Running an interior design business is about so much more than creativity. Behind every designer’s beautiful creation is a complex operational machine. That’s why investing in the right business tools is essential to ensuring you have enough time to focus on what you started the business to do: design. Because the business of interior design involves so many moving pieces and so much data – logistics, personnel management, accounting, ordering – leaning on an industry-specific software solution like Design Manger can turn administrative headaches into a simple, seamless experience that leaves you with the peace of mind that your business is under control.
Here are six ways Design Manager simplifies running an interior design business and let’s you focus on showcasing your creative genius.
- No More Duplicate Entries: The number one most useful feature of Design Manager is that users only have to enter information once and the data will auto populate across all relevant parts of the platform. Enter your client information once, and Design Manager will save it for all future entries. The same is true for product information, images, pricing formulas and more. Better yet, for ProCloud users, all of your data is stored on the cloud, making it possible to pull up your information anytime, anywhere. This not only makes project management a piece of cake, it turns bookkeeping and accounting into an automated process that makes it much easier on your bookkeeping and accounting professionals come tax time.
- Accept Payments Seamlessly: Design Manager makes the client and vendor experience seamless from end-to-end. Not only does the system help guide you along the process from proposal, to purchase order, to invoicing, it now facilitates digital payments, both credit card and ACH payments, all through the Design Manager platform. Your clients will love the ease of making quick, easy to track payments that protect their privacy, and you will love getting paid on time without having to waste time following up to collect accounts receivables. If your business model involves collecting deposits, don’t worry, Design Manager will keep track of money collected and money owed according to the due dates you set in the system.
- Billing Structure Flexibility: No matter what your billing structure, Design Manager has an application to capture your accounts payables and receivables. If you use a proprietary pricing formula, you can set Design Manager to save it and apply it to all future entries. If you bill for your time, or just want to keep track of time spent on certain tasks for your own records, use Design Manager’s time billing and time import features to save the trouble of breaking out your own stopwatch. In fact, you can set up Design Manager to create invoices based on time recorded with its time tracking feature, ensuring you get paid for all of your time spent on client matters.
- Work On-the-Go with the Design Manager App: The Design Manager app makes it a breeze to work on the go. When you’re out shopping, you’ll love how easy it is to add products to your Design Manager by simply snapping a picture and tagging it to the right folder. Design Manager also has a whiteboard feature which allows you to review and edit all new entries before saving them to the system, since sometimes working in a hurry leads to mistakes that can be quickly remedied. The app also includes the trusty Design Manager time tracker, so you can keep track of time spent on client matters while away from your desk. Lastly, just like your desktop version, the Design Manager app allows you to pull up client and vendor account information with a few simple clicks, so you are informed any place, any time.
- Instant Business Stats: Another one of Design Manager's stand-out features is its best-in-the-business reporting functions. Your accountant will love the balance sheets, profit-and-loss statements, and sales tax reports. They also help you as a business owner stay informed on which projects are profitable, which employees are most productive, and which parts of your business need more attention. As if that wasn't enough, Design Manager also provides market snapshots to keep you informed on everything going on in the interior design industry.
- Graphic Design Included: Last, but not least, once you enter your data, you can use it to create beautiful, branded client-facing documents such as proposals, budgets, and invoices that can be customized to go to your clients and vendors. No more building standalone client reports, re-entering pricing details, images, and addresses for every single document – which saves time and eliminates costly human-error mistakes. If you want to customize the information shown on a particular document, for example the pricing information to be different on a vendor invoice vs. a client invoice, you can easily change the template and save it for future use.
Interior designers are so much more than artists – they are business people. In order to accomplish it all, they need the right software support to keep track of the thousands of details and organize the complex processes that come together to create their perfectly polished projects. Design Manager was created to do just that: To serve the specific project management and accounting needs of this unique profession that combines creativity and a brain for business. If you’re not already using Design Manager to keep your interior design business running smoothly, sign up for a free trial today and see how Design Manager can take your business to the next level.
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