Running your trade business requires a lot of juggling. At one point, you’ve got too few leads, and then once you’ve got marketing out there, you need the time to secure jobs and produce effective estimates so customers are satisfied.
Thanks to the rise of digital technology and the better coverage of the internet than ever before in Australia, paint estimating and job management software has become a key facet of keeping businesses competitive in the market.
Why is paint estimating software relevant in your industry workflow?
There’s always room to improve, and the same is true of your work processes. At one point, the pain might have been to get enough job leads; then, it became trying to estimate and schedule the work coming in! As your trade business grows, inefficiencies in workflow become more obvious as your time is worth a higher premium.
For painting businesses, accurately estimating and offering competitive quotes can be challenging, as each job is different. Paint estimating software can not only streamline this process for you but also offer many other features that will save your business time and money and ultimately raise your revenue.
Must-have features in your estimating software for painting contractors
As you check out our list of the best paint estimating software, consider these must-have features for each one. Think about the standout areas of your business and what could use improvement.
Intuitive navigation
User interface, also known as UI, is one of those things you don’t notice until it doesn’t work. The layout and navigation of the best paint estimating software will be intuitive and easy to pick up by all team members. Even the most robust services need to make all their options accessible.
When choosing the best paint estimating software, consider what kind of devices you and the team will use for it, such as tablets, smartphones or desktops, and which devices the software is available on. Most software options these days are available on computers, tablets and as apps, but it depends on the offering.
Relevant Training
Even the best paint estimating software can be challenging to use, and you want your team to be able to utilise the tools you’ve provided: especially when estimating software is essential to securing work and getting jobs kicked off.
Some of the best paint estimating software on our list will require little training to use; these can be simpler suites with decent functionality. For more in-depth offerings, such as AroFlo’s job management software, it’s necessary to choose a company that will provide proper training and materials, so your team can get started and use every tool at their disposal.
Integration with CRM systems
Customer relationship management systems, a.k.a. CRM systems, are vital components of the best paint estimating software. Good relations with your customers are key, and software that offers customer communication, data and updates will improve customer satisfaction and build your business reputation.
Cloud-based access and offline functionality
The best paint estimating software should have cloud-based saving and storage so that your entire team can access the same info at anytime from any device. Access to the necessary details and the ability to upload/update timely information is key to an efficient estimating software experience.
On the other hand, offline functionality is necessary for certain tools, such as calculations and local saves of photos and documents, when internet connections are slow or unavailable. Australian internet can be spotty at times!
Real-time invoicing, billing, and cost tracking
The best paint estimating software must include robust invoicing, billing and cost-tracking features. Investing in software means you’ll be storing a lot of relevant financial data with it; so it makes sense to have connected relevant features to streamline your process.
Painting contractors can have a difficult time producing profit and loss statements, something very crucial for tax time! Small businesses, in particular, benefit more from profit and loss statements, as it can be difficult to keep track of administration as you work jobs. AroFlo’s Trade BusinessAdministration Software means you can run everything admin from one platform.
Our Top Paint Estimating Software Options for 2024
Now for the meat and potatoes: our list of the best paint estimating software options. We’ll cover the basics, features, niches and the pros and cons of each of our picks.
1. AroFlo
Available on Android, iOS and desktop.
AroFlo offers a comprehensive trade business management system, with a variety of features for businesses of any size. It’s designed from the ground up for tradies with an Australian-based team. AroFlo offers the best paint estimating software for your business, not just with calculation tools and streamlined estimating, but direct supplier contacts and inventory management.
Streamlined workflow management
The best paint estimating software doesn’t just provide those tools; it provides a suite of workflow features to maximise team efficiency. We’re often not aware of the small ways we lose time or what is inefficient, but it shows up in job productivity and cash flow. All of these things can hurt the growth of your trade business.
AroFlo’s job management features, such as scheduling, time tracking, crew communications and location tracking, make various clunky workflows more efficient and save you and your team time and money.
Comprehensive onboarding process
Adapting to any new workflow can be difficult and even the best paint estimating software has a learning curve. AroFlo is built for tradies and every size of business, so we get that adopting a new system can bring workflow interruptions and possible slowdowns.
Our answer to that is our comprehensive onboarding process for you and your entire crew: we know there isn’t much point to a wide array of features if no-one knows how to access them! AroFlo offers training sessions, tutorials and training materials, and our support team is ready to assist your business whenever you need.
Accounting Integrations
The last thing you need after finishing a job is for the invoice to take its sweet time. With AroFlo’s invoice templates, your business can create personalised invoices and send them directly to customers as soon as a job is done. Streamlined payment options and billing connections mean you can both send and receive vital funds in minutes.
Throw in popular accounting software integrations, such as Xero, Quickbooks and MYOB, and AroFlo makes the process seamless, ensuring there are no double-ups between systems and accurate timesheets that are shared between all necessary users.
Now, a trade business of any size can benefit!
Pros
✅ Paint Estimating Tools/Calculators
✅ Popular Accounting Integrations
✅ Popular Supplier Integrations such as Bunnings, Mitre 10 and Haymes Paint
✅ Local Support
✅ Project Management Tools
Cons
❌ Many features mean it can be complicated to onboard
Free demos are available for all businesses! Plan prices start at $65 AUD per user per month for small teams of 4-20 users. For teams of 1-3, we offer the Starter pack at a flat rate of $235 AUD per month.
2. Jobber
Available on Android, iOS and desktop.
Jobber is a comprehensive job management package and one of our picks for best paint estimating software thanks to its robust features. It’s designed for all different types of trade companies, so while it isn’t particularly focused on any trade, it offers plenty of options for every business.
Pros
✅ QuickBooks integration
✅ Easy to use
✅ Scheduling and Dispatching
✅ Follow-ups to Invoices
Cons
❌ Can be pricey with additional fees
❌ Lack of robust reporting features
Prices start at $49 USD ($73 AUD) per month for their Core plan.
3. PaintScout
Available on Android, iOS, and desktop.
This is the best paint estimating software designed by a painter for painters. The founders behind this company know what it’s like to work day and night, trying to get estimates right, doing jobs and trying to make a profit for your growing business.
Pros
✅ Designed for Painting Businesses
✅ No Internet connection is required
✅ Supports popular integrations
✅ Automatic Work Orders
Cons
❌ Additional management software is necessary
❌ Few features outside of estimations
❌ No crew communication
Prices start at $99 USD ($145 AUD) per user per month for an annual plan and $119 USD ($145 AUD) per user per month for a monthly plan. Larger businesses will have to contact the sales team directly for more detailed pricing.
4. EstimateRocket
Available on web browsers on all devices
As you can probably get from the name, Estimate Rocket is software designed for contracting businesses to streamline their estimates and get jobs sooner. Estimate Rocket is designed for many kinds of contractor trade businesses, including painting, and offers a comprehensive set of features to help streamline estimates and complete jobs and invoices faster.
Pros
✅ Trade-Specific Estimating Templates
✅ Easy-to-Use interface
✅ Live Support
✅ Highly Customisable
✅ Professional Onboarding Service
Cons
❌ Some popular accounting integrations aren’t available
❌ Text in put for reports can be challenging to use
❌ No Open API, so can’t send data to other software that uses API keys
Prices start at $139 USD (about $210 AUD) per month for up to 3 full users, $259 USD (about $385 AUD) per month for up to 7 full users and $359 USD (about $535 AUD) per month for up to 15 full users. Each pricing tier includes additional add-on fees for users exceeding that limit.
5. STACK
Available on Android and iOS.
Stack is comprehensive cloud-based job estimating software designed to help tradies with takeoffs and quick estimates. The focus is one estimates and getting bids accurate and competitive for the best chances of securing jobs. Customised estimates can be produced in the app or exported to Excel, and all estimates can be filtered with a built-in search function for ease of use.
Pros
✅ Customisable Estimates
✅ Training and Support
✅ Real-time Team Communication
✅ Automated Software integrations
Cons
❌ Cloud-based means offline functionality is limited
❌ Some customisation options are not available
❌ Some popular integrations are not available
❌ Restrictive Pricing
Pricing begins at $599 USD per year per user for field management and property operations, and the takeoff and estimate package is priced at $1,899 USD per user per year.
6. FieldCamp
Available on iOS, Android and web.
The best paint estimating software is made by those who understand that every trade business is unique. FieldCamp prides itself on providing plenty of features that can be adapted for any field service team, with a focus on an easy-to-use interface that can be picked up immediately.
Use Google credentials to sign in and start, Field Camp focuses on easy and detailed scheduling, team-tracking and revenue assessments to see exactly what’s working in your business.
Pros
✅ Fully customisable customer-facing software
✅ User-Friendly
✅ Simple Scheduling
✅ Detailed Reports
Cons
❌ Not as many options as other software offerings
❌ Few integrations
❌ No clear pricing for larger businesses
Prices start at $29 USD (around $43 AUD) per month for small businesses with 1 user, $49 USD ($73 AUD) per month for up to 10 users and $99 USD per month for medium businesses with up to 25 users. The sales team must be contacted for teams larger than 25 users.
7. PlanSwift
Available on Windows.
PlanSwift’s takeoff and estimation is designed for contractors who want to plan projects and necessary labour, materials and pricing with efficiency and accuracy. While some of the other best paint estimating software in this list is focused on holistic job management suites, PlanSwift’s primary focus and offering is takeoffs/estimates.
The software provides options to assist tradies and businesses in assessing/reviewing plans and creating niche, accurate estimates thanks to digital technology. Painters can utilise single-click tool to automatically calculate the area of surfaces, both straight and curved, for material and labour estimates.
Pros
✅ Easy Drag-and-Drop tools, from design to takeoff
✅ Print and Export options to send your estimates
✅ Local AU/NZ support team
Cons
❌ Lag and occasional slow processing times for archives
❌ Can only be run on Windows
❌ High initial fee
Pricing is a one-time licensing fee of $1595 with additional fees for training and annual support programs. There is a free trial version.
8. Workiz
Available on Android, iOS and desktop.
Workiz’s paint estimating software focuses on all-around job and customer management, designed to provide your business with all the necessary tools to streamline work processes
Workiz also provides several free tools on its site for allt radies, whether you use its service or not. These include an ROI calculator, invoice templates and a junk removal cost estimator (and as a painting business, there’s always some leftover paint to deal with!).
Pros
✅ Many popular integrations for other software, such as Google services, Mailchimp and Quickbooks
✅ Intuitive, easy-to-use interface
✅ Excellent CRM functionality
Cons
❌ Support can be hit-or-miss
❌ Accounting integrations can be slow
❌ Data importing can be slow
Workiz can be used for free with their Lite plan, and paid plans start at $198 USD ($295 AUD) per month for businesses of up to 5 members. For larger business, contact Workiz directly.
Benefits of implementing an estimating software for painting
In addition to the above features and pros of the best paint estimating software, here are some additional benefits that make these options not just a cost but an investment in your business growth.
Reduces human error
Pen and paper was the way things have been done for a long time, and it can be challenging to make the change. But business owners can see time and time again how small mistakes add up and chew into your bottom line. Physical paperwork is necessary, but shifting certain workflows like timesheets, clock ins/outs, scheduling and payroll to a digital platform can reduce the risk of human error and possible double-ups.
Simply put, fewer inputs = fewer input mistakes.
Streamlines the estimating process
When everything about your estimating process can be completed from a digital plan, everything can be marked up, noted, saved and shared, directly from your devices and at any time. This kind of efficiency and access means the estimating process can be smooth and accurate, whatever job you get!
Saves time on manual calculations and paperwork
Once jobs have been secured and ready to go, the best paint estimating software will help you prepare the necessary calculations from any device. The challenging art of paint estimation and quotes can take time to get right, but as any contractor business knows, the key to effective estimation is accuracy and timely submissions. Don’t want to be too quick and inaccurate, but you also want to get estimates done for the best chance at getting job leads.
Throw manual calculations and paperwork in the mix and this increases your margin of error when creating cost estimates, quotes and invoices. Pen and paper and a calculator might be a tried and true method, but digital tools provide the same service, just faster and reducing the amount of inputs needed.
Centralised client information
The best paint estimating software on our handy list offer not only tools for team management, account integrations and time-tracking, but a resource for your business to access client information. Sometimes included as part of CRM, this kind of data can improve customer retention and streamline future jobs with those customers.
Stay Ahead with the Best Paint Estimating Software
Now that you’ve seen the best paint estimating software available and read the many good points as to why you need digital workflow tools, it’s time to try it for yourself!
Ready to grow your painting business with the best paint estimating software? Check out AroFlo’s painting industry software today for everything you need to get started.
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