How painters and decorators should invoice: a practical guide

On completion of each property or each phase, while the customer is still walking round looking pleased. Decorating is judged entirely on the finish, and the finish is never more impressive than on the day. Itemise labour and materials separately, put a real due date on it rather than "on receipt", and send it as a PDF the client can forward to whoever actually pays. For painters and decorators, the detail that matters most: materials at cost versus materials marked up needs deciding before you quote, not at invoice time.

How to price the work

Price by room or by job, not by day. A day rate invites the customer to count your days and conclude you were slow.

What the lines should look like

For a three-room repaint, a line that reads well is:

Preparation and two coats, three rooms, materials included

Specific enough that the person approving payment — often not the person who hired you — can see what they are paying for. Here is the same job as a finished invoice line:

Preparation and two coats, three rooms
Filling, sanding, masking, one mist and two full coats, materials included — £1,240.00

Deposits

Usually none on domestic work under a week. Longer jobs with specialist paint ordered in take a materials payment.

Materials and markup

Decide before you quote whether paint is at cost, marked up, or included. "Materials included" is the cleanest for the customer and the easiest to defend. Supplying at cost and then adding 20% at invoice time is the version that causes a row.

The mistake painters and decorators make most

Materials at cost versus materials marked up needs deciding before you quote, not at invoice time.

Preparation. Customers price a repaint on what they can see — two coats — and forget the filling, sanding and masking that took a day and a half. Name preparation as its own line even when it is inside the price, so it is visible.

Price the preparation, not just the coats

On an old property preparation can be more than half the labour, and it is invisible by the time you leave. Customers comparing quotes see two coats in both and choose the cheaper. Naming preparation as a line — filling, sanding, caulking, masking, one mist coat — is how you explain the difference between your quote and the one that undercut it, and it is why your finish is still sound in three years.

Getting paid, in this trade specifically

Domestic work pays quickly. Where it stalls is a snagging list — one customer's list of touch-ups holds up the whole invoice. Invoice on completion and handle snags as a separate visit, agreed in writing, rather than leaving the invoice hostage to a list that keeps growing.

The rest is the same for everyone: what has to be on the document, how to number it, how to chase it and how long to keep it. If you are registered for tax, the rate and the label depend on your country.

EstimateBill tracks what is unpaid, reminds you on the due date, and writes the follow-up message for you in three tones. See how the reminders work.