Ways to Touch Up Without Painting the Whole Wall [DIY Professionally]
20 October 2025Best Paint for Heritage and Historic Buildings: Best Heritage Building Paints
22 October 2025
How to Bid Commercial Painting Jobs (Step-by-Step Guide for Australian Painters)
Ever looked at a big commercial painting project and wondered, "Where do I even start with the quote?"
You’re not alone. Bidding for commercial painting jobs in Australia, whether it’s for an office building, school, warehouse, or strata complex, can feel like a mix of art and maths. You’ve got to balance accuracy, professionalism, and competitiveness, all while protecting your bottom line.
At Painters Link, we've worked on hundreds of commercial tenders across Sydney and beyond. We've seen how a well-structured bid can make or break a project. So, if you're planning to grow your painting business or want to understand how professionals prepare their bids, this guide walks you through everything, from reading plans to presenting your final quote confidently.
1. Understand the Scope of Work
Before you even touch a calculator, take time to understand what’s being asked.
A commercial painting job is rarely straightforward. You might be dealing with multi-storey buildings, tight access, safety requirements, or multiple finishes. Read all project documents carefully:
- Architectural and colour schedules
- Scope of works and specifications
- Access and safety notes
- Deadlines and staging requirements
If it's a government tender or builder-managed project, make sure you review the Painting Specification Section in the plans. It will detail coating systems, surface preparation standards (AS/NZS 2311 is the go-to), and sometimes even the required brands.
Tip: Ask questions early. Don't assume. Clarifying the details with the project manager can save you thousands later.
2. Conduct a Site Inspection
Paper plans never tell the full story.
Whenever possible, arrange a site visit, especially for repaints or refurbishments.
During your visit, check:
- Existing surface conditions (peeling, cracking, dampness)
- Wall and ceiling heights (for access equipment)
- Substrate type (metal, timber, concrete, plasterboard)
- Any hard-to-reach or high-traffic areas
- Site accessibility (for scissor lifts, boom lifts, scaffolding)
Bring a moisture meter and take photos. These will help you explain your assumptions and justify costs later.
In one of our Sydney projects, a childcare centre repaint, the painter missed the fact that ceilings were acoustic tiles, which required a special sealer. That small oversight cost them days of rework. Lesson learned: always inspect thoroughly.
3. Calculate Labour Hours
Your labour is the biggest variable in the bid.
The key is to estimate realistic man-hours for each surface type and coating system. Here’s a basic formula we often use:
Total area ÷ Productivity rate = Labour hours
For example:
- Walls: 1000 m² ÷ 15 m²/hr = 66.7 hours
- Ceilings: 400 m² ÷ 12 m²/hr = 33.3 hours
These rates depend on the surface, paint type, and working conditions. Painting smooth plaster walls is faster than rough concrete or metal beams.
Also consider:
- Number of coats
- Prep time (sanding, patching, cleaning)
- Drying time between coats
- Access challenges (scissor lift setup, masking, floor protection)
If you're bidding on large sites, like shopping centres or industrial buildings, add contingency hours for site inductions, weather delays, and safety checks.
4. Include Material Costs Accurately
Professional painting services depend on using quality materials.
Your quote should specify:
- Primer and undercoat type
- Finish coats (e.g. low sheen, semi-gloss, epoxy, or polyurethane)
- Paint brand and volume
Get quotes from your supplier, brands like Dulux, Wattyl, or Taubmans often have commercial price lists or volume discounts for operators like Painters Link.
To estimate material cost:
Total area × Coverage rate ÷ Litres per can × Cost per can
For instance, if a paint covers 12 m²/L, and you have 1000 m² of wall to paint with two coats:
1000 × 2 ÷ 12 = 166 L
If the paint costs $80 per 15 L, total = $888 (approx.)
Don't forget consumables:
- Rollers, brushes, tapes, drop sheets, sandpaper, filler, PPE
- Equipment hire (if not owned)
- Pro tip: Always round up materials by 10%. Spillage, over-rolling, and touch-ups are inevitable.
5. Factor in Equipment and Access Costs
Commercial sites often require more than just ladders.
Depending on the job, you might need:
- Boom lift or scissor lift painting
- Mobile scaffold or fixed scaffold
- Pressure washer
- Spray gun setup and compressor
- Safety harnesses painting or fall-arrest systems
Hire rates can add up fast, so check how long you’ll need the equipment on site and confirm delivery costs.
If you regularly handle large-scale jobs, owning a boom lift can be more cost-effective in the long run. For Painters Link projects, we often use boom lifts on warehouses, shopping centres, and heritage facades to maintain safety and efficiency.
6. Consider Site Safety and Compliance
In Australia, commercial painting projects must comply with WHS (Work Health & Safety) standards.
That means:
- Preparing a Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS)
- Holding relevant insurances (Public Liability, Workers Comp)
- Providing Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) for all paints and coatings
- Ensuring all staff are trained and inducted
If you're bidding on government or corporate sites, expect to provide:
- ISO or safety certification evidence
- Police checks or Working with Children Cards (for schools and hospitals)
These aren't optional, they're part of what sets professional operators apart. Factor in administrative time for documentation and inductions.
7. Include Overheads and Profit Margin
A lot of painters forget this part and end up working for free without realising it.
Besides labour and materials, include:
- Travel costs
- Fuel and parking
- Office/admin time
- Equipment maintenance
- Insurances and licences
Once you've got your base cost, add your profit margin, typically 10-25%, depending on competition and risk level.
If you're new to commercial painting bids, start around 15%. Remember, lowballing to win the job can backfire. If your price is too low, you'll feel the pressure halfway through the project.
8. Prepare a Professional Quotation
Presentation matters, especially when you’re dealing with builders, facility managers, or strata committees.
Your quote should look neat, detailed, and easy to read. Include:
- Company name, ABN, and contact info
- Project name and address
- Scope of work summary
- Breakdown of costs (labour, materials, access, total)
- Timeline and completion estimate
- Payment terms
- Warranty and conditions
Bonus tip: Add a short section describing your painting process, surface preparation, undercoat, and two top coats. It shows you know what you’re doing.
Painters Link often attaches colour visualisations or coating data sheets to give clients confidence in the system being proposed. Small touches like that build trust.
9. Double-Check the Math and Inclusions
Before you send the quote, check everything twice.
Run through this quick checklist:
- Have you included all walls, ceilings, trims, doors, and columns?
- Have you allowed for primer and undercoat?
- Have you considered ceiling heights or stairwells needing special access?
- Did you include GST?
- Did you allow enough drying and curing time in your schedule?
A simple formula error or missed room can turn a profitable job into a headache.
10. Submit the Bid on Time (and Follow Up)
Many commercial painting jobs come through tender portals or builder invitations. Deadlines are strict.
Submit your quote before the due date—preferably a day early. If the tender requires supporting documents (insurance, SWMS, company profile), ensure they’re attached in the right format (PDF usually preferred).
Then, follow up politely after a few days:
“Hi [Name], just checking in to confirm you received our painting quotation for [Project]. We’d be happy to discuss any details or value-engineer options if needed.”
Professional, confident follow-up often leads to more trust and long-term relationships.
11. Review and Learn from Each Bid
Whether you win or lose, every bid is a learning opportunity.
Ask for feedback when possible:
- Was your price too high or too low?
- Did they prefer another coating system?
- Was your schedule realistic?
Tracking this helps you refine your estimating for future projects.
At Painters Link, we maintain a bid tracker spreadsheet that records every tender, including project size, bid value, and result. Over time, patterns emerge, and that data becomes gold.
Case study: Bidding for a School Repaint in Sydney
Let's walk through a quick case.
A public school in western Sydney required repainting of 24 classrooms, two corridors, and a hall. Surfaces included plasterboard walls and ceilings, timber doors, and metal window frames.
- Total area: 3,000 m²
- Paint system: Washable low-sheen acrylic for walls, flat ceiling paint, enamel trims
- Labour estimate: 3,000 ÷ 15 m²/hr = 200 hrs
- Hourly rate: $60/hr → $12,000
- Paint materials: 420 L total → $2,400
- Equipment hire: Scissor lift for 5 days → $800
- Overheads (fuel, admin, insurance): $1,200
- Profit margin (15%): $2,400
- Total Quote: $18,800 + GST
The school's project officer approved it because the bid was clear, transparent, and aligned with their timeline. The painter completed it in 12 days with minimal disruption.
Common Mistakes When Bidding on Commercial Painting Jobs
- Guessing square metres - Always measure or use digital takeoff software like PlanSwift or Bluebeam.
- Forgetting primers and prep time - Prep can be half the job.
- Ignoring access difficulty - Tall ceilings, stairwells, or high walls slow productivity.
- Not specifying paint brands - Clients want transparency.
- Underestimating safety requirements - Some sites require full WHS compliance, inductions, and PPE costs.
- Missing inclusions/exclusions list - Always state what’s not included (e.g., after-hours work, furniture moving, minor repairs).
Tools That Make Estimating Easier
If you want to save time, consider using:
- Paint calculators (like Painters Link’s online estimator)
- Digital take-off tools (PlanSwift, Groundplan, or Cubit)
- Accounting software (Xero or QuickBooks) for cost tracking
- Template quotes in Word or Excel, branded with your logo
Painters Link's internal system also helps operators log projects, track costs, and prepare detailed submissions, keeping everything professional and consistent.
12. Winning Tenders Through Relationships
Even the best bid won't always win on price alone.
In commercial painting, relationships and reputation play a huge role.
Builders and facility managers prefer reliable operators who show up, deliver quality, and communicate clearly.
A few ways to build that reputation:
- Deliver smaller jobs on time and within budget
- Keep your site tidy and WHS compliant
- Respond quickly to calls and emails
- Provide clear completion reports with photos
- Offer maintenance options or touch-up warranties
That professionalism often earns repeat work without rebidding every time.
Final Thoughts
Bidding commercial painting jobs isn't just about putting a number on paper, it's about understanding the project, planning every detail, and presenting yourself as a trusted professional.
When you approach it systematically, you’ll quote smarter, win more often, and protect your margins. Every successful bid strengthens your business reputation and opens doors to bigger opportunities.
At Painters Link, we operate with that same mindset, bringing structure, transparency, and professionalism to every commercial painting project we manage across Sydney and Australia.
FAQs about Biding Commercial Painting Jobs
