Hone your painting bids: price the prep, win the margin
Prep is the job. Price it on its own line and the rest takes care of itself.
Painting bids go wrong on the slow, invisible work: the patching, masking, and priming that takes longer than the topcoat. Here is how to bid so the prep pays.
Where the margin leaks
The pricing traps that quietly cost contractors money.
Under-pricing prep
Patching, sanding, masking, and priming take longer than the finish coat. Give prep its own labor line, or it eats your day.
Pricing walls, forgetting trim and doors
Trim, doors, and ceilings are slow per square foot. Do not bury them in the wall rate.
Forgetting coats and waste
Primer plus two coats plus the can you do not fully use. Price the paint you buy at the coats you will actually do.
Where the money is
The levers that actually move your take-home.
Sell the prep as the value
A job that lasts is the prep. Charge for it, and the result sells the next job.
Batch rooms
Setup and cleanup spread across more square footage. The fixed cost of a paint day.
Upsell trim and cabinet refinish
High-labor, high-value add-ons while you are already on site.
What to track
The few numbers worth watching.
Square feet per day
Your real production rate. It decides whether a bid is profitable.
Prep hours
The line that runs over. Track it honestly.
Bid versus actual
Did the job land where you bid it? Paint bids drift on prep.
Set Anvil up for it
How to make Anvil price your trade the honest way.
Bid by surface
Walls, ceilings, trim, and doors, each at its own rate and coats.
Save your rates
Default overhead and profit on Business, so every bid starts right.
Send a proposal that sells the prep
Itemize the prep so the client sees the value, not just the paint.
Know your trade.
The cost engine is free. Put your real numbers in and see what to charge.