Customer Reviews

National Painting Cost Estimator [With CDROM] (National Painting Cost Estimator (W/CD))

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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I am also a sole proprietor, this book is a serious Maths/Process approach to Painting and probably will be a daunting effort to understand. I kept reading this book, at first it annoyed me allot but I soldiered on through, and now incorporate varying hourly rates into my quotes & estimates. Concerning the 20, 30, or 40% discount on your paint as stated in the manual I agree with Reviewer: Sirwriter "Small paint contractor" (New Orleans) this part is inflexible, so I type my quote/estimates using Lotus word pro and add these percentages back in to the Math. After reading the manual I realised how cheap I was selling my services so I called Lawyers, Car dealers, Accountants, other industrial tradesmen and men/women who work in different industries, this gave me an idea on what the other Trades are getting on an hourly basis and then I typed this information into an easy to read format, so if I'm asked why I charge the rate I do, I give them a printout on what everyone else is getting, It soon sorts out the ambiguity of my pricing structure. All in all this book gave me an Idea as to how I perform my practice, now I break everything down into a process and look for ways to streamline my work.

this is a great book for a starting point to make your estimates, I would recommend this to a painter that doens't have much experience bidding jobs. It will give you a starting point for your pricing. But remember to figure out the going pricing in your area as this is a standard pricing guide for union wages

It makes my blood boil when I hear youngsters today complaining that they have failed to accurately estimate their painting costs. There are simply no excuses for such ignorance. They should make this book part of the national curriculum!

This is a great product. I have used this book in my painting business for many years now. If you take the time to learn how to use it, you will be hard pressed to find another program that will do what National Cost Estimator series will do for the same cost.

You will have to know your numbers though (overhead, markup, etc.).

I recommend this book for any paint business owner.

This is a handy item. Read the chapter on how to use the book very carefully. Do not move on until you understand it. I used this book to estimate my first painting job, it was just what I needed to accurately bid the job.

I have not used software yet.