What a painter actually needs
Painting is quoted by the job, not the hour, and the price hinges on prep, the scraping, sanding, filling and undercoats the customer never thinks about. A good quote spells that out, so you are not arguing about scope later.
- Room by room or area quoting, break a repaint into rooms or sections so the customer sees exactly what they're paying for and can add or drop areas easily.
- Prep and coats spelled out, list the prep, the undercoat and the number of finish coats as separate lines so the value of the work is visible.
- Interior and exterior priced differently, save your standard rates for interior, exterior, roofs and fences.
- Deposits on big repaints, take a deposit on a full house job to cover paint and tide you over a job that runs days.
- Invoice when the last coat's dry, and let the reminders chase if they're slow.
Typical jobs it handles
Interior repaints (rooms, ceilings, trim), full exterior repaints, roof painting, fences and decks, feature walls, render and texture coating, prep and repairs (filling, sanding, undercoating), and commercial or strata work. Save your usual packages and they drop into a quote in seconds.
A painter app for quoting on site
It runs in the browser on your phone and your computer, and you add it to your home screen so it opens like any other app. Walk the house with it, add each room as a line off your saved price list with the prep and the coats under it, and send the quote as a link before you've left the driveway. The customer accepts online and it lands back in the app. If they only want a ballpark first, send a price range before the full quote.
Paint and hire go on the job as expenses with a photo of the receipt, so the job's profit shows what the repaint really made once the paint's paid for. It works offline as well, so a new build with no signal yet doesn't stop you.
If you're choosing between apps, job management software compared lays out the main ones, what each is best at and how each one charges.
Get paid the day you finish
A big repaint is a lot of money to wait on. Yamate turns the finished job into an invoice for you to send there and then, with your PayID or bank details on it, and once you switch the reminders on they chase the slow payers so you're not the one sending awkward texts.
Try Yamate free, built for painters, solo or with a crew →Want the job before it is advertised? Homeowners post their problems in Who Do I Call? Australia, our free Facebook group. Answer one well and you are the tradie they ring. Join, help out, and put your business in front of the people asking.
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Licences and paperwork, straight from the regulators
Painting is licensed over a value threshold in several states. From the Yamate compliance guide, read at the regulator on the date shown.
Painting licence/registration (over state threshold)
Read it at the regulator · checked 2026-08-21
Deposits and getting paid have their own pages, deposit caps state by state and what a tax invoice must show.
FAQ
What's the best quoting app for painters in Australia?
One that lets you quote by room or area and spell out prep and coats. Yamate is built for painters, solo or running a crew. Room by room quotes, prep itemised, GST invoicing and reminders that chase late payers, from $19/mo (founder price, until 30 Nov) on iPhone and Android.
Can I quote a repaint room by room?
Yes, add each room or area as its own line so the customer can see the breakdown and tweak the scope easily.
Should I take a deposit on a big paint job?
On a full repaint it's sensible, it covers your paint and protects you on a job that runs days. Add it to the quote and check your state's rules on deposit limits.
Tickets, safety and a crew
Yamate keeps your licence and insurance on file and tells you before they lapse, yours and your crew's. It'll draft a Safe Work Method Statement for a job from what the job actually is, and you read it and sign it. Yamate issues nothing and lodges nothing, apart from the NSW CCEW an electrician sends from the job.
Got an apprentice or a crew? You're not too big for it. Pay runs, payslips, super and licence dates are in here too, on the same flat price.
Taken someone on? The Founder plan includes up to 3 people. For larger crews, the 8-person plan includes 8 people, and bigger crews move up a size, from $99/mo for 12 people to $399/mo for 200 people. Everyone gets their own login so you choose what each of them sees. And if you get stuck anywhere, Ask ya mate. Type a question and it walks you through the screens, suggesting the tap rather than doing it for you.
Free tools for painters
General information only for Australian businesses. Licensing requirements may apply depending on the work and your state.