Your Own Software for Your Painting Business — Free Prototype in 5 Business Days
Still recording site measurements (Aufmaß) on paper that gets left behind on site? Before/after photo documentation scattered across three smartphones? Interim invoices typed up manually in a Word document? krafteq builds your own painter software in a week as a prototype and in 4–8 weeks as a production-ready v1 — fixed price instead of subscription, code is yours, EU hosting included. Based in Leverkusen, built for painters and decorators across NRW and all of Germany.
Includes site measurement module, before/after photo documentation, and VOB-compliant invoicing — out of the box.
Who This Is ForDoes This Sound Familiar?
We build software for painting businesses with 1–20 employees — owner-operators and master tradespeople whose workflows a standard SaaS product never maps cleanly. These are the situations we see most often with painters and decorators:
Site Measurement Notes That Go Missing on the Job
Wall areas, door, window, and radiator deductions recorded on a notepad — then unreadable back at the workshop. The site measurement (Aufmaß) has to be redone or estimated, and the quote price suffers.
Before/After Photos Spread Across Three Smartphones
The apprentice has the before photos, the master has the after photos, and the client file is half-empty. When a complaint arises or a marketing request comes in, nobody can find the right images for the right job.
Interim Invoices Typed Up Manually in Word
On larger refurbishment jobs, clients request interim payments under VOB. Every interim invoice is painstakingly derived from the quote by hand — and when it comes to the final invoice deduction, a line item is easily forgotten.
The Colour-Shade Question Two Years Later
The client calls: which colour was used in the living room? Caparol or Brillux? Which RAL number? You leaf through old quotes and invoices — and cannot find it. A maintenance repaint turns into a guessing game.
SaaS Tool Does Not Fit the Painter's Day-to-Day
plancraft, ToolTime, and HERO are solid software for standard trades businesses. For painting contractors with m²-based site measurement, mandatory photo documentation, and VOB final invoicing, the standard configurations are often too generic — and the add-ons make it expensive.
Mandatory E-Invoicing Is Coming
XRechnung and ZUGFeRD are being phased in as mandatory requirements from 2026. Any business still sending PDF invoices will need to switch soon — we build e-invoicing in as standard in every order-processing workflow.
FeaturesWhat Do We Typically Build for Painting Businesses?
Software for your painting business is assembled from proven building blocks that we adapt precisely to your workflows. These eight features are relevant in almost every painter project — what you actually need, we clarify in the free consultation and in the walkthrough after the prototype.
Site Measurement Module for Walls and Ceilings
m²-based calculation with deductions for doors, windows, and radiators. Per room, per wall, with height and width — automatic totals, no more Excel formulas. Directly importable into the quote calculation.
Mobile Site Measurement on the Job
Enter site measurements (Aufmaß) via tablet or smartphone directly on location. Sketches with a stylus, photos for documentation, voice notes for special requirements. Usable offline; data syncs as soon as you are back online.
Quote Calculation with Materials and Labour
Site measurement plus materials list (paint, wallpaper, filler, plaster) plus labour hours — assembled automatically into a quote. Caparol, Brillux, Knauf, and trade merchants such as Hornbach or Bauhaus storable as suppliers.
Before/After Photo Documentation
Every site photo is automatically assigned to the job, the room, and the measurement point. Before and after side by side — as evidence for complaints and as marketing material for your website and Instagram.
Interim and Final Invoicing to VOB Standard
Interim payments derived automatically from the quote, final invoice listing all previously paid amounts with prior-payment deduction. VOB-compliant invoicing (German construction-contract standard) wording, VAT correctly stated, print- and dispatch-ready.
Snag List and Digital Handover
At handover, the client records defects directly on the tablet — per room, with photo and location. Digital signature, handover report generated automatically; the snag list is filed in the job record and drives follow-up work.
Colour-Code Archive per Client and Property
Which shade, which manufacturer, which batch — saved per room, per job, per client. Three years later, the maintenance repaint is no longer a search exercise but a single click in the client file.
E-Invoicing: XRechnung and ZUGFeRD
Structured invoice data as an XML file and ZUGFeRD PDF — for private clients, commercial clients, and public-sector customers. Optional DATEV or Lexoffice integration for bookkeeping.
How It WorksYour Own Painter Software in Three Steps
No sales process, no open consultancy invoice. You see working software within a week and know upfront what the finished v1 will cost.
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Submit Your Enquiry
Describe your painting business and the workflows you want to digitalise. Filling in the form takes 5 minutes — number of employees, desired features (site measurement, photo documentation, VOB invoicing, colour-code archive), optional free text. We respond within 24 hours with a concrete plan.
Free of charge and no obligation. No sales pressure, no newsletter spam.
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Prototype in 5 Business Days
krafteq builds a working prototype of your most important 1–2 workflows. Hosted live on Krafteq Cloud, with a login for you and 1–2 additional users, with realistic sample data suited to painter jobs — site measurement for a sample flat, materials from the Caparol range, example photo documentation. We walk you through everything in a live session and discuss the next version.
You see your own painter software in action — before you pay a penny.
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Your Own v1 in 4–8 Weeks
If you wish to proceed, you receive a binding fixed-price quote between €1,000 and €2,000 for your v1 — depending on scope. We develop in 1- to 2-week sprints with demos. Source code in the client repository from Sprint 1. Krafteq Cloud hosting from €250 / year per software — including patches, backups, Krafteq support, maintenance, and GDPR-compliant operation.
Fixed price instead of hourly billing. Code is yours. Hosting and maintenance included.
What You GetFour Building Blocks — in Every Krafteq Package
Every Krafteq project delivers not only your individual painter software, but the complete operational setup around it. Standardised, secure, scalable — enterprise quality at a trades price.
Your Own Painter Software
Tailored to your painting business and your real workflows — site measurement, calculation, photo documentation, VOB-compliant invoicing, colour-code archive. Source code from Sprint 1 in the client repository, fixed price €1,000–2,000, fully documented. Even if krafteq disappears tomorrow, your software continues running on any hosting provider.
Krafteq Cloud — Hosting from €250 / Year per Software
Managed hosting on servers in Germany (EU fallback available). Included: security patches, daily backups, monitoring, Krafteq support, maintenance, GDPR-compliant operation with DPA (Data Processing Agreement), TLS, custom domain. No subscription trap, cancellable at any time.
Client and Documents Portal
A central web interface for your relationship with krafteq: project status, contracts and DPA, tickets, releases, invoices, backup status. No more scattered email threads — everything in one place.
IAM and Security from Day One
Centralised logins, multi-factor authentication, roles for master, journeyman, and office staff, audit log, tenant separation — based on Keycloak (open source, EU-hosted). Optional single sign-on against Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace.
Comparisonkrafteq vs. plancraft, ToolTime, HERO & Co. for Painting Businesses
plancraft has a dedicated painter demo (software.plancraft.com/maler-demo) — solid software for the standard painting business. If your workflows are more specific or you want ownership of the code, the calculation looks different. krafteq builds for each painting business individually; plancraft builds generically for all.
| krafteq Bespoke Software | plancraft / ToolTime / HERO | TAIFUN / Bosch OfficeOn | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Model | Fixed price + hosting | Subscription | Subscription |
| 5-Year TCO (10 users, incl. add-ons) | €2,000–3,000 | €9,000–18,000 | €12,500–25,000 |
| Code Ownership | Yes — from Sprint 1 in the client repository | No | No |
| Adaptation to Painter Workflows | 100% bespoke per business | Generic painter demo, standard configuration | Standard configuration, limited customisation |
| Site Measurement Module (m² with deductions) | Included in fixed price | Included (partly add-on) | Limited |
| Photo Documentation with Measurement Link | Included — photo per room, per measurement point | Available in plancraft, limited in ToolTime/HERO | Limited |
| VOB Invoicing (interim invoice / final invoice) | Included in fixed price | Included (partly add-on) | Included |
| Colour-Code Archive per Client/Property | Included — built to client specification | Limited | Limited |
| Data Export | Any time, self-service in portal | Limited | Limited |
| Location | Leverkusen (NRW), dedicated contact person | Hamburg, Berlin, Hanover — remote | Various |
| EU Data Residency | Guaranteed (Germany) | Variable — partly US back-end | Variable |
| E-Invoicing (XRechnung, ZUGFeRD) | Included in fixed price | Included (partly add-on) | Included (partly add-on) |
TrustWith the Diligence of a German Engineering Partner
krafteq is a German GmbH headquartered in Leverkusen. We have served enterprise clients in industry and manufacturing for years — and bring those engineering standards to the trades stack.
krafteq GmbH, Leverkusen
German company headquartered in the Rhineland. A dedicated contact person, not a call centre. On-site meetings possible; fully remote equally so. We know the painter market between Cologne and Düsseldorf.
ISO 27001 Certification in Progress
Currently in the gap-analysis phase, target Q1 2027. Already in place today: code review on every change, secrets management with HashiCorp Vault, SBOM generation, vulnerability scanning before every deployment.
EU Hosting and GDPR by Design
Krafteq Cloud runs on servers in Germany (EU fallback available) — no US CLOUD Act risk. Data Processing Agreement (DPA) standardly available, encryption in transit and at rest, dedicated database per client.
Built by Senior Engineers
AI-assisted development accelerates delivery — senior review ensures quality.
“A painting business has entirely different pain points from a plumbing firm or a joiner — site measurement on the job, photo documentation as evidence and marketing, the colour-shade question two years later. We build exactly what your business needs — not a standard suite with 200 features of which 160 are never touched. AI-assisted development makes this possible at a fixed price of €1,000–2,000 for the first time. Code is yours, no subscription, no lock-in.”
FAQFrequently Asked Questions
Different trade? Take a look at the Trades Hub.
krafteq also builds for plumbers and heating engineers, electricians, joiners, roofers, and other trades. All Tier 1 trades and the building blocks at a glance — with comparison table and process explanation.
Go to Trades HubWould You Rather Talk First?
Book a 30- to 60-minute free consultation. You describe your painting business and the workflows you want to digitalise — we give you an honest assessment, even if the answer is: the plancraft painter demo suits you better. No sales pitch, no obligation.
- Free of Charge
- No Obligation
- 30–60 Minutes