How to Quote Painting and Decorating Jobs UK (2026)
Why Your Quoting Process Is Costing You Work
Learning how to quote painting and decorating jobs properly is one of the most impactful things a decorator can do for their business. Quote too high and you lose jobs. Quote too low and you work hard for margins that don’t justify the effort. Quote too slowly and the customer has already agreed a price with someone else before yours lands in their inbox.
This guide covers how to quote decorating jobs the right way in 2026, from working out what a job actually costs to presenting quotes that win work at a price worth having.
What Goes Into a Painting and Decorating Quote
A solid decorating quote has four components. Get all four right on every job and your margins are protected. Miss one and you’re either losing work or losing money.
1. Labour Costs
Calculate how many days the job will realistically take. Be honest about preparation time, which is consistently underestimated in decorating. Stripping wallpaper, filling, sanding, priming, and making good all add up before a brush touches the final coat. Factor in drying times on multi-coat work, especially on previously bare plaster or exterior work where coats need proper drying time between applications. Build contingency for the jobs where the customer shows you one room and then mentions another two once you’re on site.
2. Materials Costs
Price materials from current supplier costs rather than from memory. Paint prices have moved significantly and a price you last checked six months ago may not reflect what you’ll actually pay when you order. Calculate coverage accurately based on the surface area and the number of coats required. Add a materials markup of 15 to 20 percent to cover sourcing time, storage, waste, and the inconvenience of returns. That markup is standard and justified.
3. Overheads
Your van, fuel, insurance, tools, brushes and rollers, dust sheets, tape, platform hire where needed, phone, software, and other fixed business costs all need to be covered by the work you price. Calculate your monthly overhead figure and build a contribution into every quote rather than absorbing those costs silently out of your profit margin.
4. Profit Margin
Labour plus materials plus overheads gets you to break even. Profit is what you add on top. Aim for a minimum net profit margin of 15 to 20 percent on decorating work. Less than that leaves no buffer for anything going wrong and no reward for the risk of running your own business.
How to Work Out Your Day Rate as a Decorator
If you’re not already pricing to a clear day rate, working one out is the starting point for accurate quoting. Take your target annual income, add your total annual business overheads, then divide by your realistic billable days for the year. Most sole trader decorators work around 200 to 220 billable days per year once you account for holidays, non-billable time, travel, and days spent quoting rather than working.
If you want to take home £40,000 and your overheads run to £10,000 a year, you need to generate £50,000 from around 210 billable days. That’s a day rate of roughly £238 before profit. Add 20 percent for profit and your minimum viable day rate is around £286.
Experienced decorators in the UK typically charge between £180 and £300 per day depending on location and specialism. Commercial decorating, specialist finishes, and high-end residential work command higher rates. If your current rate sits well below that range, your quotes are likely underpriced.
How to Price Decorating Jobs by Room or Area
Many decorators prefer to price by room or by square metre rather than purely by day rate, particularly for domestic work where customers expect a fixed price. This approach works well as long as your room or area rates are built from your underlying day rate and materials costs rather than from a figure you’ve used for years without reviewing.
A common approach for domestic decorating is to calculate the total surface area to be painted, divide by your coverage rate for the specific paint being used, multiply by the number of coats, then add preparation time and any specialist work as separate line items. That method produces a consistent, defensible quote rather than a number pulled from experience that may no longer reflect your actual costs.
How to Present a Decorating Quote That Wins Work
Use Proper Quoting Software
A quote sent as a WhatsApp message or a rough figure texted to a customer does not build confidence. A professional branded PDF sent within a few hours of viewing the job does. Tools like Tradify let you build quotes from a saved price list, send them to clients with an online approval link, and convert approved quotes into live jobs automatically.
Break the Quote Down Clearly
Separate preparation, materials, and labour clearly in your quote. Customers who can see what they’re paying for are easier to work with and less likely to push back on the total. A clear breakdown also makes it much harder to negotiate the price down without the customer understanding what they’re asking you to cut.
Specify Exactly What Is and Is Not Included
Scope creep is one of the most common margin killers in decorating. If the quote covers two coats of emulsion on the walls but not the ceiling, say so. If you’re supplying paint but not specialist primer, say so. If moving furniture is not included, say so. A written scope of works on every quote protects you legally and removes ambiguity before the job starts.
State Your Payment Terms Upfront
Include your payment terms in the quote itself. For any job lasting more than a day or two, include a deposit requirement. A deposit of 25 to 30 percent upfront is reasonable and standard for decorating work. It ensures you’re not funding materials out of your own pocket and filters out customers who weren’t serious about proceeding.
Set a Quote Validity Period
Paint prices change. Your availability changes. Put a 30-day validity period on every quote. This protects you from customers who sit on a quote for months and then try to hold you to a price that no longer reflects your costs or your diary.
How to Follow Up on Outstanding Decorating Quotes
Most decorators send a quote and wait. The problem is that customers get distracted, get other quotes, or simply need a nudge to make a decision. Following up every outstanding quote within five to seven days is professional and expected. Most customers who haven’t responded simply haven’t got round to it rather than actively choosing someone else.
If you’re using Tradify or Jobber, automated quote follow-ups handle this without you needing to think about it. You never lose a job because a quote sat unanswered while you were busy on site.
Common Quoting Mistakes Decorators Make
Underestimating Preparation Time
Preparation is consistently the most underestimated element of decorating quotes. The hours of filling, sanding, priming, and masking that determine whether the finish looks good are less visible but equally important to price correctly.
Not Getting Current Paint Prices
Quoting paint costs from memory rather than from current supplier prices is a reliable way to lose margin. A quick check before building the quote takes five minutes and protects your materials costs on every job.
Quoting Without Seeing the Job
Quoting domestic decorating jobs without visiting the site first is risky. Surface conditions, access difficulties, furniture that needs moving, and areas the customer didn’t mention in the initial conversation all affect the cost. If you must quote remotely, build a larger contingency into the price and make it clear the figure is subject to a site visit.
No Written Scope
Every quote should include a written scope of works. Disputes about what was and wasn’t included are almost entirely avoidable with a clear written record upfront. Verbal agreements about scope are not worth arguing about when the customer says they thought the spare room was included.
Frequently Asked Questions
Calculate four components: labour (how many days the job will take at your day rate, including prep time), materials (priced from current supplier costs plus a 15–20% markup), a contribution to your business overheads, and your profit margin on top. Build these into a written quote using quoting software rather than a text message. Include a scope of works, payment terms, and a 30-day validity period.
Experienced decorators in the UK typically charge between £180 and £300 per day in 2026 depending on location and specialism. Commercial decorating, specialist finishes, and high-end residential work command rates at the higher end. Calculate your own minimum viable day rate by adding your target annual income to your total annual overheads, dividing by your realistic billable days per year (around 200–220 for a sole trader), and adding your profit margin.
Calculate the total surface area to be painted, divide by your coverage rate for the specific paint, multiply by the number of coats required, then add preparation time and any specialist work as separate line items. Make sure your per-room or per-metre rate is built from your current day rate and materials costs rather than a figure you have used for years without reviewing – paint prices and labour costs both change.
Yes – a materials markup of 15 to 20 percent on top of your cost price is standard and justified. It covers your time sourcing, ordering, storing, and managing returns on paint and materials. Never pass materials through at cost. If a customer questions the markup, explain that it covers the procurement service you are providing, not just the product itself.
A decorating quote should include a clear breakdown of preparation, materials, and labour; a written scope of works specifying exactly what is and is not included; your payment terms including any deposit requirement; a 30-day validity period; and your contact details. For larger jobs, stage payment milestones protect both you and the customer.
Tradify is the most practical quoting app for UK decorators – it lets you build professional branded quotes using saved labour rates and materials line items, send them for digital approval, and convert accepted quotes directly to job records. Jobber is also strong, particularly for automated quote follow-up reminders and the client payment portal. Both offer 14-day free trials with no card required.
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