Last updated October 28, 2026

How to bid painting jobs

What a painting bid has to spell out, a worked interior repaint price, why prep is where the arguments start, and the payment terms painters use on multi-day jobs.

Almost every painting dispute is about prep and about what was not included. The customer thought the ceilings were in. The painter thought the nail holes were extra. Neither wrote it down. A painting bid that lists the rooms, the surfaces, the prep, the coats, and the exclusions has already prevented the argument before the first drop cloth goes down.

What a painting bid has to answer

Which rooms and which surfaces: walls, ceilings, trim, doors, closets, each named or each excluded.
The prep: nail holes filled, cracks caulked, sanded, primed where needed, and what you will not fix, like drywall damage beyond patching.
Coats and product: two coats of a named paint line, and whether the customer picks the color before the start date.
Who moves furniture, who covers it, and whether the painter is responsible for items left on the walls.

How to price it

Example numbers for an interior repaint of three bedrooms and a hallway, walls and ceilings, two coats, in a typical market. Yours will differ.

Measure: about 1,400 square feet of wall and 600 of ceiling.
Labor: price walls at $1.50 to $3.50 a square foot and ceilings a little higher, or price by the day. At $2 a foot for walls and $2.25 for ceilings, $4,150. Two painters for three days at $400 a day each comes to a similar place, $2,400 labor plus prep time.
Paint and sundries: 12 gallons at $45, plus tape, caulk, spackle, plastic, $700 with markup.
Prep: a half day for holes, caulk, and sanding. Bill it. $400.
Total: about $2,650 by the day method, higher by the square-foot method in a pricier market. Pick the method that matches how you work and stick to it so your bids are consistent.

Exteriors price by the square foot of siding with a separate line for pressure washing, scraping, and priming bare wood. Cabinets price by the door and drawer front. In every case, the prep line is the one that decides whether you make money.

Where painting bids go wrong

Ceilings were not mentioned either way, so the customer assumed they were included.
The prep said "as needed" and the customer's idea of needed was a full skim coat.
The color was not chosen by the start date, and the crew stood around.
The bid said one price for the job and the customer added two closets on day two "since you are here."

A finished painting bid, line by line

Four sample painting estimates: interior repaint, exterior repaint, cabinet painting, and deck stain and seal. The painting proposal template is the blank version with a prep section built in.

Deposit and payment terms

Painting runs over several days, so many painters split it in thirds: a third at signing, a third at the midpoint, a third on completion. The first third covers the paint. On a one-day job, a smaller deposit or none, and payment on completion. Say on the bid that added rooms or surfaces get a written change order with their own price, which is the line that stops "since you are here." See how to write a change order.

Getting more painting jobs

Painting customers compare bids on detail, because they cannot judge the work until it is done. The bid that lists every surface and every prep step reads as the careful painter, and the careful painter gets the job at a higher price. Send it the day of the walkthrough. Offer walls only and walls plus trim as two prices on the same bid. Follow up at three days. Ask for the review with the furniture back in place.

BidWriter Pro writes the room list, the prep, and the exclusions from your notes, and lets the customer pick between two options and sign on their phone. $29 a month, 30 days free.

Questions contractors ask

How much should I charge per square foot for interior painting?

Walls commonly run $1.50 to $3.50 a square foot for two coats including labor and paint, with ceilings and trim priced separately. Measure, multiply, then check it against your day rate times your crew's real pace. If the two numbers disagree, trust the day rate.

Should prep be a separate line on a painting bid?

Yes. Name what you will do, name what you will not, and give prep its own price. It is where painting bids are won or lost.

How do painters handle deposits?

Thirds on a multi-day job: signing, midpoint, completion. The first third buys the paint. On a one-day job, a small deposit or none and payment when the tape comes off.

Write a painting bid from your notes

Type the job the way you would text it. It comes back as a finished estimate in about five seconds, in your words. No account.

Type a job the way you would text it

Only what you type goes on the estimate. Nothing gets added.

No account needed to try it.

30 days free, then $29 a month. No card to start.

Free, no account: estimate checker, job price calculator, markup vs margin, hourly rate, and 84 sample estimates.