Painting · Price your work

Painting Change-Order Price & Margin Calculator

Price a change order from its incremental costs, then combine it with the original job to check the revised total margin. Added revenue is not the same as added profit.

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Calculate your result

Make it your business

Start with an example, then replace the assumptions. Results update as you type.

Examples illustrate different workloads. They are not market averages or recommended prices.

Original job price ($)

Customer price before the proposed change.

Original estimated job cost ($)

Full cost before the change, including allocated overhead.

Added painter-hours (hours)

Total incremental labor across all painters.

Added materials ($)

Only materials caused by the change.

Target operating margin (%)

Profit as a share of selling price, after all costs entered. A 25% margin is not a 25% markup.

Cost & schedule assumptions 4 inputs

These example values affect your result. Review each before relying on the worksheet.

Hourly wage or owner labor allowance ($/hour)

Include a fair cost for your own labor even when you work alone.

Additional payroll burden (%)

Your employer taxes, workers' comp, benefits and paid-time allowance as a percentage of wages. Avoid double counting separate cost fields.

Added equipment cost ($)

Incremental rentals or access equipment.

Added overhead ($)

Only incremental overhead not already budgeted.

Export to keep your work. Refreshing or leaving this page clears your inputs and saved comparison.

YOUR WORKSHEET

Change-order price

$626.67

Revised total job price

$5,626.67

Revised job profit

$1,406.67

Revised job margin

25%

See the cost breakdown

Added loaded labor: 240
Materials: 150
Equipment + overhead: 80
Added profit: 156.67

Rows use the dollars or hours named in each label.

What if the assumption changes?

Change only added painter-hours by ±20%. Bounds apply. Everything else stays fixed; this is a scenario, not a forecast.

Change-order price
Added painter-hours	Result
6.4 hours -20%	$562.67
8 hours Current	$626.67
9.6 hours +20%	$690.67

Prepare a customer service estimate

Includes your scope and calculated service price. Your costs, margin and internal comparisons are excluded.

Scope and schedule to include

Review the draft before sharing. Taxes and terms need your review.

Add a scope to enable your estimate download.

When your business changes

When a change adds different activities, higher access or subcontractors, review whether your insurance information needs updating.

Explore the insurance next step

Illustrative planning, not an insurance quote. Inputs and results are excluded from tool analytics.

Understand the result

The method,
made clear.

Change cost = added loaded labor + materials + equipment + added overhead. Change price = change cost ÷ (1 − target margin). Revised job margin = (original price + change price − original cost − change cost) ÷ revised price.

A profitable change order does not automatically repair an underpriced original job. Check both the incremental and whole-job results.

How to use this tool

01
Replace the example inputs with your actual costs and work estimates.
02
Compare the result with a real completed job or your current operating budget.
03
Adjust the assumptions, download your worksheet, and review the relevant insurance questions before your business changes.

Worked example

Using the illustrative inputs below produces change-order price: $626.67. These are example business assumptions, not market benchmarks.

Original job price: 5,000 $
Original estimated job cost: 3,750 $
Added painter-hours: 8 hours
Hourly wage or owner labor allowance: 25 $/hour
Additional payroll burden: 20 %
Added materials: 150 $
Added equipment cost: 50 $
Added overhead: 30 $
Target operating margin: 25 %

Revised total job price: $5,626.67

Revised job profit: $1,406.67

Revised job margin: 25%

Before you rely on the numbers

Assumptions
and limitations.

Every prefilled number is an illustrative example, not a market average, recommended price, tax rate, or insurance quote.
Results use only the costs and time you enter. Include owner compensation, insurance and overhead where applicable without counting a cost twice.
Calculations exclude sales tax and financing unless you include them in your inputs. Round your final customer price deliberately.

From planning to protection

Your next
insurance question.

When a change adds different activities, higher access or subcontractors, review whether your insurance information needs updating.

Explore painting insurance

Worksheet inputs are not submitted to a carrier or added to an insurance application. Confirm the facts in the quote form before you submit.

Questions owners ask

A few useful answers.

Should I include costs already in the original bid?

No. Include only additional costs in the change order. The original cost field already accounts for the original scope.

Does this authorize work outside the original scope?

No. Confirm the written scope change and approval process with your customer before doing additional work.

Why can the revised margin be below my target?

The target applies to the new change. The original job may carry a different margin, which affects the combined result.

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Sources and methodology

Prepared by Kinro. Methodology and linked references checked 2026-10-29. Calculation formulas are Kinro planning models. Sources support the concepts stated below; they do not endorse our example values or results.

IRS: Employment taxes (opens in a new tab)
Employer costs extend beyond wages. Enter the payroll burden that applies to your business; the tool does not calculate tax liability.
NAIC: Small business insurance (opens in a new tab)
Different exposures call for different coverage discussions. Eligibility, requirements, exclusions, and policy terms need individual review.

Educational planning only. Confirm coverage, requirements and policy suitability with a licensed insurance professional. No coverage is quoted, bound or changed by using a worksheet.