July 31, 2026 · 5 min read
Here is the template. Copy it, fill in the brackets, send it. The reasoning is underneath if you want it.
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The template
[YOUR BUSINESS NAME]
[Phone] · [Email] · [License number if your state issues one]
ESTIMATE #[0000]
Date: [Date] · Valid for [30] days
Prepared for
[Customer name]
[Job address]
[Phone] · [Email]
THE WORK
[One plain sentence describing the job. "Repaint the interior of a 1,900 square foot two storey home, walls and ceilings, four bedrooms, two baths, hallway, stairwell, and living areas."]
WHAT IS INCLUDED
Item Detail
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Surface preparation [Fill nail holes, patch cracks, light sanding, degloss where needed]
Protection [Cover floors and furniture, mask trim, fixtures, and hardware]
Primer [Spot prime patches and stains, full prime on bare surfaces]
Paint, walls [Brand and line], [2] coats, [finish]
Paint, ceilings [Brand and line], [1] coat, flat
Paint, trim and doors [Brand and line], [2] coats, [finish]
Daily clean up Site left broom clean each day
Final walkthrough Punch list completed before final payment
WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED
- [Wallpaper removal]
- [Drywall repair beyond minor patching]
- [Moving of heavy furniture or appliances]
- [Exterior work]
- [Lead paint abatement on pre-1978 surfaces]
Anything outside the list above is quoted separately and approved in writing before it starts.
INVESTMENT
Description Amount
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[Interior repaint as described above] $[0,000]
[Optional: trim and doors] $[000]
Total $[0,000]
SCHEDULE
Start: [date or "within X weeks of acceptance"]
Duration: approximately [X] working days
Crew: [X] painters on site
TERMS
- [X]% deposit to reserve the date, balance on completion
- Payment by [card or bank transfer]
- [X] year written warranty on workmanship
- Customer may cancel in writing within the period required by state law. See notice below.
WARRANTY
[We warrant our workmanship for X years from completion. If our work peels, blisters, or fails in that period, we return and correct it at no charge. This does not cover damage from moisture intrusion, structural movement, or normal wear.]
ACCEPTANCE
Customer: ______________________ Date: __________
[Business name]: ______________________ Date: __________
[Include your state's required cancellation notice here. Many states give homeowners a right to cancel a home improvement contract within a set number of days, and the notice usually must appear in the document itself. Check your state's requirement.]
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The one thing that makes an estimate win
Most painters send a price. The ones who win send a scope.
A homeowner getting three estimates cannot judge your brushwork. They have never watched you cut a line. The only thing they can compare is the document.
So when yours is a number on a page and the next one lists exactly what happens, in what order, with what paint, over how many days, they are not comparing painters. They are comparing certainty. Certainty wins, and it usually wins at a higher price.
Why the "not included" list matters more than the included one
Most painters leave this out because it feels negative. It is the most valuable section in the document.
It prevents the fight. The change order argument happens when a customer assumed something was in the price. Written down in advance, wallpaper removal is a conversation before the job. Left out, it is an argument in the middle of it.
It signals experience. A painter who knows what to exclude has clearly been burned before and learned. Homeowners read that correctly.
It protects the price. Without it, every unstated assumption gets resolved in the customer's favor.
Five things that lose jobs
Sending a number with no scope. Now you are the cheapest or the most expensive, with nothing else to be.
No expiry date. Material prices move. "Valid for 30 days" is normal and it creates a reason to decide.
Naming no paint. "Quality paint" means nothing. Naming the brand and line tells them you are not cutting corners, and it makes a lower bid using cheaper product visible.
Sending it days later. The homeowner who walked you around on Tuesday has cooled by Friday and has two other quotes. Same day beats next week, every time.
Sending it and going quiet. Most jobs are won in the follow up, not the estimate. Almost nobody follows up.
Deposit and payment
Ask for a deposit. It filters people who were never going to hire anyone, and it commits the date.
Somewhere around a third to a half up front is normal for residential repaints, with the balance on completion. Larger jobs can run in stages.
Take card or bank transfer. Chasing a cheque after a job is finished is a bad week, and there is no reason to accept the payment method with the longest gap between finishing and getting paid.
The follow up you are skipping
The estimate does not close the job. The follow up does.
Same day it goes out: a short text confirming it landed and offering to walk through it
Day two or three: answer the question they did not ask, usually about timing or disruption
About a week: one honest check in, and then let it rest
Set it up once and it runs on every quote. Most painters do none of this, which is why the follow up is the cheapest advantage available.
The free guide for it is here: Win the Job After You Quote.
Go further
The Quote That Closes turns this template into a document built to win, not just to inform
Send Proposals That Get a Yes for the bigger jobs that need a proposal rather than an estimate
Set Prices That Actually Profit if the number in the total is the part you are least sure about
Want the whole system built with you? resourcepilot.net/book
This is a template, not legal advice. Contract requirements, cancellation notices, and licensing rules vary by state. Check your own before you send it.
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