Project — Harbour Apartment
Deposit, procurement, and final invoices plus the design agreement and procurement schedule.
Design finance · Interiors
A finance workspace for freelance interior designers
Interior design money is two streams in one project: the furniture and materials you buy on behalf of a client and pass through, and your own design fee. When trade-account deposits, showroom samples, and contractor sub-fees mix into the same records, telling the pass-through from the fee becomes a nightmare at year-end. Cash Workspace gives you one place to record per-project invoices through deposit, procurement, and final stages and keep client pass-through purchases separate from your fee.
The problem
Why interior design finances blur together
Client pass-through purchases and your design fee run through the same project, and trade deposits, samples, and contractor sub-fees make the line between them easy to lose.
- Furniture and material purchases meant to pass through to a client mix with your own fee in the records.
- Trade-account deposits sit unrecorded until the goods arrive, so the procurement total drifts.
- Showroom samples and design-software renewals scatter across the year without a category.
- Deposit, procurement, and final invoices for one project aren't tracked through their stages.
- A contractor's sub-fee and mileage to a site aren't tied to the project they belong to.
The workflow
Keep pass-throughs and your fee cleanly split
Record each project's invoices by stage and separate client procurement from your design fee so the two never merge.
- 1
Create a project record
Set up a record per project so deposit, procurement, and final invoices group with their costs.
- 2
Record invoices by stage
Log each invoice marked deposit, procurement, or final, with number, amount, and status.
- 3
Separate pass-through purchases
Tag client furniture and material purchases as pass-through, apart from your design fee.
- 4
Categorize design costs
Tag design/3D-rendering subscriptions, samples, trade deposits, contractor sub-fees, and mileage.
- 5
Attach agreements and schedules
Attach the signed design agreement and procurement schedule to the project record.
Record structure
What to record for each project
A consistent set of fields keeps client procurement and your fee distinct and every cost tied to its project.
- Project and client
- The project and client, kept as a consistent record.
- Invoice stage
- Deposit, procurement, or final, so a project's billing stages stay clear.
- Pass-through vs fee
- Whether a purchase passes through to the client or is your own design cost.
- Amount and status
- The total billed and whether it's draft, sent, partially paid, paid, or overdue.
- Cost category
- Furniture/materials, design software, samples, trade deposit, contractor sub-fee, or mileage.
- Trade account and vendor
- The supplier or showroom and the date of purchase or deposit.
- Attached document
- Signed design agreement, procurement schedule, or receipt kept with the record.
Example setup
An example folder setup for an interior designer
One way to keep client pass-throughs separate from your design fee inside a project.
Client pass-through purchases
Furniture and material purchases bought for the client, with receipts, kept apart from your fee.
Your design-fee invoices
Invoices for your own fee, separate from anything passed through to clients.
Design tools & samples
3D-rendering subscription, sample, and showroom receipts filed by month.
Common mistakes
Mistakes interior designers make
- Mixing client pass-through furniture purchases with your own design fee in the same records.
- Leaving trade-account deposits unrecorded until goods arrive, so the procurement total drifts.
- Scattering sample and software receipts across the year with no category.
- Not tracking deposit, procurement, and final invoices through their stages.
- Recording contractor sub-fees or mileage without tying them to a project.
How it helps
How Cash Workspace helps
Stage-based project invoices
Record deposit, procurement, and final invoices with status, all under the project.
Pass-through vs fee separation
Tag client purchases as pass-through so they never mix with your own design fee.
Design cost categories
Tag software, samples, trade deposits, contractor sub-fees, and mileage for review.
Agreements attached to projects
Attach signed design agreements and procurement schedules to each project record.
Related
Related design finance workflows
For architects
A related workspace for phased project fees and consultant costs.
Design studio organizer
Organize a design business's projects and costs.
Deposit & final invoices
Keep linked deposit and balance invoices reconciled per project.
Business expense categories
See how product-defined categories organize your costs.
All finance workflows
Browse the full Cash Workspace workflow library.
FAQ
Interior designer finance FAQ
- How do I separate client purchases from my design fee?
- Tag each furniture or material purchase as pass-through and keep those in their own folder, separate from your design-fee invoices. Cash Workspace keeps the two streams distinct so the split is clear at year-end.
- Can I track deposit, procurement, and final invoices?
- Yes. Record each invoice with its stage under the project so you can follow it from deposit through procurement to the final balance.
- Does Cash Workspace process client payments for furniture?
- No. It does not process payments. You record the purchase and the invoice and attach the receipts so the records stay organized for review.
Organizing help — not tax, accounting, or legal guidance
Cash Workspace is a free workspace for organizing invoices, expenses, receipts, clients, and documents. This page is organizing guidance only — not tax, accounting, legal, or bookkeeping guidance. Cash Workspace does not connect to your bank, does not scan or read your receipts for you, and does not move or collect payments. Whether an expense is deductible depends on your situation, so confirm it with a qualified accountant or tax professional.
Keep pass-throughs and your fee cleanly separated
Start a free workspace and record stage-based project invoices while keeping client furniture purchases apart from your design fee.