Understanding Production Rates

Understand how PaintScout uses production rates (sqft/hr, lnft/hr) to calculate project hours and pricing, with a step-by-step example showing the full estimation process.

Production rate estimation (also called time-based estimation) is PaintScout's core pricing method. It calculates project cost by multiplying the hours needed to complete the work by your hourly rate, then adding materials.

Check out the video below for an introduction to time-based estimation:

What is time-based estimation?

Time-based estimation is the total project hours multiplied by your hourly rate, plus materials. This method produces predictable profits and consistent pricing across your team.

What is a time-based rate?

A time-based rate is the average time to complete a task, expressed as sqft/hr, lnft/hr, or hrs/item.

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How do you estimate a project using time-based rates?

1. Count and measure

• Measure your space – when you enter a room, use a laser measurer to determine the space's length, width, and height. These dimensions will make up your wall square footage, ceiling square footage, and linear footage.
• Count the number of items in the area, grouping like items together (windows, doors, etc).

2. Determine how long things take

• Next, you’ll need to figure out how long your team takes on average to paint these different surfaces – your time-based rates.

Learn how to calculate your time-based rates here >

3. Determine your hourly rate

• Now, figure out how much to charge for your time.
• Your hourly rate is your business broken down into one number. Knowing exactly what you need to charge will give you confidence in how you value your business.

Learn how to calculate your hourly rate here >

4. Add it all up

• After you've followed all the steps above, you have everything you need to make your calculations.
• Make sure to add on any materials, if you price them separately.

Let’s put this into practice with an example:

The bedroom being estimated is 12ft x 15ft, with an 8ft high ceiling. The customer wants the walls, ceiling, baseboards, two window frames, one door, and frame on one side painted with two coats. No patching and no setup time will be taken into account.

How many hours will this project take?

Bedroom (12ft x 15ft x 8ft)	Surface area / # of items	Time Rate	Hours (rounded)
Walls	432 sqft	85 sqft/hr	5.5
Ceiling	180 sqft	60 sqft/hr	3
Baseboards	54 lnft	25 lnft/hr	2.5
Window Frames	2	0.5 hrs/item	1
Door & Frame 1 side	1	1.5 hrs/item	1.5

Using time-based rates, you can then calculate the total number of hours it will take to paint this bedroom: 13.5 hours

So what does this bedroom actually cost?

Once you have the total number of hours, you simply charge by your hourly rate to get your price, plus materials.

Hourly rate: $67/hr Labor: 13.5 hours x $67/hr = $904.50 Materials: $155.71

Total: $904.50 + $155.71 = $1060.21 for the bedroom

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How are time-based rates calculated?

Calculate time-based rates from time tracking data on past jobs. If you are just starting out, begin tracking your time now to build accurate rates.

You'll need to consider:

• The size of the space
• The length of time it took you to paint the space
• The number of coats

Make sure to check these rates periodically to ensure that they are accurate.

If you’re working in a room with 425 sqft of previously painted walls and it took you 5 hours to paint two coats, the calculation would be:

425 sqft ÷ 5 hrs = 85 sqft/hr

Therefore, you can paint two coats across 85 sqft per hour on this surface.

This will become your time-based rate going forward.

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Commonly Asked Questions

What if my team paints at different speeds?

In your business, you might find that, as you calculate time-based rates, some employees paint faster than others, some produce better quality, and others move slower to achieve perfection.

If this is the case, you’ll want to calculate your time-based rates at an average level.

What do you mean by “average level?”

The average level is the speed at which an experienced employee can paint a given surface at a comfortable and natural speed. To offset the difference in speed among employees, you should be paying them different wages to account for their varying skill levels.

How can I create and customize my production rates in PaintScout?

Once you're ready to use time-based rates in your business, learn how to set them in your PaintScout account here >