The interior design industry is a competitive one; there's no doubt about it. It is not just about the other design firms you're contending with for business. Every day you can also come up against conflicting timelines, shipping delays, or trying to come to terms with the fact that your favorite wallpaper vendor has discontinued a line that was going to go so perfectly in your client's powder room (why oh why?!?). There are endless factors both in and out of your control that will ultimately decide whether your firm or project sinks or swims.
But you can make things easier, alleviating potential pressure and minimizing the chance of risk. Investing in proper project management software can help save the day. Read on as we uncover 5 things that can go wrong in your design firm without proper project management software in place.
1. SCHEDULING DELAYS
Interior design projects are like puzzles, and scheduling delays really can throw a wrench into the works, grinding everything to a halt. There are many different elements always at play, and if you're waiting on something critical to eventuate still, you can't move forward. Without the ability to plan for typical project delays, it can quickly derail the scheduling of everything that follows, causing holding patterns that can quickly grow out of control.
By using project management software such as DesignDocs, you can plan for and make decisive decisions when sudden delays occur. You'll have increased visibility of timelines all in one system, allowing your project managers to see any looming bottlenecks and deal with them confidently.
2. OVER BUDGET PROJECTS
Having "that conversation" with clients is never one that you want to have. It often happens, as there are many reasons why a project can go over budget. For example, the project's scope might have altered bit by bit. As your client continues to request more additions to their project, this requires additional time and work on your end. Or maybe there have been some unplanned project revisions where the client has made a change request that isn't accounted for upfront.
Without a robust project management software in place showing you clearly where your projects financially stand, these incidental changes might not seem like too much. In the first instance, you tell your client that it's "no problem". Then at some point down the line, when you gather all your project information together, you have to let them know that those seemingly small changes have pushed them over their defined budget.
DesignDocs, however, minimizes your chances of this. You always have a project's budget status in real-time and right at your fingertips. If there is ever a question of where the project stands, you can quickly and easily provide your client with an accurate budget update. This allows you to be open, upfront, and transparent with your clients at all times, something which they will appreciate and which will bode well for your design firm's industry reputation.
3. OUTSTANDING INVOICES
If only running a successful interior design firm was only about the designing! Taking care of a business's accounting and financial side is just as important as providing the 5-star services you offer.
Depending on the current accounting system you use, you could easily be letting crucial financial responsibilities slip through the cracks. For example, tasks such as forgetting to submit an invoice, sending inaccurate invoices to a client, or failing to follow up on outstanding invoices, are all undertakings that you might not realize haven't been done until it's too late. That's if you ever pick up on the mistake at all.
One of the beauties of DesignDocs is that it's not only a powerful project management platform, but it's also an intelligent accounting system. Make use of insightful and easy-to-understand financial reports that will help you identify items that have not been invoiced or invoices that are overdue. By managing your accounting in the same system as your projects, you'll never lose visibility of the information you need to profitably run your business as a whole.
4. DUPLICATION ERRORS
The art of successful project management means having the ability to roll with changes that come at you daily. With all those changes comes the continual updating of information in this screen and that. If you're stuck with your Excel spreadsheet and highlighter, you'll have to remember all of the places where that old data lives in order to update it with the new data.
By utilizing a cloud-based project management software like DesignDocs, duplication errors are a thing of the past. Make project updates and changes in one location, and sit back and relax - all other places where that same information is used will also be updated. Don't bother yourself with a task that the system can do for you - work smarter, not harder!
5. OVERWORKED STAFF
Your interior design firm needs to be organized and efficient to succeed. If your firm is not running like a well-oiled machine, chances are you and your staff will be stretched thin and under more pressure than is necessary. Work environments like this inevitably mean there's less time for collaboration and less time for creativity, as everyone scrambles to pick things up where they can.
The DesignDocs all-in-one project management and accounting software is designed for interior designers. It is your all-in-one project management system, handling everything from generating proposals and quotes to keeping your books in order. It considers the various facets of the job and the industry to streamline your workflows and financial duties effortlessly, helping to prevent project oversights and overworking your team.
