Prep is the profit, and it’s invisible
Surface prep is its own section of the quote — wash, scrape and sand, caulk, spot prime — ahead of body, trim and doors, so the customer sees what they are paying for.
JobSiteCore for painting contractors
Put the prep on the quote where the customer can see it
Most of a repaint happens before the lid comes off — the wash, the scrape and sand, the caulk, the spot prime. That prep gets written as its own scope on the quote, lines the customer can read and pay for, so the bid that includes real prep stops losing to the one that skipped it.
Updated September 26, 2026
Where a painter’s margin goes — and what changes
The pre-1978 rule is a real cost
On a pre-1978 house, lead-safe (RRP) setup and containment goes on the quote as a billable line instead of a cost you quietly eat.
Third coats and scope changes get given away
A repaint over a dark base is priced at three coats, rot carpentry is carried as an allowance with a not-to-exceed, and a color change after signing becomes a change order on paper.
Priced the way painters price
Sections are the room inside and the elevation outside — Exterior — Body, Exterior — Trim & Fascia, Kitchen Cabinets — and the lines use the trade’s units:
- sf
- walls and body, with the basis stated: painted surface or floor area
- lf
- trim
- ea
- doors — and cabinets per door and per drawer, never by the square foot
- hr
- painter labor
What a Painting company starts with
Sections of a job
You quote by room and by floor — Kitchen · Living Room · Master Bedroom and 10 more, across Main Level · Level 2 · Level 3 and 5 more.
Phases on the schedule
Planning & Design · Permits & Approvals · Demolition · Foundation · Framing · Rough-Ins (Plumbing/Electrical) — and the rest of the standard construction schedule.
Equipment you track — shown in the app as Assets
Type it in. Ready-made buttons only exist for the trades that service the same named machines again and again.
Your price book on day one
12 priced line items, loaded the moment your company is created — a working price book before your first quote.
- Interior — walls, 2 coats
- Interior — ceiling
- Painter labor
Your trade’s categories come first: Painting · Surface Prep · Cabinets · Drywall · Trim & Molding · Repairs · Hazmat / Abatement · Cleanup · Materials · Labor
How your quotes come out
Ask for an exterior quote and it comes back in a painter’s order — wash, scrape and sand, caulk, spot prime, body, trim, doors — with rot carpentry carried as an allowance with a not-to-exceed instead of a guessed number, and a dark-base repaint priced at three coats because that’s what it takes. Cabinets price per door and per drawer, never by the square foot. And the priced list your company starts with is yours to edit — set the numbers to your market and quote the same day.
Read straight from the app’s own setup for Painting companies. Starting prices are yours to edit.
Questions from painting contractors
Does JobSiteCore come with a painting price book?
Yes. A painting company is created with 12 priced line items across painting, cabinets, drywall, surface prep, service, and labor. The prices are starting points: edit them to your market and quote from them the same day.
How does it handle pre-1978 homes?
Lead-safe (RRP) setup, containment and cleanup go on the quote as a billable line in its own category, so the customer sees it as scope instead of a surcharge.
How are cabinets priced?
Per door and per drawer, never by the square foot.