For exterior painting contractors
Exterior painting software that's actually free
Paint has rules: 50°F and climbing, no dew on the surface, no rain before it cures. Break them and you're re-coating a wall for free. MakeHay reads the forecast for every job so you're not gambling a topcoat on a radar app — and it costs $0.
Free forever. No monthly plan, no seat fees, no trial clock.
Sound familiar?
The parts of the job that have nothing to do with the work.
The forecast decides if you paint
A mid-afternoon shower or a heavy morning dew and the topcoat's compromised. You either eat a re-coat or field the callback in October when the surfactant leaching shows.
Estimates eat the evenings
Walls, trim, doors, prep hours, primer, two coats — measured in daylight, typed into a template at 10pm. The homeowner asked three painters; the fastest professional-looking number usually wins.
The last draw comes slow
The ladders are packed, the touch-ups are done, and the final payment takes three weeks and two awkward phone calls. You're a painter, not a bill collector.
What changes with MakeHay
Quote, schedule, get paid, come back.
Schedule around the weather, not despite it
Most exterior coatings want 50°F and rising, a dry surface, and hours of cure time before rain or dew lands on them. MakeHay checks the forecast for each job's address and flags the days that break the rules — rain on the schedule, temps below the window — so you sequence sides and jobs around the sky instead of betting a finish coat against it.
- Rain warnings for the job day and the cure hours after
- Low-temperature flags when the day won't clear paint's minimums
- Per-address forecasts for sequencing multi-day repaints
Quote it before you leave the site
Measure the walls, price by the square foot or by the side, and line-item the prep, primer, and second coat. Email the quote from the driveway while the homeowner's still standing there — one tap and it's approved.
Get paid without chasing
Deposit at approval, balance at the final walkthrough — both as pay links the homeowner settles by card or bank transfer. Automatic reminders chase the last draw so you never have to make that call twice.
Keep every customer for the re-do
Exteriors come due again: the sun side fades first, trim peels early, and decks want re-staining long before the full repaint. With every job's surfaces and history saved, the follow-up work lands with you instead of the next door-hanger.
The honest math
Compare the bill, not the brochure.
MakeHay
$0/mo
Free is the plan — not a trial of one
- Every feature, every user, from day one
- No per-seat pricing, no feature gates
- No credit card to sign up, nothing to cancel
The usual field-service subscription
$29–399/mo
+ card fees on top
- Per-seat pricing that climbs as your crew grows
- The features you actually need gated to higher tiers
- An annual bill whether it rained all month or not
FAQ
Exterior painting questions, answered straight.
Is it really free?
Yes. Unlimited customers, quotes, scheduling, and invoices — free forever, not a trial. No monthly plan, no seat fees, and no credit card to start.
What's the catch?
No catch. Software features cost us almost nothing to run, so they're free. Optional paid add-ons come later only for things with real per-use costs, like texting and AI — the core stays free. Card and ACH payments taken online carry processing costs, as they would with any provider.
Does it know when it's too cold or wet to paint?
Yes. Every scheduled job carries the National Weather Service forecast for its own address, and the calendar flags rain and low temperatures against your painting days — so you move the topcoat before the weather moves it for you.
Can I take my data with me if I leave?
It's yours. Ask and we'll export everything — customers, jobs, quotes, invoices, payment history — and we delete what's left as laid out in our privacy policy.
Do I need a credit card to sign up?
No. Sign up with an email and send your first painting quote the same day. No trial clock, no upsell ladder.
See every trade we build for on the industries page, or browse the full feature list.
Paint on the good days. Pay $0 on all of them.
Square-foot quoting, cure-safe scheduling, and online deposits and draws for exterior painters — free forever.