Measurement-Based Pricing allows Pros to build estimates based on job measurements such as square footage, linear footage, or quantity.
Instead of manually calculating pricing, Housecall Pro automatically calculates the estimate based on the measurements entered in a Pricing Form.
Important: Measurement-Based Pricing is currently available only to Sherwin-Williams partner Pros.
This feature is commonly used for services such as:
interior painting
exterior painting
pressure washing
cabinet painting
What is Measurement-Based Pricing?
Measurement-Based Pricing uses Pricing Forms to calculate the price of a job based on measurements.
Each Pricing Form contains measurement fields that capture information about the job, such as:
wall area
ceiling area
trim length
number of doors or windows
The system multiplies the measurements by the configured pricing to generate an estimate.
Example:
Measurement | Price per Unit | Total |
500 sq ft | $2.00 per sq ft | $1,000 |
Create a Measurement-Based Pricing Form
To create a Measurement-based Pricing Form:
Navigate to your Price Book
Select the Pricing Forms tab.
Click Create Pricing Form
Select Painting Pricing Form
Enter the form name and configure the pricing settings.
Once saved, the form can be used in estimates to capture measurements and calculate pricing automatically.
Add Measurement Fields
Measurement fields define what parts of the job are measured. When creating or editing a pricing form, you can add fields to capture the measurements needed to calculate the estimate. Fields are organized into categories designed specifically for painting-related services, making it easier to quickly add common surfaces.
Available field categories include:
Interior Painting – fields for common interior surfaces such as walls, ceilings, trim, doors, and windows
Exterior Painting – fields for exterior surfaces such as siding, soffits, and fascia
Pressure Washing – fields for surfaces such as driveways, decks, and exterior walls
Cabinets – fields designed for estimating cabinet surfaces
These categories provide pre-built fields tailored for typical painting projects.
If a field you need is not listed, you can also create a custom field using the generic measurement options. Generic fields allow you to define your own surface name while using one of the built-in formulas to calculate measurements.
The generic measurement options include formulas for:
Vertical surface area
Flat surface area
Linear measurements
Quantity-based items
These formulas determine how measurements are calculated and used to generate the estimate.
Vertical Surface Area
Used for surfaces such as walls.
The system calculates the total wall area using the room measurements entered for length, width, and height.
Formula:
Wall Area = (2 × Length × Height) + (2 × Width × Height)
Example:
If a room is 18 ft × 20 ft × 9 ft:
(2 × 18 × 9) + (2 × 20 × 9) = 684 sq ft
Flat Surface Area
Used for surfaces such as:
ceilings
floors
The system calculates square footage using the length and width of the area.
Formula:
Area = Length × Width
Example:
If the ceiling measures 18 ft × 20 ft:
18 × 20 = 360 sq ft
Linear Surface
Used for measurements such as:
baseboards
trim
molding
The system calculates the total linear footage around the room perimeter.
Formula:
Linear Feet = (2 × Length) + (2 × Width)
Example:
If a room is 18 ft × 20 ft:
(2 × 18) + (2 × 20) = 76 linear ft
Pricing for these surfaces is calculated per linear foot.
Quantity Select
Used for items that are counted instead of measured.
Examples include:
doors
windows
fixtures
You can select a quantity or manually enter the value. Pricing is calculated based on the price per item multiplied by the quantity selected.
Use a Measurement-Based Pricing Form in an Estimate
Create a new Estimate
Click Add Service
Select the Pricing Form
Update the Name field to reflect the area being painted (for example, Primary Bedroom or Exterior Front Elevation).
Enter the measurements for the job.
Things to know:
Entering the length, width, and height will automatically calculate the square footage used to price the estimate.
Measurements are optional. If measurements are not available, you can manually enter the square footage or measurement value, which is commonly used for exterior projects where only the total area is known.
Housecall Pro will automatically calculate the estimate based on the square footage and the price per unit configured in the pricing form.
You can adjust measurements or pricing before sending the estimate to the customer.
Advanced Feature: Production Rate Estimates
Production Rate Estimates is an advanced feature of Measurement-Based Pricing that allows Pros to automatically calculate labor hours, labor pricing, and material quantities for a job based on the measurements entered in a pricing form.
Instead of setting a price per square foot manually, Production Rate Estimates use production rates and coverage rates to determine how much labor and material are required to complete the work.
Production rates define how quickly work can be completed, while coverage rates define how much surface area a material can cover. Together, these calculations help generate more accurate estimates based on the size of the job.
Production Rate Estimates are commonly used by painting businesses to standardize estimating and better understand both labor and material requirements for different surfaces, application methods, and coats.
When Production Rate Estimates are enabled, Housecall Pro can automatically calculate:
estimated labor hours
labor cost
labor price
material quantities
based on the measurements entered in the Pricing Form.
📌 Note: Production Rate Estimates are currently available only for Sherwin-Williams Basecoat and Topcoat packages.
Before You Begin
Measurement-Based Pricing relies on several Price Book features. Before using advanced calculations, make sure the following features are configured:
Flat Rate Pricing must be enabled to access production rate settings.
Labor rates determine the hourly cost and price used when calculating labor.
Material markups allow you to apply pricing adjustments to materials used in a job.
🔎 To learn more about how to configure Flat Rate pricing, Labor Rates, and Material Markups, check out our Help Center article Flat Rate Pricing Overview.
Production Rates
Production Rates calculate labor hours and labor pricing based on how quickly work can be completed.
A production rate represents how many square feet can be completed in one hour.
Housecall Pro provides industry-standard default production rates to help Pros get started, but these values can be adjusted to match how quickly your team completes work.
Production rates are organized based on:
Substrate – the surface being painted (for example, drywall, wood, or stucco)
Method – how the paint is applied (brush, roll, or spray)
Coats – the number of coats being applied (1st coat, 2nd coat, or additional coats)
These factors affect how quickly work can be completed and, therefore, impact labor pricing.
Production rates can be configured in: Settings → Price Book → Production Rates
Production Rate Tables
The Production Rates page includes two tables that work together to calculate labor pricing.
Production Rate Setup Table
The first table allows you to configure:
Labor Rate
Production Rate (square feet per hour)
The production rate defines how much area can be painted in one hour.
Example:
Substrate | Method | Labor Rate | Production Rate |
Drywall (textured) | Roll | Interior Painter | 75 sq ft/hour |
This means a painter can complete 75 square feet per hour for that surface and method.
Editing Production Rates
Production rates are organized by substrate (surface type).
To edit production rates:
Click the substrate tab at the top of the page (for example, Drywall, Wood, or Stucco).
Locate the method you want to update (brush, roll, or spray).
Update the labor rate or production rate value in the table.
Changes made in the table apply only to the selected substrate.
For example, editing production rates under the Drywall tab will update the values for drywall surfaces, but will not affect production rates for other substrates.
Price per Square Foot Table
The second table automatically calculates the price per square foot using the configured labor rate and production rate.
The formula used is:
Price per Sq Ft = Hourly Labor Price ÷ Production Rate
Example:
Labor Price | Production Rate | Price per Sq Ft |
$100/hour | 75 sq ft/hour | $1.34 per sq ft |
This table calculates pricing for:
1st coat
2nd coat
Additional coats
These calculated values are then used when generating estimates from Measurement-Based Pricing forms.
Advanced Feature: Coverage Rate Estimates
Coverage Rate Estimates calculate the amount of material required for a job based on the total surface area.
To use Coverage Rate Estimates, the material must have coverage rates enabled in the Price Book. Enabling coverage rates marks the material as paint-specific, allowing Housecall Pro to calculate how many gallons of material are required based on the measured surface area.
Coverage rates define how much area one unit of material can cover.
Material | Coverage |
Paint | 350 sq ft per gallon |
Material quantity is calculated using:
Surface Area ÷ Coverage Rate
Example:
Surface Area | Coats | Coverage | Gallons |
700 sq ft | 2 | 350 sq ft | 4 gallons |
A waste factor may also be applied to account for material loss during application.
How Production Rates and Coverage Rates Work Together
When both features are enabled, Housecall Pro automatically calculates:
Labor hours
Labor pricing
Material quantities
Material cost
Total estimate cost
Total estimate price
based on the measurements entered in the pricing form.
Enable Production Rate Estimates in a Pricing Form
Production Rate Estimates can be enabled when creating or editing a Measurement-Based Pricing form.
When Production Rate Estimates are enabled, the manual price per square foot field is removed and replaced with labor and material calculations based on production and coverage rates.
To enable Production Rate Estimates:
Navigate to your Price Book
Select the Pricing Forms tab
Create a new pricing form or edit an existing one
Enable Production Rate Estimates
Once enabled, the pricing form will use production rates and coverage rates to calculate pricing automatically.
Instead of entering a manual price per square foot, you can configure pricing by adding measurement fields for the areas being painted.
Examples of fields include:
Walls
Ceilings
Baseboards
Housecall Pro will calculate labor and material requirements based on the measurements entered.
If you do not see a field that matches the surface you want to measure, you can select one of the available formula types and update the field name to match the surface being estimated.
For example, you could create a field for:
Doors
Windows
Cabinets
Accent walls
This allows you to customize the pricing form to match the specific areas included in your estimates.
Add a Production Rate Pricing Form to an Estimate
Once the pricing form is created, it can be used when building an estimate.
To add a pricing form to an estimate:
Create a new Estimate
Click Add Service
Select the Pricing Form
Enter the measurements for the job
Select the coat, application method, substrate, and material
Enter the paint color if applicable
The Color field allows you to record the paint color being used for the estimate and helps document the material selection for the job.
If your account is connected to Sherwin-Williams and you select a Sherwin-Williams paint material, the Color field will change to a color selector, allowing you to search and select the paint color directly from Sherwin-Williams.
Housecall Pro will automatically calculate the estimate based on:
The measurements entered
The selected substrate, method, and coat
The selected material
Configured production rates
Configured coverage rates
Configured labor rates
Configured material pricing
Selecting the coat, application method, substrate, and material triggers the production and coverage rate calculations for the estimate. Pros can adjust measurements or pricing before sending the estimate to the customer.
Add Additional Materials
Each field allows you to add one or more materials that will be used for the estimate.
To add another material:
Click Add additional material
Select the material from your Price Book
Choose the coat, method, and substrate
This is commonly used when a job requires multiple materials, such as applying primer before the topcoat. Each material added will be included in the material quantity and pricing calculations for the estimate.
Waste Factor
You can include a waste factor to account for material loss during a job.
Waste factors help account for situations such as:
overspray
absorption
leftover paint
application inefficiencies
To include a waste factor:
Enable Include a waste factor
Enter the percentage or Default Waste Factor will automatically be applied
Things to know:
The waste factor is applied to the calculated material quantity before the final material total is determined.
Material quantities are rounded at the field level, and then the total quantity is calculated across the entire pricing form.
This ensures material quantities remain accurate while accounting for multiple surfaces or materials within the estimate.
Show Formula
You can enable the Show formula to display how pricing is calculated for the estimate.
When enabled, the formula view displays a breakdown of:
Labor price
Total gallons
Total material price
The formulas show how the system calculates labor and materials based on the measurements entered, production rates, coverage rates, and material pricing.
The formula breakdown is shown for the first material added to the field.
Values shown in the formula are rounded for display purposes, while the exact values are used when calculating the final cost and price totals for the estimate.
FAQs
Why don’t I see Production Rate Estimates in my pricing form?
Production Rate Estimates are currently available only for Sherwin-Williams Basecoat and Topcoat packages.
If your account is not part of this program, the feature will not appear when creating a pricing form.
Why isn’t my Production Rate Estimate calculating automatically?
Production and coverage rate calculations are triggered after selecting:
a coat
an application method
a substrate
a material
If any of these selections are missing, the estimate will not calculate automatically.
Why do I need to enable coverage rates on a material?
Enabling coverage rates marks the material as paint-specific and allows Housecall Pro to calculate how many gallons are required based on the measured surface area.
Without coverage rates enabled, the material cannot be used in Production Rate Estimates.
Why are my material quantities rounded?
Material quantities are rounded at the field level, and then totals are calculated across the entire estimate.
This helps maintain accurate material quantities when estimating multiple surfaces or fields.
Why does the formula breakdown only show one material?
The Show Formula view displays the calculation for the first material added to the field.
If multiple materials are added (for example, primer and paint), the formula will still display only the first material for reference.
Can I add multiple materials to the same field?
Yes. You can click Add additional material on the Production Rate Estimate only to include more materials in the estimate. This is commonly used for jobs that require primer and paint on the same surface.
Why does the Color field sometimes change to a color selector?
If your account is connected to Sherwin-Williams and you select a Sherwin-Williams paint material, the Color field will change to a color selector, allowing you to search and select a paint color from Sherwin-Williams.
Do I need to enter measurements for every estimate?
No. Measurements are optional.
If measurements are not available, you can manually enter the total square footage or measurement value, which is common for exterior projects where only the total area is known.
What happens if I don’t select a substrate, method, or coat?
Production and coverage rate calculations require all three selections.
If a substrate, application method, or coat is missing, the estimate calculation will not appear.
What happens if I add multiple materials to a field?
Each material added will be included in the estimate calculations.
For example, you can add primer and paint to the same field so both materials are calculated when generating the estimate.
What happens if I update production rates after creating a pricing form?
Updating production rates will affect future estimates that use those rates.
Existing estimates will keep the pricing that was calculated when the estimate was originally created.
Why do the calculated gallons sometimes look higher than expected?
Material quantities include multiple coats and waste factor adjustments, and quantities are rounded at the field level before totals are calculated.
This can result in slightly higher gallon totals when estimating multiple surfaces.
Can I edit production rates directly from the estimate?
No. Production rates must be updated in:
Settings → Price Book → Production Rates
Estimates will automatically use the configured rates.
Why don’t I see Sherwin-Williams color options?
The color selector appears only when:
Your account is connected to Sherwin-Williams
A Sherwin-Williams paint material is selected
If a different material is selected, the Color field will appear as a standard text field.
Need help or have questions?
We're here for you! Chat with Support using the Blue Chat Bubble in your Housecall Pro account, or give us a call at (858) 842-5746.