Quoting and invoicing for painters and decorators
SoloDesks is a quoting and invoicing app for self-employed painters and decorators. Price the job at the walk-through (each room, the prep, the materials) and send a professional PDF quote the same day, then turn the ones that come back into invoices without typing it all again. Built for one person with a van and a ladder, not a firm with an office.
Free plan, no card needed. £12/month for unlimited when you want it.
Need something to send today? Free painter & decorator invoice template or quote template: itemised, downloadable as a PDF, no signup.
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| Description | Qty | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Prep: sand, fill & caulk (all rooms) | ||
| Hallway, stairs & landing: two coats | ||
| Bedroom 1: walls, ceiling & woodwork, two coats | ||
| Materials: paint & sundries | ||
| Excludes: wallpaper stripping & plaster repairs |
Why painters & decorators use SoloDesks
Price it at the walk-through, room by room
Walk the house with your phone out: hallway, stairs and landing as one line, each bedroom as another, woodwork separate. The customer gets a quote that reads like their actual house instead of one number they can't interrogate, and it's in their inbox before you've left the street.
Charge for the prep they can't see
Half a decorating job is sanding, filling and cutting in: the part that makes it still look good in two years, and the part a cheaper quote quietly skips. Put prep on its own line so your price makes sense next to the cowboy's, and the customer knows exactly what they're comparing.
Quotes that drift while they think about colours
Decorating quotes rarely get rejected. They drift. If a quote sits unanswered for days, SoloDesks flags it and suggests a follow-up, and you can see when the customer has opened it. A nudge while they're still choosing between two whites wins more jobs than silence does.
Deposits before you're at the trade counter
An exterior repaint or a whole house of materials is real money out before any comes in. Invoice a deposit as its own invoice against the job, so the customer's commitment is on paper before the paint is in the van.
A calendar that survives the weather
Outside jobs move when the rain does. Every job sits on the calendar with the client's address attached, so when the week reshuffles you can see what's where and who to ring, instead of reconstructing the diary from text messages.
Questions painters & decorators ask
- What is the best quoting app for a self-employed painter and decorator?
- The one you can use at the walk-through. SoloDesks is built for solo decorators: quote room by room with prep and materials itemised, send a professional PDF on the spot, and turn accepted quotes into invoices without retyping. The free plan covers 10 quotes and 10 invoices a month, with no card required.
- Can I quote a decorating job room by room?
- Yes. Every quote is a list of line items, so each room, the woodwork, the prep and the materials sit on their own lines with their own prices. Customers say yes to an itemised quote faster than to one unexplained figure.
- How do I follow up a quote without pestering the customer?
- SoloDesks flags quotes that have sat unanswered and suggests a follow-up. You can also see when the customer has opened the quote, which tells you whether you're nudging someone who's still deciding or re-sending one that never landed.
- Can I take a deposit for paint mixed to their colour?
- Yes. Raise a deposit invoice against the job before the merchant mixes it, then bill the balance at the end. Twenty litres tinted to somebody's chosen grey is worth nothing to the next customer, so it should not sit on your card while they decide whether they liked it after all. Each invoice tracks its own paid status, so a part-paid job stays legible.
- How much does SoloDesks cost for a decorator?
- Free for 10 quotes, 10 invoices, 10 emailed PDFs and 3 one-tap accept-links a month, with unlimited clients and jobs. Pro makes those unlimited and chases your overdue invoices for you. There's no contract and you can cancel anytime.
Reading for painters & decorators
Free guides and calculators. No account needed for any of them.
What to Do When a Customer Doesn't Pay Your Invoice
How to Work Out Your Hourly Rate When Self-Employed
Invoice Payment Terms: What to Put on Your Quote
How to Chase an Invoice Politely and Keep the Customer
Writing Off an Unpaid Invoice: Tax and VAT for Sole Traders
Calculators most painters & decorators actually open
Those are three of nine free calculators. No account needed for any of them.
What are you using now?
Honest write-ups of the four systems most painters & decorators actually run on, including who should keep the one they have.
Send your first quote today
It takes about a minute to set up, and the free plan doesn't ask for a card.
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