
When starting a painting business, a lot of your attention is focused on completing as many jobs as possible and winning new clients. This is with the view to helping your business grow and to start making your desired profit levels as quickly as possible. Simply having the right skills as a painting contractor won’t necessarily be enough to run your own successful business. You also need to have a deep understanding of your finances and a good idea of how long it takes you to complete a job.
The ability to budget your finances well and estimate accurately how long it takes to complete each job will largely determine your ability to maintain a strong profit margin and keep your business afloat. Clients will be more satisfied with the service you provide if you are able to keep to your original timelines and this in turn will support you in building your business profile, receiving positive testimonials from happy customers and growing your business with a healthy job pipeline.

To help you out, here are some tips you can apply so you can complete jobs on time and still stay within your budget:
- Schedule your team
Make sure that your team knows exactly what needs to be done where, by whom and when. Fortunately, by using scheduling management software from companies such as Jobber, this task is easy to organise and execute so that all team members are armed with the information they need in advance to complete their jobs on time. Smart tech such as this allows you to schedule your team based on availability and skill, as well as plan the best route for them to get to their jobsite and start working as agreed with the client. (1)
Organising your team in this way helps you know who’s in charge of what job, which helps facilitate communication between clients, management, and the field team. This will keep everyone up-to-date while also keeping clients satisfied––they’ll know exactly when they can expect their painting project to be completed. (1)
- Send professional quotes
One of the essential parts of winning any painting job is the quote. Sending a professional quote shows customers that you have listened to and understood their problem and presented a way of solving it. This hugely important step to winning any job is so often overlooked, yet learning how to write a service quote that ultimately wins you jobs, is perhaps one of the most essential management skills you will need for your business. Conveniently, estimating and invoicing software can help with this and also give you an accurate indication based on all historical jobs, how long it will take to complete the job being requested. (2)
A professional quote will more readily get accepted by your clients too as it should answer all their questions and be straightforward to interpret. This way, you spend less resources trying to get it accepted in communicating back and forth with a client. (2)
- Get the right supplies
A painting job requires you to invest in supplies, equipment, and labor. So, this means every job will need a specific budget. You can’t afford to get the wrong supplies, as it’ll mean spending more money on getting the right supplies. Moreover, customers are likely to choose a company based on research they have done online or speaking to friends and family, where companies have been spoken about in a positive way which is why it’s so important for your customers to speak highly of the service you provided to them. (3)
To get started with the right supplies, make sure you have everything you need for the job before you even start painting. Assess the nature of the job to know what you need to get. This doesn’t just mean paintbrushes and rollers; it also includes all accessories such as drop cloths, painter’s tape, and ladders or scaffolding. If you’re working inside, be sure to get plastic sheeting that can be used to cover furniture or floors. Proper planning will help minimize delays and ultimately save you time and money on your paint job. (3)
- Keep track of all jobs
Like most painting contractors, you may have multiple jobs going on at once. Some are big jobs that take several weeks to complete, and others are small projects that only take a day or two. The problem with having many different jobs going simultaneously is that it’s hard to keep track of them all. So, you should create a checklist for each job. (1)
Keep track of all the tasks that need to be completed. Every time you complete a task, mark it off your list. This keeps things organized and helps prioritize your workloads, allowing you to know what needs to be done and when. Also, you can break down the jobs into smaller tasks and then assign them to different teams to help execute an excellent painting service. (1)
Conclusion
As a painting contractor, your budget and the timeframes of competing jobs should be a priority in estimating accurately for your company. When you complete a job on time, you can take in more jobs and generate more revenue. Also, clients will be satisfied and recommend your services to others. Working within a budget ensures that your business doesn’t incur any losses. You can use the tips discussed in this article for you to successfully implement your painting jobs to a high level of customer satisfaction.
References
- “The Importance of Employee Scheduling”, Source: https://thriveglobal.com/stories/the-importance-of-employee-scheduling/
- “HOW TO MAKE A QUOTE FOR A JOB: FREE QUOTE TEMPLATE & EXAMPLES”, Source: https://academy.getjobber.com/resources/articles/write-service-quote/#NaN
- “Selecting the Right Paint Tools”, Source: https://www.bobvila.com/articles/400-selecting-the-right-paint-tools/