Painting Quote Example NZ

A professional painting quote should clearly state:

• Scope of work — Exactly which rooms/surfaces are included and excluded.
• Preparation — What prep work is included (washing, filling, sanding, priming).
• Paint specification — Brand, product, colour, and number of coats.
• Price breakdown — Either by room/area or as a lump sum with clear inclusions.
• Timeline — Estimated start date and duration.
• Payment terms — Deposit (if any), progress payments, final payment.
• Validity — How long the quote is valid (30 days).
• Terms & conditions — Warranty, insurance, dispute resolution.

The sample quote above isn't just a price — it's a structured breakdown that protects both you and the client. Here's what makes it effective:

• Labour is clearly itemised — Each room and surface is listed separately, so the client sees exactly what they're paying for and you can justify the total.
• Materials are separated — Paint brand, product, and number of coats are specified. This prevents disputes about quality and sets clear expectations.
• Overheads are included — Prep work, washing, filling, and masking are costed as a line item — not absorbed into your margin.
• Profit margin is built in — The pricing accounts for your margin, not just your costs. If you're not building profit into every quote, you're working for free on slow weeks. See our margin guide for NZ benchmarks.
• Clear total and scope — The client knows the final price, what's included, and what isn't. No surprises, no awkward conversations mid-job.

This structure ensures nothing is missed and protects your profit on every job. If your quotes don't look like this, you're likely leaving money on the table — or setting yourself up for scope creep.

Want to generate quotes with this structure automatically? Try our quoting tool free →

Here's what a typical exterior quote looks like:

• Water blast — Full exterior wash — $450
• Preparation — Scrape loose paint, fill gaps, sand, spot-prime — $1,800
• Walls — 2 coats Resene Sonyx 101, 155m² — $5,425
• Fascia & bargeboards — 2 coats enamel, 60lm — $780
• Window frames — 2 coats enamel, 14 windows — $980
• Downpipes — 2 coats, 8 pipes — $320
• Materials — Included
• Subtotal — $9,755 + GST = $11,218

Watch out for these warning signs:

• No paint brand specified — They may use cheap paint. Always ask.
• Verbal-only quotes — Get everything in writing. Verbal quotes aren't enforceable.
• "One coat" exterior quotes — Exterior work needs minimum two coats. One coat won't last.
• Large upfront deposits — A 10–20% deposit is standard. 50%+ upfront is a red flag.
• Significantly below market rate — If one quote is 40% cheaper than others, find out why before accepting.
• No timeline — A professional painter commits to dates and duration.

Not sure what market rate looks like? See our full guide to painting costs in NZ for current pricing benchmarks.

• Not including prep work — Washing, sanding, filling, and masking take real time and cost real money. If prep isn't in the quote, it comes out of your profit.
• Forgetting materials or small costs — Primer, tape, drop cloths, filler, sandpaper — these add up fast. A $200 materials shortfall on every job is $10,000+ a year.
• Not adding a margin — Covering your costs isn't the same as making a profit. If your quote only covers labour and materials, you're working for wages — not running a business.
• Underestimating labour hours — It's easy to quote for painting time and forget travel, setup, cleanup, and drying time between coats. Most painters underestimate by 20–30%. Our hourly rate guide shows how to account for unbillable time.
• Using inconsistent formats — If every quote looks different, you'll miss line items. A repeatable structure means nothing falls through the cracks.

These mistakes are the main reason painters underquote jobs. The fix isn't working harder — it's quoting better. Use a structured calculator or quoting tool to catch what manual estimates miss.

A quote isn't just a number you send to a client — it's the single moment where your profit is won or lost.

• If your pricing is wrong, your quote is wrong. Your quote is only as good as the rates behind it. If your hourly rate doesn't cover your real costs, every job loses money — no matter how well you execute it. Get your pricing right first.
• If your margin isn't included, you're working for less. Covering labour and materials isn't profit. If you're not adding a margin on top, you're earning a wage — not building a business. Check what your margins should be.
• Quotes are where the money is made. You don't make money on the job site — you make it in the quote. A well-structured quote protects your time, your costs, and your profit before a brush hits the wall.

Every section on this page — the example, the structure, the mistakes — comes back to this: quote well, and you'll run a profitable business.

Instead of building quotes manually, our AI quoting tool generates structured, professional quotes in minutes — based on your job details.

• Consistent formatting — Every quote follows the same professional structure, so nothing looks rushed or thrown together.
• Includes labour, materials, and margin — All cost components are calculated and built into the price automatically.
• Reduces missed costs — Prep, consumables, overhead, and profit are included by default — not left to memory.
• Saves time on every job — Minutes instead of hours per quote, so you spend more time on billable work.