Software for interior designers: design fees, approvals and procurement

An interior designer earns money two ways: the design fee, and the margin on the furniture, fabric and lighting bought for the client. The first is easy to quote. The second is where the admin piles up: a sofa quoted at net plus your markup, a deposit to the upholstery workroom, a backordered chandelier, and a client who approved the rug by text and now remembers a different one. SoloWOS keeps the approvals on record and the two kinds of money on separate invoices.

Design fee and procurement markup, kept apart

Many residential designers charge a flat or hourly design fee, then either pass furnishings through at net or sell them at a markup over net (25% is one example; set your own). Bill them on separate invoices: one for the design fee, one per batch of approved furnishings, each with its own tax rate. Sales tax is the reason. California's tax agency, for example, says design fees are generally not taxable when you don't sell merchandise to the client, but fees tied to furnishings you sell are, and if you bill goods at cost plus a separate fee that covers your overhead and profit, the whole fee can be treated as taxable unless you can show part of it is for nontaxable professional services. Selling merchandise in California also requires a seller's permit. Other states have different rules, so ask your accountant before you set rates on your invoices.

Licensing varies by state too. Florida, for example, registers interior designers for commercial work; its board says residential interior design doesn't require registration and "interior designer" isn't a protected title there, but signing and sealing interior design documents for a permit does. Check your state's board.

This is general information, not legal advice. Rules vary by state; check yours with a lawyer or your licensing board.

From consultation to install day

1. The "In-home design consultation" is 2 hours, charged in full at booking on your booking page (for example $350) and credited to the design fee if they hire you. The address is a required question.
2. Before you arrive, the client fills out your style questionnaire: which rooms, who lives there (kids, dogs), pieces that stay, a furnishings budget and the move-in date.
3. Your proposal prices the design fee by room, with the concept and two revision rounds, the furniture and lighting plan, procurement and install day as their own lines, and the consultation credited as a negative line. A 50% retainer as the deposit percentage, and a line in the terms saying furnishings are invoiced separately and paid in full before you order.
4. On acceptance, the contract goes out for signature. It states your markup or net pricing, who pays restocking fees on returns, and how many revision rounds the fee covers.
5. Moodboards and renderings go to the client portal for approval with a due date. The client pins a comment on the lamp they don't like or approves the version with their name, so the rug decision has a date and a name on it. Images up to 25 MB, with up to 50 versions kept.
6. Procurement lives on a Notes & Boards board: quoted, approved, invoiced, ordered, shipped, delivered, with each piece's expected delivery as its card's due date.
7. Each batch of approved pieces goes on a furnishings invoice, paid by card or by bank transfer with the details you list. You order from the vendor once it shows Paid. The design-fee balance comes from the proposal after install day.

A typical week

• Monday: a paid consultation in a 1,400-square-foot condo. The questionnaire was already filled out, dog included.
• Tuesday: two living-room moodboards go up. The client pins the floor lamp on one and approves the other that night.
• Wednesday: you record a 4-minute walkthrough of the kitchen rendering before the cabinetmaker's meeting.
• Thursday: the furnishings invoice for the sofa, two chairs and the rug is paid. Those cards move to Ordered, with a 10-week lead time on the sofa.
• Friday: install day for the primary bedroom. The client signs off, and the design-fee balance invoice goes out from the proposal.

All 13 tools, one by one

How an interior designer uses each tool, from the first consultation to install day:

• Link in Bio: before-and-after photos, the paid consultation and the style questionnaire on one page, on your own subdomain if you connect one.
• Short Links: a QR code on the card you leave after each consultation and on your install-day posts, with click counts for each link.
• Forms: the style questionnaire with rooms, kids and pets, pieces that stay and a furnishings budget, so you walk in knowing what to look for.
• Scheduling: the in-home consultation charged at booking with the address required and travel buffers, plus presentation meetings at your studio.
• Proposals: the design fee by room with revision rounds as their own lines, a retainer percentage and a recorded walkthrough of the concept inside the proposal.
• E-Signatures: the design agreement with your markup or net-pricing terms and return policy, plus an install-day sign-off for each room.
• Document Tracking: the furniture plan and finish schedule as a PDF for the contractor and the electrician, so they work from the current version and you see who opened it.
• Screen Recording: a tour of up to 5 minutes through the renderings explaining why you chose that wood tone, sent before the client reacts to the color on their own.
• Notes & Boards: the procurement board, one card per piece with vendor, lead time and status, and notes from each vendor call.
• Time Tracking: hours per project, so you see whether the flat procurement fee you charged disappeared into showroom visits and returns.
• Invoicing: the design-fee retainer and balance from the proposal, and separate furnishings invoices with their own tax rate so money for goods never mixes with your fee.
• Expenses: fabric samples, printing, rendering software and drives to showrooms and job sites, with receipts and profit for the month.
• Automations: 7 days after the final invoice is paid, an email asking for a review, with a request for photos of the finished room.

SoloWOS or HoneyBook: which fits

Choose HoneyBook or Dubsado if:

• You want payment schedules on one invoice, or long multi-step workflows that run the whole project.
• You need purchase orders, vendor tracking and a product clipper: those belong to design-specific procurement software such as Studio Designer or Houzz Pro, so check their sites. SoloWOS and the two suites here aren't procurement systems.

Choose SoloWOS if:

• Approvals on moodboards and renderings, with pinned comments and version history, are where your projects stall.
• You want the consultation fee, the design fee and furnishings payments to land in your own Stripe account.
• You also want recorded walkthroughs, tracked PDFs and hours per project without another subscription.

SoloWOS features checked on October 23, 2026. HoneyBook and Dubsado rows come from their own pages, as summarized in our HoneyBook vs Bonsai vs Dubsado comparison; check their sites for current prices.

Start with these three

Scheduling with the paid consultation, Proposals with your design fee by room as a template, and Invoicing for separate furnishings invoices. Moodboard approvals in the client portal start with the first concept.

Free tools that help

• Profit margin calculator to check what your markup over net leaves after freight and returns.
• Project cost calculator to turn hours per room into a flat design fee.
• Payment fee calculator to see what card fees take from a large furnishings invoice.
• Mileage deduction calculator for showroom runs and site visits.
• Free proposal template with scope and revision rounds.

What SoloWOS won't do for an interior designer

• No purchase orders, vendor portals, shipment tracking or receiving; the board is your list, not a procurement system.
• No product clipper or catalog with prices that update.
• No renderings, floor plans or moodboard builder: you upload images or PDFs.
• No sales tax by state and no resale certificate tracking; you set the tax rate on each invoice.
• Clients can't upload inspiration photos to the portal or through a form.
• SoloWOS doesn't file taxes, issue 1099s or collect sales tax for you. Invoicing sends the invoice with a pay link (card through your Stripe account) and your other payment details; your accountant or tax software handles the rest.