Priced the way Auto Body & Paint work is billed
A bumper scuff repair — sand, prime & color-blend and a rock chip touch-up — brush & pen session don't get quoted the same way, so why would every trade? SideWRK prices Auto Body & Paint the way the work is really billed: flat per repair, SMART-style (bumper scuff $375 · deep scratch $450 · wheel $150 each), plus one flat paint-and-materials line per spray job. Tap the work, put in the numbers, and the line prices itself — no napkin math, no undercharging a job because you rushed the quote.
What Auto Body & Paint jobs actually run
These are the starting numbers SideWRK loads for common Auto Body & Paint work — researched to be realistic, so you can send an estimate that isn't a guess. Adjust any of them to your market in a tap.
Typical starting prices in the app — your area, your materials, and your reputation move them. You set your own; these just keep you from undercharging on the first quote.
Deep scratch repair — fill, prime, color match & blend, priced out
Numbers only mean something on a real job, so here's how SideWRK builds the ticket on a common one:
SideWRK puts the parts on at what you actually paid — so the $382 of labor is what you clear, not a marked-up parts total dressed up as profit.
What moves a Auto Body & Paint price
Two Auto Body & Paint jobs that look the same on paper can be a hundred dollars apart once you're on site. Here's what actually changes the number — the things to size up before you quote:
- Depth decides the job — a clear-coat scratch polishes out for $125, a scratch through the color coat is a $450 fill-prime-blend, and primer-deep damage past a panel is booth work you refer out.
- The paint itself — metallics, tri-coat pearls, and aged or faded paint all make the blend harder, and the color-match disclosure belongs on the estimate before you spray, not after.
- What you can legally do on-site — brush, pen, aerosol, and small-cup work is open to any mobile operator; spray-gun refinishing needs a filtered enclosure and HVLP, and many cities restrict it at residences entirely.
What a Auto Body & Paint job puts on the record
Every trade documents something different, and Auto Body & Paint is no exception. SideWRK captures year/make/model and the paint code off the door-jamb sticker — the color match starts there, not at the paint store and the rest of what your work needs on the record — the details that protect you and make the invoice stand up:
- year/make/model and the paint code off the door-jamb sticker — the color match starts there, not at the paint store
- damage depth — clear coat, base coat, or primer-deep — because it decides polish vs. respray vs. refer-out
- time-stamped pre-work photos of the damage and any prior bodywork
- the color-match disclosure on blended repairs over aged or faded paint
- the booth-referral note when damage runs past localized spot repair
Example note on a job: "SMART spot repair — damaged area refinished and blended only; color match on this aged paint is approximate."
How to price a Auto Body & Paint job in SideWRK
- 1
Start the job and add your work
Open a Auto Body & Paint job and tap a suggestion like "Bumper scuff repair — sand, prime & color-blend" or "Deep scratch repair — fill, prime, color match & blend" — the common work is already loaded, so you tap instead of type.
- 2
Price it flat per repair
Enter the numbers and the line prices itself, flat per repair, SMART-style (bumper scuff $375 · deep scratch $450 · wheel $150 each), plus one flat paint-and-materials line per spray job. Put parts on at your cost so what you clear is real profit, not just the Auto Body & Paint ticket total.
- 3
Note the details
Add a plain-English note — for example, "SMART spot repair — damaged area refinished and blended only; color match on this aged paint is approximate." — and a photo of the work.
- 4
Log what the job needs
Capture the Auto Body & Paint-specific records: year/make/model and the paint code off the door-jamb sticker — the color match starts there, not at the paint store, and damage depth — clear coat, base coat, or primer-deep — because it decides polish vs. respray vs. refer-out.
- 5
Send it and get paid
Send the Auto Body & Paint estimate for approval. Your customer approves from their phone, the invoice goes out, and you get paid — card or Apple Pay, on the spot.
Staying on the right side of the rules
SideWRK documents your Auto Body & Paint work — it doesn't make you licensed, and it says so plainly. What to know: body and paint work for pay is regulated auto repair in several states — California requires BAR (ARD) registration and a written, authorized estimate before work starts — and spray-gun refinishing is federally legal only inside a filtered enclosure with HVLP equipment (EPA 6H); brush, pen, aerosol, and small-cup touch-up work sits outside the spray rule.
Auto Body & Paint pricing — common questions
How do I price a Auto Body & Paint job in SideWRK?
You bill flat per repair, SMART-style (bumper scuff $375 · deep scratch $450 · wheel $150 each), plus one flat paint-and-materials line per spray job. Add the work — Bumper scuff repair — sand, prime & color-blend, Deep scratch repair — fill, prime, color match & blend, Clear-coat scratch polish — wet-sand & buff — enter the numbers, and each line prices itself. Parts go on at your cost, so you see real profit and not just the total.
What does a typical Auto Body & Paint job cost?
It depends on the work, but as a realistic starting point a common job like deep scratch repair — fill, prime, color match & blend runs about $450 in the app — roughly $382 of that is your labor and about $68 is parts at your cost. Common Auto Body & Paint work ranges from about $90 to $450. Those are defaults you can change — you always set your own prices.
What does SideWRK document on a Auto Body & Paint job?
The records Auto Body & Paint work actually needs: year/make/model and the paint code off the door-jamb sticker — the color match starts there, not at the paint store; damage depth — clear coat, base coat, or primer-deep — because it decides polish vs. respray vs. refer-out; time-stamped pre-work photos of the damage and any prior bodywork. They stay on the job as you work, so the paper trail is built instead of reconstructed later, and the disclosures this trade needs print on the estimate and invoice themselves.
Do I need a license to do Auto Body & Paint work?
That depends on your state and the job, but here's the shape of it: body and paint work for pay is regulated auto repair in several states — California requires BAR (ARD) registration and a written, authorized estimate before work starts — and spray-gun refinishing is federally legal only inside a filtered enclosure with HVLP equipment (EPA 6H); brush, pen, aerosol, and small-cup touch-up work sits outside the spray rule. SideWRK documents the work; it doesn't certify you.
Does SideWRK work for trades other than Auto Body & Paint?
Yes — it runs all 42 trades, each priced and documented its own way. If you run more than one, the Multi-Trade plan unlocks them all and switches between them in a tap.