Question from a member of the Interior Design Community: “When a client pays for full-service design, how do you separate the money for products (outgoing) from the funds for your business (services)? Especially when dealing with taxes? I have a tax consultant, but anything that comes in over “X” amount in a year is fully taxable by law.”
Untangling the Money Mess: Real Talk About Revenue Tracking for Designers
If you’ve ever felt unsure about tracking your revenue as a designer, especially when managing both product sales and service fees, you’re not alone. It’s one of the most common business headaches in our industry.
You spend hours creating beautiful spaces, managing logistics, coordinating trades, and hand-holding clients through emotional renovation journeys. But when the checks start rolling in, it can feel like a giant, tangled pile of money. What part of that $30,000 deposit was for the sofa? How much of it was for your design time? And how are you supposed to prove any of that to your accountant, let alone your tax authority?
We hear this concern often in the interior design community. So we asked: How are you tracking this? What’s working? What’s worth changing?
Community Insights:
“WE BILL SEPARATELY FOR EVERYTHING- AND THAT’S SAVED US.”
For Suzanna Ivey, the secret is separation at every level. “We bill separately for design, procurement, warehousing, project management, construction, and installation,” she says. This structure doesn’t just help with bookkeeping; it reinforces the value of each service she provides.
It’s a smart move. When clients see line items broken down by category, it’s easier for them to understand what they’re paying for, and it becomes easier for you to defend your margins, especially on project management or logistics.
And for tax season? It’s clear what service-based revenue (taxed) and what was product-based (potentially pass-through, depending on your local laws) was.
“MY INVOICE SYSTEM TELLS ME EVERYTHING I NEED TO KNOW.”
Marsha Sefcik relies on consistency and technology to eliminate year-end stress. “I bill my design fee separately from products and use an invoice numbering system that allows me to categorize my income quickly,” she says. Her go-to tool? Mydoma Studio.
With it, she runs year-end reports in just a few clicks- no spreadsheet chaos, no guesswork.
This level of structure might sound overwhelming at first, but it’s really just about getting ahead of the problem. By clearly labeling and numbering every invoice, Marsha creates a breadcrumb trail that any accountant can follow.
The bonus? That same trail gives her the data to make better business decisions, such as whether product sales are worth the headache or which categories are bringing in the most revenue.
“I WANT TO SEE WHAT’S WORKING - AND WHAT’S NOT.”
For good reason, Studio Designer came up more than once in this discussion. Designers like New England Home & Interiors praise the platform’s ability to break everything down quickly.
“I like to see how my revenue compares by category- window treatments, furnishings, design fees, etc. It helps me make good decisions about what’s working and what’s not. Categorizing along the way is super helpful, not just for tax season, but for managing expenses, financials, and the business as a whole.”
That last part is key. Tracking revenue isn’t just about surviving tax season. It’s about knowing where your business stands and whether it’s profitable.
If you’re not tracking which categories are pulling their weight, you’re flying blind.
“SEPARATE BANK ACCOUNTS KEEP EVERYTHING CLEAN.”
Ruben Marquez offers one of the simplest and most effective pieces of advice we’ve heard: separate your bank accounts. “We use one account for product funds, including vendor payments and sales tax, and a different one for service revenue,” he explains.
This setup keeps things clean. When a product invoice is paid, it goes into the product account, and when a design invoice is paid, it goes into the service account.
Beyond that, Ruben maintains a project-based revenue tracker, a custom spreadsheet, or a software dashboard that gives him a bird’s-eye view of where the money is going and how much is taxable.
That way, he doesn’t just rely on his memory or his bank statements; he has a system in place.
And yes, as he added, “This really should be a podcast topic.”
We agree.
“THESE ANSWERS WERE A LIFESAVER.”
Ruben Marquez offers one of the simplest and most effective pieces of advice we’ve heard: separate your bank accounts. “We use one account for product funds, including vendor payments and sales tax, and a different one for service revenue,” he explains.
This setup keeps things clean. When a product invoice is paid, it goes into the product account, and when a design invoice is paid, it goes into the service account.
Beyond that, Ruben maintains a project-based revenue tracker, a custom spreadsheet, or a software dashboard that gives him a bird’s-eye view of where the money is going and how much is taxable.
That way, he doesn’t just rely on his memory or his bank statements; he has a system in place.
And yes, as he added, “This really should be a podcast topic.”
We agree.
Why This Matters More Than Ever
Tracking your revenue isn’t just an accounting task; it’s part of your survival. With more designers offering full-service projects that include both sourcing and services, the financial side of design is only getting more complex.
If you’re mixing product income and design fees into one stream, you’re making it harder to answer key questions like:
• How much profit did I really make?
• Was this product markup worth the effort?
• Did this project help my business, or drain my time?
These aren’t just tax questions-they’re strategy questions. And the more clarity you have, your business decisions will be stronger.
The Bottom Line
No matter what country or currency you work in, clean financials = a stronger design business.
Whether you use separate bank accounts, software platforms, or an innovative system of invoice coding, the important thing is to build a process that works for you and stick with it.
If you need help figuring that out, you’re not alone.
You have a community right here.
Follow @interiordesigncommunity on Instagram to get more insights like this.
We’re always asking the questions you wish someone would ask and sharing the answers that actually work.
So tell us: How do you track design vs product revenue in your business?
Please drop a comment or DM us we might feature your tip next.