Quoting Software Built for Painters & Decorators

Quoting is the lifeblood of any decorating business. Yet most painters and decorators still rely on handwritten notes, mental maths and Word documents to price jobs — a process that is slow, inconsistent and prone to costly errors. Underprice a job and you work for free. Overprice and you lose the work. Inconsistent pricing means you never know if your quotes are competitive or profitable.

Trade Assist is quoting software built specifically for the UK decorating trade. It understands room dimensions, paint coverage rates, surface conditions, labour methods and material costs — then combines them into a professional, branded proposal your client will actually want to say yes to.

Whether you are pricing a single room or a full commercial redecoration, Trade Assist helps you produce accurate, consistent and impressive quotes in a fraction of the time it takes by hand. No more forgetting the ceiling. No more missing a coat. No more losing work because your quote looked unprofessional.

Create Professional Decorating Quotes in Minutes

The Trade Assist quote builder is designed around the way decorators actually work. Add rooms with their dimensions, choose the surface type and condition, set the number of coats, and the system calculates wall area, ceiling area, paint quantities and labour costs automatically.

You can use simple mode for quick quotes — just a room name and a price — or switch to advanced mode for full paint and labour calculations. Save your default rates, coverage figures and labour methods so every quote is priced the same way, every time.

The result is a professional, branded PDF proposal with your logo, business details, scope of work, room-by-room breakdown, terms and conditions and deposit requirements. It looks like it came from a professional decorating business — because it did.

Paint Coverage and Material Calculations

Calculating how much paint you need is error-prone. Too little and you run out mid-job. Too much and you have wasted money. Trade Assist does the maths for you — enter the room dimensions and your paint coverage rate per litre, and it calculates exactly how many litres you need and what it costs.

The system accounts for the number of coats, surface type and condition. You can add additional materials — masking tape, fillers, primers, rollers — with quantities and unit prices. Everything is totalled automatically.

This accuracy means your quotes are priced correctly, your material orders are right the first time, and your profit margins are protected. No more guessing and no more losing money on underpriced materials.

Labour Pricing That Works for Decorators

Trade Assist supports three labour pricing methods: per square metre, fixed price or hourly. Save your default labour rates and apply them to every room in one tap. You can override individual rooms if a particular space needs more or less work.

The system factors in surface condition — Good, Fair, Poor or Bare — which affects prep time and labour. A room in poor condition needs more filling and sanding, and your quote should reflect that. Trade Assist makes sure it does.

Consistent labour pricing across all your quotes means you build a reliable picture of your pricing and profitability over time. You can see which types of jobs are most profitable and adjust your strategy accordingly.

Branded PDF Proposals That Win Work

A professional quote does more than state a price — it builds trust and sets clear expectations. Trade Assist generates branded PDF proposals with your logo, business details, cover page, executive summary, scope of work, room-by-room breakdown, pricing, terms and deposit requirements.

Choose from multiple template styles — clean, premium, commercial, simple or progress — to suit the job and the client. Add a "why choose us" section to build confidence. Include project photos for reference. The result is a proposal that looks like it came from a premium decorating business.

Pro and Business plan users can upload their own logo and add custom business details, terms and conditions and deposit percentages. Your quotes become a marketing tool, not just a price list.

Online Client Portal for Faster Approvals

Every quote generates a shareable online portal link. Your client views the full proposal in their browser — no PDF to download, no app to install. They see the room-by-room breakdown, the scope of work and the total price, and they can approve with a single click.

You are notified the moment a client views and approves your quote. No more wondering whether they have seen it. No more awkward follow-up calls. You know exactly when to reach out and close the deal.

The portal also displays your Google and Facebook review links, so happy clients can leave a review right after approving — turning your quotes into a review generation tool.

AI Quote Generator for a Head Start

Trade Assist includes an AI Quote Generator that builds a complete quote from a few simple questions. Describe the job — what rooms, what surfaces, what condition — and the AI suggests rooms, dimensions, paint products, labour estimates and professional scope descriptions.

The AI does the heavy lifting — the calculations, the descriptions, the structure — and you review, adjust and approve. You are always in control of the final price. What used to take an hour now takes five minutes.

This is particularly useful for new decorators who are still learning to price jobs, or for experienced decorators who want to speed up the quoting process without sacrificing accuracy.

Quote Tracking and Follow-Up

Sending a quote is only half the battle. Following up is what wins the work. Trade Assist tracks every quote through its lifecycle — Draft, Sent, Viewed, Accepted, Rejected, Follow-up due, Expired and Invoiced.

See at a glance which quotes are pending, which need follow-up and which have been viewed but not approved. The AI Email Writer can draft professional follow-up emails in seconds, so you never put off chasing a quote.

When a quote is approved, convert it to a job and then to an invoice with one click each. The full chain from first quote to final payment is tracked and visible.

Works on Your Phone, Tablet and Computer

Decorators do not sit at desks. Trade Assist is built mobile-first, so you can create quotes on site while you are still at the property. Measure the rooms, enter the dimensions and send a professional quote before you leave — impressing clients with your speed and professionalism.

The full quoting tool works on any device with a browser. No app to download, no syncing between devices. Start a quote on your phone on site, finish it on your tablet at home, review it on your computer in the office.

This speed and flexibility means you can quote more jobs in less time, giving you more chances to win work.

Frequently Asked Questions