A free commercial painting estimate template you can open in Excel or Google Sheets. Each row is one area and surface, with quantity, coats, production rate, labor hours, gallons and cost; the bottom rows add equipment, supervision and overhead, then price the job at your target margin. A worked example is filled in so you can see the formulas work.
Want the math done for you? Try the free commercial painting bid calculator.
Download the template
Download the commercial painting estimate template (CSV) ↓
It opens in Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers, and the formulas calculate as soon as it opens. The example rows are fictional; replace them with your own measurements, production rates, labor rate and material prices, and copy a row for each additional area or surface. No email is required.
What each column does
| Column | What to enter or what it calculates |
|---|---|
| Area, surface | Where the work is and what is being painted, one surface per row |
| Quantity, unit | Square feet (SF), linear feet (LF) or each (EA) from your takeoff |
| Coats | Coats in the specified system |
| Production rate | Units one painter completes per hour, per coat, from your crew history |
| Labor hours, labor cost | Calculated: quantity × coats ÷ production rate, then × your loaded labor rate |
| Spread rate, gallons | Spread rate from the product data sheet; gallons are calculated with a 10% waste allowance |
| Material cost, line total | Calculated: gallons × price per gallon, then labor plus material |
| Summary rows | Equipment, supervision, overhead rate and target margin; the price and profit are calculated |
The worked example
The template ships with a small fictional office repaint so you can check the math before entering your own job. These are example inputs, not market rates.
| Line | Inputs | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Walls, drywall | 12,000 SF, 2 coats, 150 SF per hour, $55 per hour, 350 SF per gallon at $40 | 160 hours; labor $8,800.00; 75.4 gallons, $3,017.14; line $11,817.14 |
| Door frames | 40 EA, 2 coats, 3 frames per hour | 26.7 hours; labor $1,466.67 |
| Sundries | Caulk, tape, masking, frame enamel | $450.00 |
| Direct cost | $13,733.81 | |
| Equipment and supervision | $800.00 and $600.00 | $1,400.00 |
| Overhead | 15% of cost | $2,270.07 |
| Total cost | $17,403.88 | |
| Price | 20% target margin | $21,754.85 |
| Profit | $4,350.97 |
Make the estimate easy to defend
- Keep one row per area and surface, so a buyer’s question about the corridors does not reopen the whole number.
- Update production rates from finished jobs; they are the single biggest driver of labor cost.
- Write assumptions in the notes column: working hours, access, number of mobilizations, who moves furniture.
- Carry the same lines into the proposal’s inclusions and exclusions.
For the full process, read how to bid commercial painting jobs.
Sources & editorial note
This guide combines Sourci’s recommended workflow with the industry references below. It is not a claim about past Sourci customer results.
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