Updated: Nov 4
By Byron Bailey
Founder & CEO, FIELDVUE
Wilmington, NC
November 3, 2025
The Hidden Time Sink Every Painter Knows
Ask any painting contractor what their biggest frustration is, and you’ll get the same answers every time:
Pricing uncertainty
Quotes that don’t reflect the quality of the craftsman writing them
The challenge of scaling a business without data
And the monster that devours entire workweeks — estimating
Ten or more hours each week vanish into site visits, measurements, and manual calculations. Add drive time, and that number easily doubles. It’s time we talk about how modern paint estimating software can change that reality.
Painting contractors: which problems are you facing most in your business?
- Pricing uncertainty – quoting jobs accurately is tough!
- Professional quote presentation – pad of paper? word doc?
- Stuck figuring out how to grow and scale my business
- The amount of time I spend doing quotes (and lose half!)
See All Options
You can vote for more than one answer.
The Industry Hasn’t Changed — Until Now
For decades, estimating has relied on intuition and experience. Two painters could walk the same job and quote prices hundreds apart. Customers get confused. Contractors lose confidence. Growth stalls.
The problem isn’t craftsmanship; it’s the lack of tools that match today’s speed of business.
That’s where AI estimating enters the picture.
AI Estimating: A Modern-Day Tool in the Painter’s Bag
Artificial intelligence won’t replace human touch or sales finesse — but it will handle the technical grind so you can focus on people.
FIELDVUE (fieldvue.ai) uses smart vision and data modeling to turn photos into actionable estimates. It acts as more than a paint calculator. It’s your intelligent assistant that can:
- Detect service items from job photos
- Measure walls, ceilings, trim, and openings automatically
- Calculate paint & material needs
- Flag prep work variables and substrate conditions
- Predict job pricing from an image, while always giving the contractor the final say
- Generate a polished, branded proposal that can be sent to your customer in minutes
Send it on the spot or later that day — either way, you look faster, sharper, and more professional.
Learning From the Way You Price
Every contractor prices differently, and FIELDVUE respects that. Instead of forcing a template, it learns from your pricing — your labor rates, product choices, prep complexity, and profit targets.
Over time, FIELDVUE becomes a reflection of your business intelligence.
And as more painters use the system, it begins to understand the national pricing landscape — average rates by region, by surface type, and by difficulty.
You still set your number. FIELDVUE simply shows where it stands in the market:
Are you leaving money on the table? Overbidding certain surfaces? Which service items are your most profitable?
It’s estimating that finally provides clarity instead of guesswork.
Virtual Painting Estimates: The Next Frontier
Think of every “small job” you skip because it isn’t worth the drive.
Now imagine quoting it virtually — from photos — and landing the work anyway.
That’s the new competitive edge. Virtual estimating expands your territory, fills slow weeks, and wins fast-moving clients who expect speed and convenience.
Meet them where they are: online, on the go, and in the moment.
Reclaiming What Matters Most — Time
If FIELDVUE helps a contractor reclaim just 40 hours per month, that’s a full workweek given back.
What could you do with that?
Grow your business.
Train your crew.
Take that family trip.
Or just take a breath.
We’ve all heard “you can’t get time back.”
Well — now you can.
Bringing Certainty to an Uncertain Industry
“Estimate” and “certainty” have never belonged in the same sentence — until now.
We may never reach perfect precision, but with AI estimating software, we’re closing the gap faster than anyone thought possible.
Professional, data-driven quoting doesn’t just win jobs; it elevates the trade. It shows clients that painters are professionals running businesses built on intelligence, not guesswork.
From Paint to Every Trade: The Broader Vision of FIELDVUE
Painting is where FIELDVUE began — but it’s not where it ends.
The challenges we’re solving exist everywhere: drywall, flooring, roofing, landscaping, remodeling, electrical.
Every trade measures, calculates, and quotes. Every trade loses time.
Our mission is to become the intelligent estimating layer for the skilled trades.
As each discipline joins the platform, the data network grows stronger, helping everyone benchmark smarter, bid faster, and scale with confidence.
We’re building the first connected ecosystem where contractors learn not just from experience, but from collective insight across industries.
The Future Belongs to Those Who Lean In
The world is speeding up. “Speed to lead” and “speed to estimate” are the new dividing lines between those who struggle and those who scale.
FIELDVUE brings edges.
Sharper efficiency. Sharper presentation. Sharper data.
Better edges.
It’s time to lean in — to reclaim your hours, your margins, your confidence, and your freedom.
2026 is the year to be a painter
About FIELDVUE
FIELDVUE is modern paint estimating software powered by AI. It transforms photos into precise estimates, learns from your pricing, and helps contractors deliver professional, data-driven quotes in minutes — from anywhere.
Learn more at fieldvue.ai