PAINTING ESTIMATE TEMPLATE
Free painting estimate template
A painting estimate with prep on its own line, walls and ceilings by the square foot and the number of coats, trim and doors by the piece, a paint allowance and floor protection — and what's excluded. Free in Word and PDF, with every line explained.
Word and PDF · Free · No email, no sign-up
The short answer
A painting estimate prices the prep separately from the painting — filling, sanding, caulking and masking on one line — then the walls and ceilings by the square foot with the number of coats stated, the trim and doors by the piece, and the paint and supplies as an allowance with the product named.
Say the number of coats. Two coats on the walls, one on the ceilings, two on the trim is a different job from one coat everywhere, and it's the difference between your price and the cheaper estimate the customer is holding.
Around it go your business details, the rooms in one line, the dates the price holds and the work starts, the deposit, and the exclusions — furniture moving, drywall repair beyond patching, and anything above the first floor outside.
FREE TEMPLATE · WORD AND PDF
The painting estimate template, filled in
Below is the template filled in for Brightside Painting Co., a fictional painting business, so you can see every line in use. The downloads are the same estimate with [bracketed] lines to replace — free, no email address, no sign-up.
![Free Painting Estimate Template — the blank fill-in estimate as it downloads, with [bracketed] lines to replace](/estimate-templates/painting-estimate-template-preview.png)
Example · fictional business
Brightside Painting Co. Raleigh, NC (919) 555-0183 · hello@brightsidepainting.example | ESTIMATE |
Prepared for Harold and Mei Lindqvist 2206 Glenwood Ave Raleigh, NC | Job Interior repaint: living room, hall and two bedrooms — walls, ceilings, trim and 6 doors Same address · 3 days Start the week of Nov 2 |
| Description | Qty | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prep Fill nail holes, sand, caulk trim gaps, mask and cover | 1 | $480.00 | $480.00 |
| Walls, two coats — living room 420 sq ft, eggshell, color of your choice | 420 | $1.60 | $672.00 |
| Walls, two coats — hall and two bedrooms 760 sq ft, eggshell | 760 | $1.60 | $1,216.00 |
| Ceilings, one coat 540 sq ft, flat ceiling white | 540 | $1.10 | $594.00 |
| Trim and doors, two coats Baseboard, casing, 6 doors both sides, semi-gloss | 1 | $690.00 | $690.00 |
| Paint and supplies allowance Premium interior line named here, 9 gallons; difference added or credited | 9 | $58.00 | $522.00 |
| Furniture moving and floor protection Move to room center, cover floors and furniture | 1 | $160.00 | $160.00 |
| Subtotal | $4,334.00 | ||
| Sales tax, 7.25% on materials (example) | $37.85 | ||
| Estimated total | $4,371.85 | ||
Deposit to begin
$850.00 books the job; the balance is due when the work is finished.
What's included
Everything above, with daily cleanup and a walk-through at the end. Not included: closets, drywall repair beyond filling holes, wallpaper removal, and painting the window sashes.
How to pay
Deposit by card, check or bank transfer to book the dates; the balance when the work is finished. Colors are confirmed by email before we buy paint.
Every figure on the example is an example, not a price guide — use your own rates. The Word file is a standard .docx you can edit in Word or any app that opens Word documents; the PDF prints as-is if you'd rather fill it in by hand.
Quotes and a website, one place
Start your painting website — quoting is built in
Add your business name and your town, and Zarla builds your painting website from this one line. The same dashboard sends quotes like this one as a link your customer accepts online, and drafts the invoice when they do.
Already have a website? Bring it across →Zarla keeps your old page addresses where it can and redirects the ones that change, helping you keep the Google standing you've built.
LINE BY LINE
What goes on a painting estimate
Every line on the template, in order, and what to write on it.
| The line | What to put there |
|---|---|
| Business name, contact and certifications | Your trading name, phone, email and address; your license number if your state licenses painters; your EPA Lead-Safe Certified Firm number if you have one — it matters on any home built before 1978. |
| Estimate number, date and valid-until date | A number that never repeats, the date, and the date the price holds until — 30 days is common for painting. |
| Prepared for and the job in one line | The customer and the address, then the rooms or surfaces: “living room, hall and two bedrooms — walls, ceilings, trim and 6 doors”, or “exterior siding and trim, two stories”. |
| Prep | Filling, sanding, caulking, masking and covering on its own line — the work the cheaper estimate skipped. |
| Walls and ceilings, with coats | By the square foot per room, with the finish and the number of coats stated. Two coats and one coat are different jobs. |
| Trim and doors | By the piece — baseboard, casing, doors both sides — with the finish and coats. |
| Paint allowance and protection | The product line named, the gallons, and the allowance rule (difference added or credited); furniture moving and floor protection on its own line. |
| Tax, total and deposit | Sales tax where your state charges it on materials, the estimated total, and the deposit that books the dates. |
| Included and how to pay | Scope in and out (closets, wallpaper, repairs, sashes), colors confirmed before paint is bought, lead-safe practices on older homes, the deposit and how to pay. |
STEP BY STEP
How to write a painting estimate
From the walk-through and your measurements to a document the customer can approve tonight.
Measure and list the surfaces
Wall and ceiling square footage per room, the pieces of trim, the doors — and note the condition: holes, peeling, water stains, wallpaper.
Price the prep on its own line
Filling, sanding, caulking, masking, covering — or washing and scraping outside. Priced separately so the customer sees it, because it's what the cheaper estimate left out.
Price walls, ceilings and trim with the coats stated
Square feet × your rate per coat for walls and ceilings; trim and doors by the piece. Write the number of coats on every line.
Set the paint allowance and the protection line
Name the product line and the gallons; say the difference is added or credited if they choose another. Furniture moving and floor protection on its own line.
Add tax, the total and the deposit
Sales tax where your state charges it on materials, the estimated total, and the deposit that books the dates.
Write the exclusions and how to pay
Closets, wallpaper removal, repairs beyond patching, sashes, upper stories outside — listed as not included. Colors confirmed before paint is bought. Then the deposit and how to pay.
How painting estimates win the job
Put prep on its own line. The customer holding a cheaper estimate is usually holding one without prep. When yours shows filling, sanding and caulking as a line, the difference explains itself.
Write the number of coats on every line. “Walls, two coats” is a promise the customer can check. It's also the first thing they'll ask the other painter.
Confirm colors before you buy paint. A color change after the first coat is the painting job's classic surprise; an email with the colors in it, sent before you buy, saves it.
Name the paint. A named product line on the allowance tells the customer what quality they're buying and gives you a clean way to price an upgrade or a downgrade.
Older homes: say you're lead-safe. In the US, the EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting rule requires a firm disturbing paint in a home built before 1978 to be EPA Lead-Safe Certified and to follow lead-safe practices; putting your certification number on the estimate wins the job on an older house.
Tax. In the US, whether sales tax applies to painting — and whether it falls on the paint, the labor, both or neither — depends on your state, so keep the paint allowance and the labor on separate lines and check your state's revenue department or your accountant. Outside the US the rule is the other way around: in Australia and New Zealand a GST-registered business gives a consumer a price that includes GST, and in the UK and EU a VAT-registered business shows the VAT and quotes consumers a price with it included. Confirm the details with your accountant.
Send it from Zarla and get it accepted online
A Word estimate is a fine way to start. The slow part is everything after you send it: waiting for a reply, wondering whether they opened it, and retyping every line into the invoice when they say yes.
If you build your painting website with Zarla, quotes are in the same dashboard. Build the quote from your own price book — one price, or up to three options side by side with the one you'd pick marked Recommended, and any line as a checkbox extra. Send it as one link, by email. Your customer picks an option, ticks any extras, types their name to accept, and gets a copy; Zarla drafts the invoice for exactly what they chose, with any deposit you asked for, and the job moves to Won. The quote template is already in your brand: your website's logo, colors and fonts, set once for every quote and invoice. On a paid plan, with your Stripe account connected, that invoice carries a pay-now button, so the deposit comes in as soon as you send it.
Want to see the website first? Browse painting website templates or see how Zarla builds painting websites. Still setting up? Read how to start a painting business and write your painting business plan.
The whole paper trail of a job, step by step: how to write a quote, then the painting invoice template, then how to write a receipt — with a free receipt template. For any other trade, start from the free estimate template.
Painting estimates: common questions
Your business, contact and certification details; the customer, the address and the rooms or surfaces in one line; an estimate number, the date and a valid-until date; prep on its own line; walls and ceilings by the square foot with the finish and the number of coats; trim and doors by the piece; a paint allowance with the product named; furniture moving and floor protection; subtotal, tax where it applies, the estimated total and the deposit; and what's included, what isn't, the deposit and how to pay.
An estimate is your best calculation of what the job will cost, given what you can see today; the final price can move if the work turns out different. A quote (or a fixed price) is the price you will charge for the work described. A bid is a quote submitted against someone else's specification, usually in construction. Say which one your document is in its title.
Price it by the square foot and show the room: the customer sees a rate they can compare, and you can price an extra room in a minute. Rooms-only pricing hides your rate and makes every add-on a negotiation.
Thirty days is the common choice for a home-services estimate, and shorter when material prices move (roofing, lumber, copper). Print the date on the estimate: a customer who comes back after it can be re-quoted at today's prices without an argument, and one who accepts inside it knows the price holds.
Enough to cover the paint and the days blocked out — 10% to a third of the price is the usual range for interior work. Some US states cap the deposit a contractor may take before work starts; check your state's licensing board.
On a home built before 1978 in the US, yes: the EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting rule requires a certified firm and lead-safe practices when paint is disturbed, and the customer should see your EPA Lead-Safe Certified Firm number on the estimate. Outside the US the rules differ — the UK and Australia have their own lead-paint guidance — so check the rule where you work.
Yes. The painting estimate template on this page downloads free as a Word document and a PDF — no email address, no sign-up. Edit it in Word or any app that opens Word documents, or print the PDF and fill it in by hand.
Not from a Word file — the customer replies by email or phone, and you type the job into an invoice later. To get a yes in one tap, send it from quoting software. If your painting website is on Zarla, the quote tool is in the same dashboard: your customer opens one link, picks an option, ticks any extras and types their name to accept, and Zarla drafts the invoice for what they chose — which, on a paid plan with Stripe connected, carries a pay-now button. Jobber, Housecall Pro, Wix and Squarespace send quotes customers accept online too.
Send estimates from your own painting website
Add your town and your business name, and Zarla builds the site from that one line — with quoting in the same dashboard.
Already have a website? Bring it across →Zarla keeps your old page addresses where it can and redirects the ones that change, helping you keep the Google standing you've built.