Decorating Job Sheet

Who this is for

A painting and decorating job written down room by room. Each surface gets a line for the preparation done, the product and colour on it and the coats applied against the coats agreed, and the labour and materials total themselves underneath.

Painters and decorators, from one person with a van to a small team, working on houses, lettings and small commercial jobs who want one signed sheet per job.

What this helps you track

• Every room and surface in the job, with the preparation each one needed
• The product, finish and colour used, written where it can be matched later
• Coats agreed against coats applied, so an unfinished surface is obvious
• Labour by decorator and hours, priced at your own rate
• Paint, sundries and coverings used, with quantities and cost

How to use it

1. Fill in the job number, date, customer, site address and a contact number before the first day.
2. List each room and surface you are working on — walls, ceilings, woodwork, metalwork, outside — one line each.
3. Write the preparation that surface needed and the product, finish and colour going on it, in the customer's own words where they chose it.
4. Enter the coats agreed, and update the coats applied at the end of each day so anyone picking the job up can see where it stands.
5. Add the labour hours against your rate and the materials with quantities, check the totals, and have the customer sign at handover.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Why record the colour and product on the sheet?

Because the customer will ask for it in two years when something needs touching up, and the tin will be long gone. Write the brand, the finish and the colour reference exactly as it appears on the tin.

How do I price a job by the room rather than the hour?

Put the room price in the rate column with 1 in the hours, and describe what it covers. The sheet multiplies whatever you enter; it supplies no rate, day rate or price per square metre of its own.

What if the preparation turns out to be far worse than quoted?

Write what you found in the preparation column, tell the customer before you carry on, and put the extra work on its own labour line so the difference between the quote and the sheet is visible.

Can I use it across several days?

Yes. The labour table takes a line per decorator per day, and the coats applied column is meant to be updated as the job goes on rather than filled in once.