Painting ยท Field service software
Painting software for estimates, crews, and the invoice at the end
An estimate request can arrive while three crews are mid-job and the forecast just moved tomorrow's exterior. Keep the quote, the crew schedule, the walkthrough, and the invoice in one place, with AI helping and your office deciding.
Shop plan from $199/mo, billed monthly. Unlimited technicians. See plans
- Unlimited technicians on every plan
- AI answers calls and chat around the clock
- Dispatch recommendations your office approves
- Prep-inclusive quotes that become invoices
- QuickBooks Online
- Xero
- Google Calendar
- Google Business Profile
- Tradecraft Voice mobile app
What does painting contractor software actually do?
Painting contractor software is the system your office uses to take the estimate request, quote the work, put crews on the calendar, and follow the job through to a paid invoice. In a painting business the hard part is coordination: interior and exterior jobs stacked across multiple crews, schedules that move with the weather, prep work the customer never sees but always pays for, and a final walkthrough that decides whether the last coat was right.
Good painting software keeps the estimate, the schedule, and the invoice connected, so the office can see which crews are where, which job is waiting on drywall repairs before the primer goes on, and which finished job still has an unpaid invoice. AI can help by answering the phone, capturing the room list, and suggesting which crew has room in the week. The decision to move a job still belongs to your office.
How Painting contractors use Tradecraft
Win the work
Capture the estimate request while your crews are painting
When every crew is mid-job and the phone rings with a new estimate request, nobody is free to pick up. Tradecraft's AI voice and chat agent takes the call, collects the address, the rooms or surfaces involved, the timeline, and the customer's availability, and books against your estimator's schedule. Your team sees the new request with the details already filled in.
- One agent across phone, website chat, and text
- Collects the details you configure, such as interior or exterior, rooms or surfaces, and timeline
- Books into real availability instead of taking a message
- Every call and chat lands as a job your office can review
Who decides: You define what the agent asks and which time windows it can offer. Your office reviews every booked estimate before it goes on the calendar.
- Inbound call
Estimate request: interior repaint
- Living room, hallway, two bedrooms
- Hoping to start within two weeks
- New job
Estimate visit, scheduled
- Address and contact captured
- Status: unassigned
- Office review
Confirm details before dispatch
- Notes visible to the whole team
- Ready for the schedule board
Run the week
Move crews between jobs when the forecast moves the work
The schedule board shows every crew's week, including the exterior repaint that cannot run in tomorrow's rain and the interior jobs that can absorb the time. When a job finishes early or the weather turns, the dispatch copilot scores your active technicians by skills, distance, and current workload, then writes a recommendation with the reasons. Your dispatcher applies it, adjusts it, or picks someone else.
- Drag-and-drop schedule with crew and unassigned views
- Live map with technician and job locations
- Recommendations explain why a technician was suggested
- Move an exterior job behind an interior one without losing job history
Who decides: The copilot recommends. It never assigns a technician on its own. Every assignment is applied by a person on your team.
- Unassigned
Exterior repaint, weather hold
- Forecast: rain tomorrow
- Customer notified of the shift
- Recommendation
Suggested: Dana, finishing a bedroom nearby
- Interior experience
- Closest after 2 pm
- Lightest rest of week
- Dispatcher
Apply, adjust, or choose another tech
- Other crews stay untouched
- Audit trail records who assigned the job
Finish the job
Quote the prep, the paint, and the coats the job needs
A repaint is rarely one line. Build the quote with the prep work itemized: scrape and sand the failing sections, prime the bare spots, caulk the gaps, then two finish coats. Labor and paint come from your pricebook, with Good, Better, and Best options when the customer is choosing between paint grades. The customer approves the option, and it converts to an invoice without retyping.
- Three-option quotes built from your own pricebook
- Prep, priming, and coats as separate line items
- The chosen option becomes the invoice with one action
- Quotes, invoices, and job notes stay attached to the customer
Who decides: Your estimator or office sets the scope and the prices. Tradecraft organizes the options; it does not measure the walls or estimate paint volume.
- Good
Repaint, existing paint grade
- Prep and two coats itemized
- Soonest start
- Better
Repaint, premium paint grade
- Same prep and coats
- Marked as preferred
- Invoice
Created from the selected option
- Status: pending
- Online payment link sent
Finish the job
Close out with a walkthrough the invoice matches
Technicians use the Tradecraft Voice mobile app to add job notes and job-site photos, so the walkthrough record builds itself room by room. Documents such as agreements and completion forms can be found, generated, and sent for e-signature from the same job. Invoices go out with an online payment link, and the office can see who still owes you.
- Job notes and photos from the field, visible to the office
- Find, generate, revise, and send documents with e-signature
- Online payments through Stripe with invoice status tracking
- Customer portal for invoices and appointments on your brand
Who decides: Your team decides what gets sent and when. Payment processing fees and AI usage are separate from the platform fee; see pricing for details.
- Field
Notes and photos added from the mobile app
- Room-by-room walkthrough photos
- Color and sheen notes
- Documents
Completion form sent for signature
- Version kept with the job
- Signed copy attached
- Payment
Invoice paid online
- Status: paid
- Receipt sent to the customer
Example workflow
Example workflow: an exterior repaint booked before the season
A fictional Tuesday in May for a three-crew painting company. Names and details are illustrative. The steps are the ones Tradecraft supports today.
The estimate request comes in at 11:20 am
All three crews are mid-job and the office manager is ordering paint. The AI agent answers, learns the homeowner wants the exterior repainted before a June listing, confirms availability for a Thursday estimate visit, and books it.
The job appears as unassigned
The office manager sees the new estimate on the schedule board with the address, the surfaces involved, and the timeline already filled in.
The estimator quotes the real scope
The walkthrough finds failing paint on the south wall and bare spots near the windows. The quote itemizes the scrape, sand, prime, caulk, and two finish coats from the pricebook, in a standard grade and a premium grade.
The customer picks the premium option
The customer approves the premium grade quote online. The selected option is marked accepted and the job is ready to schedule.
The dispatcher builds the crew week
The repaint goes on the board for the following Monday and Tuesday, and when the forecast moves rain into Tuesday, the dispatcher shifts the north wall behind an interior job already on the calendar.
The crew documents the work
Each day the crew lead adds walkthrough photos and notes from the mobile app, so the office and the customer can see the prep, the primer, and each coat as it lands.
The invoice matches the accepted quote
The invoice is created from the chosen option and sent with an online payment link. Its status stays visible to the office until the customer pays, and the completion form is attached to the job for the listing.
See this Painting workflow with your own jobs
Bring a real week from your shop. We will walk through intake, the schedule board, quotes, and invoices using your scenario.
What Tradecraft does not do for painting contractors
Clear boundaries save you a demo you do not need. Tradecraft runs the business side of the work.
- It does not measure walls, calculate paint volume, or estimate coverage. Your estimator sets the scope and quantities.
- It does not do color matching, tint formulas, or order management with your paint store.
- The dispatch copilot recommends technicians. It does not assign them automatically, and it does not promise arrival windows to customers.
- Outbound AI follow-up calls, the fleet console, and the bid desk are Business plan features, not part of the Shop plan.
- AI usage beyond the included monthly credits is billed as additional usage. The platform fee does not include every call at any volume.
How to choose painting software
Ask every vendor these questions, including us. The honest answers for Tradecraft are next to each one.
- Can estimates, crews, and invoices stay connected?
- Tradecraft: Yes. The approved quote option becomes the job and then the invoice, with notes and photos attached.
- What happens to a call nobody can answer?
- Tradecraft: The AI agent answers, captures details, and books into your availability. Your office reviews the job.
- Does the price rise with every painter?
- Tradecraft: No. Technicians are unlimited. You pay for office seats: 3 on Shop, 10 on Business.
- How is AI usage billed?
- Tradecraft: Included credits each month, 1,000 on Shop and 5,000 on Business, with additional usage metered after that.
- Can we itemize prep and coats instead of one flat number?
- Tradecraft: Yes. Line items from your pricebook, with Good, Better, Best options when the customer is choosing grades.
- Who controls dispatch decisions?
- Tradecraft: Your dispatcher. Recommendations explain their reasons and are applied by a person.
- Does it connect to our accounting and calendar?
- Tradecraft: QuickBooks Online, Xero, and Google Calendar are included on every plan.
- Can we see it with our own scenario before buying?
- Tradecraft: Yes. Bring a week from your season to a demo and we will walk through it.
How Tradecraft compares for painting contractors
Painting contractors often shortlist one of these. Each comparison explains where the other product fits and where Tradecraft fits better.
- Jobber alternativeUnlimited techs + AI OS vs per-user laddersJobber is commonly cited from about $39/mo for a solo Core plan, with higher Connect and Grow tiers as you add users and features. Choose Jobber for clean quoting and scheduling simplicity; choose Tradecraft when you want unlimited field techs and an AI-native OS without stacking AI add-ons.Read the comparison
- Kickserv alternativeModern AI OS vs classic lightweight FSMKickserv is a long-running lightweight FSM for small service businesses. Verify current pricing on their site. Choose Kickserv if you want a simple classic board; choose Tradecraft when you need AI agents and a fuller ops surface.Read the comparison
Plans for Painting contractors
Flat platform fees billed monthly. Technicians are unlimited on every plan; you pay for office seats and get a pool of AI credits each month. AI usage beyond the pool is metered as additional usage, and card processing fees apply to online payments.
Shop
$199/mo
- Technicians
- Unlimited
- Office seats
- 3 office seats
- Included AI
- 1,000 AI credits per month
Inbound AI voice and chat agent, scheduling and dispatch recommendations, quotes, invoices, documents with e-signature, online payments, internal assistant, and team chat.
Business
$399/mo
- Technicians
- Unlimited
- Office seats
- 10 office seats
- Included AI
- 5,000 AI credits per month
Everything in Shop, plus outbound AI text and call follow-ups, the fleet console, the bid desk, advanced reports, and more integrations.
Enterprise plans have custom pricing and unlimited office seats. Full plan details and annual billing
Painting questions, answered
Can Tradecraft handle inbound painting estimate requests?
Yes. The AI voice and chat agent runs around the clock on a business phone line and your website. It collects the details you configure, such as interior or exterior work, which rooms or surfaces are involved, the timeline, and when the customer is available for a walkthrough. It books into the availability windows you allow, and your office sees each booked estimate with the notes attached.
How does painting crew scheduling work in Tradecraft?
Every job, an estimate visit or a two-day exterior repaint, sits on the same schedule board with crew and unassigned views and a live map. When a job is unassigned or a shift opens up, the dispatch copilot scores active technicians on skills, distance, and workload and writes a recommendation with its reasons. Your dispatcher applies the recommendation, changes it, or assigns someone else. Assignments are always made by a person.
Can I itemize prep work and coats on a painting quote?
Yes. Quotes support Good, Better, and Best options with prep work, priming, and finish coats as separate line items pulled from your pricebook. You can mark a preferred option. When the customer decides, the selected option converts to an invoice with the same line items, so nothing is retyped and the invoice matches what was approved.
Will the AI ever assign a technician without our approval?
No. The dispatch copilot only writes recommendations. Applying an assignment is a human action from the schedule board or the internal assistant, and each assignment is recorded in an audit trail with who made it and why. If nobody acts on a recommendation, it simply expires after the window you set and the job stays unassigned until your team decides.
What does it cost as we add crews?
The platform fee does not change when you add technicians or crews. Shop is $199 per month billed monthly with 3 office seats and 1,000 AI credits. Business is $399 per month billed monthly with 10 office seats and 5,000 AI credits. AI usage beyond the included credits is metered as additional usage, and payment processing fees apply to online payments. Full details are on the pricing page.
Does Tradecraft estimate paint quantities or do color matching?
No. Tradecraft runs the business side of painting work: calls, scheduling, dispatch, quotes, invoices, documents, and payments. Measuring surfaces, estimating coverage, tint formulas, and store ordering stay with your estimator and your paint supplier. Once the scope is set, Tradecraft is where it is quoted, scheduled, walked through, and invoiced.
Can it help with commercial repaint bids?
On the Business plan, the bid desk reads a bid package you upload, extracts the specification line by line, and cites the exact page each requirement came from, and it flags addenda that change the scope. Your estimator reviews every extracted line before pricing. It does not measure drawings or set prices.
Other trades and more to explore
Bring a week from your season to a demo
Show us how an estimate request becomes a crew week and an invoice. We will walk through intake, the schedule board, quote options, and the walkthrough with your scenario.
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