Trim paint, semi-gloss | 5 gal | $70.00 / gal | $350.00 |
| Wood repair allowance (billed only if used) | 1 | $300.00 | $300.00 |
| Subtotal | $9,406.00 | ||
| Sales tax 6% | $564.36 | ||
| Total | $9,970.36 |
Siding labor is $2 a square foot, a rate checked against past two-story jobs: about 85 crew-hours at $55 an hour, plus setup and ladder time. Paint is figured at 300 square feet per gallon per coat, plus a little for waste, and marked up about 20% over the contractor price. The wood repair allowance covers rotten trim boards found during scraping and is billed only if used. This quote is valid for 30 days.
How to price a painting estimate
Measure, do not guess. Walk the house with a tape or a measuring wheel, figure each wall as length times height, take off large windows and doors, and add the gables. Trim goes by the linear foot. With real numbers, you can quote a square-foot rate you have tested against your own past jobs and know it covers your crew.
Prep is where painting jobs lose money, so look closely before you price it. Peeling on the south side, chalky old paint, bare wood and lead-era houses all add hours. Quote paint by the gallon from coverage, not by eye. The estimate vs quote guide helps you decide how firm to make a price on a house you have not scraped yet.
- Measure every wall and take off big openings; trim by the linear foot
- Price prep separately so the client sees what you are doing
- Work out gallons from coverage and coats, then add your markup
- Charge more for height, steep lots and heavy peeling
- Add a small wood repair allowance instead of guessing at rot
Estimate, quote, then invoice — in Workeey
The estimate in Workeey belongs to the job, together with the client, the address and the colors you agreed on. You set your rates once, such as hourly, first hour, call-out, travel, evening and weekend rates, parts markup and deposit percent, and the AI itemizes the estimate from them. Supplies are priced from the web at your markup, and lines you add yourself, like a per-square-foot siding rate, are remembered for the next house. The free plan includes 23 quick estimates a month.
Share quote produces a quote PDF good for 30 days that you send from your phone, and its Email button opens your own mail app. Your deposit percent prints on the quote; Workeey does not collect deposits, so collect it however you do now. There is no signing in the app. The homeowner says yes to you, and when the job is done one tap turns the estimate into the invoice, which Workeey emails with a pay link. See payments and pricing.
More for painters: pages and free templates
- Painting business software — quotes, prep days and the final bill
- Invoicing for painters — prep, coats and the balance after a deposit
- How to price painting jobs — a guide to setting your prices
- How to start a painting business — a step-by-step guide to going out on your own
- Best apps for painting contractors — the apps for this trade compared
- Painting invoice template — free, with a filled-in sample
- Painting receipt template — a free paid-in-full sample
- Painter wages by state — what employed painters earn in every state, from BLS data
- Free invoice template — every field a trade invoice needs
- Free estimate template — copy it, price it, send it
- Free receipt template — a paid-in-full receipt to copy
- Work order template — the job written down before you bill it
- Late payment reminder templates — texts, emails and a letter to copy and send
- All free templates and tools
How do you estimate an exterior paint job?
Measure the siding in square feet and the trim in linear feet, price the prep the house needs, work out the gallons from coverage and coats, and apply your labor rate. Add doors, shutters and a repair allowance, then the total.
How much do painters charge per square foot?
Rates vary a lot by region, height and prep. Many painters land in the range of about two to five dollars per square foot for exterior work when labor and paint are combined. Test any rate against your own past jobs.
Should a painting estimate list the paint brand?
Yes. Naming the brand, product line and sheen lets the homeowner compare quotes fairly and stops a cheaper paint from being swapped in later.
Is a painting quote binding if I find rot?
The quote covers the work described. That is why an allowance for wood repair, billed only if used, is worth adding: the client agrees ahead of time to a set amount for hidden damage.