If you're a consultant or work for a bookkeeping firm, supporting your clients’ interior design firms with intelligent and powerful internal software solutions is crucial. Attempting to help manage their accounting and finance needs without a reputable system can quickly turn into a nightmare.
Your role as a consultant and advisor means you must constantly stay updated and on your toes. Working across two very fast-paced markets – interior design and software – means that the products available and the functionality that each can deliver are ever-changing. New software startups often pop up out of nowhere while long-standing platforms update, meaning new features and releases to keep up with this ever-evolving market.
Allow us to make things a little bit easier for you. Here is our summary of when to recommend DesignDocs to your interior design firm clients.
1. WHEN PROCESSES ARE MANUAL
If your client's back office is swamped with manual processes that are cutting into their creativity, it's time to recommend DesignDocs. DesignDocs has efficient, automatic processes that streamline design firms’ project management and accounting practices, giving designers as much time as possible in their workday to design and be creative.
Examples of these efficiencies include:
- Information updated in one system area automatically carries over to all the other places where that info is utilized.
- Pre-filled proposals allow designers to build theirs automatically using all items with a pre-proposal status.
- A default vendor pricing setting.
- A bulk update feature allows for quick updates in order tracking.
- An ePayment function automatically updates all associated bookkeeping and directly deposits funds to the nominated bank account.
- Client payment receipts post automatically and record the invoice as paid in the system.
- Client overpayments automatically result in a credit to the client's account; an underpayment tells the system to hold the invoice in queue until the balance has been paid.
- And so much more!
2. WHEN YOU WANT TO ANALYZE THE DATA
One of the most significant benefits of using an all-in-one software like DesignDocs is data availability. If your client is having trouble sticking to financial goals or is losing track of progress, it's a clear sign they need software like DesignDocs in their life. DesignDocs helps monitor profits while streamlining financial reporting. Knowledge is power; therefore, knowing if things are working and where they might need to be tweaked leads to better efficiency and higher cost-savings.
The variety of financial reports that DesignDocs offers assists in analyzing not just projects but also the overall company performance. Reviewing this data can drastically help improve a design firm's processes and procedures. For example, the gross margin report allows you to look at how fees are structured or the margin for projects, items, or clients. Additionally, the time tracking report gives insight into how the team splits time across different projects or what tasks take up the most company time.
3. WHEN STAFF ARE OVERWORKED
Is your client's design team losing steam and lacking motivation? This could likely result from tedious, admin-related tasks that DesignDocs can easily eliminate. For example, repeatedly entering the same information across different screens or programs wastes time for both the staff member and the firm. However, the streamlined processes of DesignDocs make this bugbear a thing of the past.
After entering an item into DesignDocs, the software manages and intelligently tracks its progression throughout the entire design process. There is no duplication of data entering from proposal to approval, client invoicing and receipt, vendor ordering and payment. This leaves your client with a happy design team that no longer feels bogged down by tiresome tasks. They can now put energy toward better servicing their clients and designing their hearts out. So, if your client is ready to take the unnecessary weight off their team, it's time for them to consider DesignDocs.
4. WHEN THE BUSINESS NEEDS HELP TO GROW
A clear sign that your client is ready for DesignDocs is when they want to grow their business. They might have been using generic software for years or multiple programs for different facets of the company (i.e., one for managing projects, one for accounting). However, the problem is that interior design is a highly specialized industry, and when it comes down to it, generic programs don't cut the mustard. For example, QuickBooks might not handle discount codes or retainer fees, but interior design-specific business software most definitely can.
Use DesignDocs to efficiently manage reports, invoices, expenses, and purchase orders, as it streamlines tasks in one complete system for easy integration and margin visibility. By holding all the company information in one place, DesignDocs gives interior designers the insight to make informed and intelligent business decisions to help their firm grow, which at the end of the day, is only possible with a solid grasp of financials.
5. WHEN HELP IS NEEDED MANAGING BUDGETS
Does your client consistently go over budget on their design projects? While an essential part of the business is sourcing and procurement, it's barely the tip of the iceberg to running a successful interior design firm. Design firm owners or managers must never lose sight of their business being just that: a business. Their ability to keep budgets on track will help ensure clients remain happy and the firm stays afloat.
DesignDocs makes managing budgets easy with the inbuilt sales & profit report. This report allows designers to quickly check profit margins at any point in a project to ensure they are where they should be, alerting them to any existing budget variances. Furthermore, the Project Summary report helps by giving an overview of the budgeted amounts for the project, grouped by area, fees, item category, and proposal status code.
Ultimately, with DesignDocs on their side, interior designers can spend more time doing what they love - designing! In turn, you as a consultant can rest easy knowing that your client has a specialized and robust software solution in place that is backed by a strong customer support team.
