To price a contracting job, break it into tasks and estimate the hours, then multiply by your hourly target. Measure and price the materials, add your markup and anything specific to the job, and write down what the price assumes and excludes. Check the total before it goes out.
This lesson walks through each step and then prices one real-sized job from start to finish: a bedroom repaint. Use it as a template for your trade.
Before you price: get the scope right
Pricing mistakes often start at the site visit. Before you leave, have these:
- Measurements of everything you’ll work on, written down, with a photo of each area.
- Condition: cracks, stains, water damage, rot, anything that adds prep time. Photograph it.
- Access: stairs, parking, furniture, pets, working hours, where you can store materials.
- What the customer expects: the finish, the colors or materials, when it must be done, and what they think is included. Ask “Is there anything else you were hoping I’d do while I’m here?”
If something can’t be seen yet (behind a wall, under a floor), write it down as an assumption. It goes in the estimate.
Step 1: Break the job into tasks and estimate the hours
Don’t guess the whole job. List every task, from setting up to the walkthrough, and estimate each one. Small tasks are easier to estimate than a whole job, and the list shows the customer what they’re paying for.
Where the hours come from:
- Your own past jobs, if you’ve timed similar tasks. This is the best source.
- Timing yourself on a sample task, if you haven’t.
- Asking someone in your trade what a task usually takes them, then adjusting for your speed.
Include prep, cleanup and the walkthrough. Leave out driving: your time on the road is covered because your pay is spread over billable hours, and fuel is in your overhead. A far-away job gets a travel line.
Step 2: Measure and price the materials
Go from measurements to a shopping list:
- Measure the area or count the units.
- Convert to quantities using the product’s own coverage or yield, from the label or the supplier.
- Add waste for cuts, mistakes and touch-ups, based on your experience with that material.
- Round up to what you can actually buy.
- Price it from your supplier, not from memory. Prices change.
Add the small stuff: tape, plastic, fasteners, caulk, blades, rags. It adds up on every job.
Step 3: Add what’s specific to this job
Subcontractors, equipment rental, disposal fees, permits, parking, a trip charge for a far-away address. Anything this job needs that your usual work doesn’t.
Step 4: Turn costs into a price
- Labor: hours × your hourly target. The hourly target already includes your pay, overhead and profit, so don’t mark it up again. If you don’t have one yet, the business plan lesson shows how to calculate it.
- Materials and job extras: cost, including the sales tax you pay at the supplier, plus your markup. The markup pays for the supplier runs, returns and the risk of ordering the wrong quantity. Markup vs. margin shows how to set it.
- Minimum charge: if the total is below your minimum for a job, the minimum applies. The costs lesson explains why small jobs need one.
Step 5: Write down assumptions and exclusions
Your price is only right if the job turns out the way you assumed. Say so in writing:
- Assumptions: the condition you expect, quantities you measured, who moves furniture, working hours, who supplies what.
- Exclusions: what’s not included, especially the things a customer might expect.
- What happens if an assumption is wrong: the change is priced in writing before you do the extra work.
How to build a construction estimate shows how to put all of this on the page the customer signs.
Step 6: Check the price before it goes out
Three quick checks:
- Against your floor: labor at your pay and overhead only, with no profit, plus materials at cost. The floor rate is (your yearly pay + overhead) ÷ billable hours; the costs lesson shows the table. Never go below it; that job loses money.
- Against your own past jobs: price per room, per square foot, per fixture, whatever unit fits your trade. On your first jobs you won’t have this yet; use the next check instead.
- Against your market: ask two or three contractors or suppliers in your area what similar work goes for, and compare with any competitor quotes your customers show you. If you’re far above, check your hours. If you’re far below, check them too.
Example: pricing a bedroom repaint
A 12 × 14 ft bedroom with 8 ft walls, one door and one window. Walls and ceiling, two coats, light color over light color. All numbers are an example, including the hourly target, coverage, waste and prices; use your own.
Measurements
| Area | Calculation | Square feet |
|---|---|---|
| Walls | 2 × (12 + 14) × 8 = 416, minus door 20 and window 15 | 381 |
| Ceiling | 12 × 14 | 168 |
Materials (coverage from the paint label: 350 sq ft per gallon in this example; 10% added for waste and touch-ups)
| Item | Quantity | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Wall paint | 381 × 2 coats = 762 sq ft + 10% = 838 ÷ 350 = 2.4 → 3 gallons × $55 | $165 |
| Ceiling paint | 168 × 2 coats = 336 sq ft + 10% = 370 ÷ 350 = 1.06 → 1 gallon + 1 quart | $60 |
| Primer for patched spots | 1 quart | $15 |
| Tape, plastic, filler, roller covers | $45 | |
| Materials cost (including sales tax in this example) | $285 |
Labor
| Task | Hours |
|---|---|
| Move and cover furniture, mask | 1.0 |
| Fill holes, sand, spot-prime | 2.0 |
| Ceiling, two coats | 2.0 |
| Walls, cut in and roll, two coats | 4.5 |
| Cleanup and walkthrough | 1.0 |
| Total | 10.5 |
Price
| Line | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Labor | 10.5 h × $73 | $767 |
| Materials | $285 ÷ 0.70 (priced for a 30% margin) | $407 |
| Total | $1,174 |
Written into the estimate: walls in sound condition apart from nail holes and hairline cracks; customer removes small items and wall hangings; light color over light color (a dark-to-light change needs another coat and changes the price). Excluded: trim, doors, closet interior.
Checks: the floor in this example is labor at pay and overhead only, ($50,000 + $31,200) ÷ 1,232 = about $66 an hour × 10.5 = $693, plus materials at $285 = $978, so $1,174 is above it. The total works out to about $2.14 per square foot painted ($1,174 ÷ 549 sq ft of walls and ceiling), which the painter compares with what local painters quote for a room this size.
Your next action
Price one job this week, real or practice, with the six steps:
- Write the task list and the hours for each task.
- Measure, add waste, and price the materials from a supplier.
- Add anything specific to this job.
- Calculate the price with your hourly target and markup.
- Write three assumptions and three exclusions.
- Check it against your floor and your market, and mark every number you guessed so you can check it after the job.
FAQ
How do I bid a job if I’ve never priced one?
Break it into tasks, estimate each task’s hours from your own experience or by timing yourself, price the materials from a supplier, and use an hourly target that covers your pay, overhead and profit. Write down your assumptions. After the job, compare your estimate with the actual hours and materials, and adjust your next bid.
Should I charge by the hour or by the job?
A fixed price per job is easier for a customer to compare and approve, and you can still build it from hours: hours × your hourly target, plus materials. Quoting a fixed price means you carry the risk if it takes longer, so your assumptions and exclusions matter.
Should I give a price on the spot?
Only for work you’ve priced many times. For anything else, take the measurements and photos, then send a written estimate after you’ve done the six steps. A rushed number is hard to take back.
Price jobs faster in MotionOps
MotionOps is field service software for contractors. On-Site Estimates gather the notes, photos and details from the visit, the PriceBook keeps your items with their prices and margins, Optional Line Items let the customer choose add-ons, and Field Proposals collect the customer’s approval.
See all features or compare plans. When you’re ready for your first jobs, book a MotionOps demo.
Contractor Starter Hub: Pricing & Money Basics, lesson 3 of 5
- Previous lesson: Construction Markup vs Margin: Formulas, Conversion Chart, and Real Job Examples
- Next lesson: How to Stop Funding Your Clients’ Renovations With Your Own Cash
- Download for this lesson: Job Pricing Worksheet (spreadsheet)
- All five lessons: Pricing & Money Basics
