Accountancy and Business advice for Interior Designers

With our experience with working with a variety of Interiors Designers, we understand the stresses,
pressures and challenges of managing your residential and commercial projects. Therefore we focus
on dealing with your accountancy requirements to allow you to focus on your creative flows. Our guide on accountancy and business advice for interior designers can help you achieve this!

Don’t’ spend valuable time on your ‘day to day’ bookkeeping, payroll, pensions and VAT returns, when
your ‘superpower’ and value to your business is in being creative on your client’s projects AND
focusing on sourcing the right FF&E materials for them.

BOOK AN INITIAL MEETING OR CONSULTANCY SESSION

• Are you struggling with these common issues ?
• Do you have difficulties understanding what your accountant is talking about ?
• Are you concerned that they don’t have enough knowledge in your sector ?
• Are you looking for some patience and plain English, so that you can clarify the admin required for your business ?
• Are you unclear or confused about when your PAYE, VAT or corporation tax payments are due ?
• Are you a bit fearful of HMRC and what can happen if you make any mistakes ?

HOW WE HELP INTERIOR DESIGNERS

• Provide patient explanations
• Approachable and speak in plain English
• Detailed knowledge of the Interior Design sector
• Provide practical commercial advice & support
• Support with Agent v Principal (FF&E)
• Eliminate confusion and fear around HMRC
• Focus on profitable creative work & projects
• Reduce stress & eliminate unnecessary admin

READ OUR BLOG

HOW TO MANAGE THE AGENT v PRINCIPAL RELATIONSHIP

Every Interior Designer at some point becomes involved in either managing or assistingClients with their FF&E budgets – which can vary from £50,000 to £1m depending on the project.

However are you clear, or more importantly are your Suppliers and Clients clear, as to whether you are acting as a Principal or as an Agent for FF&E purposes ? Avoid the pitfalls around VAT, supplier invoices, the risk of inadequate insurances or potential contractual disputes. Our short guide on accountancy and business advice for interior designers clearly outlines the key issues to avoid these problems with FF&E !

Either arrange a FREE 15 minute call for an initial ‘Discovery session’ or arrange a longer consultancy session with our Founder & MD, Damian Connolly FCCA to provide general advice and guidance on accountancy and business advice for interior designers.

1. Book an Initial 15 Min call for a ‘Discovery session’, or
2. Book a Consultancy meeting (min. 2 hours)
3. Agree on a specific Agenda for the meeting
4. Post meeting obtain a short summary of Actions and/or any Next Steps

NEED A CONSULTANCY SESSION? REGULAR TOPICS TO DISCUSS:

• Pricing e.g. time recording, setting scope, client meetings, FF&E management fees
• Scope issues e.g. pitching for projects, project location visits, client changes, project delays
• Client Invoicing e.g. when to invoice/how much to invoice on projects, how to manage FF&E
• Getting Paid e.g. payment terms, credit checks, stage invoices, FF&E monies
• Fee analysis e.g. design fees (Commercial / residential), costs recharges etc
• FF&E e.g. practical issues, Agent V Principal
• Systems and software e.g. setup of Xero/Quickbooks, Estimac/EstiPC, DEXT, Telleroo etc.
• Pitching for projects e.g. to charge or not to charge
• Payment runs e.g. suppliers, payroll and FF&E suppliers
• Reports and analysis e.g. by project, profitability per project, cost management
• Budgets and cashflow
• Profitability issues e.g. recharge of costs, travel & mileage, FF&E fees, scope changes, project delays, supplier/trade discounts
• Getting the Basics right e.g. invoices, bank accounts, recharges, supplier relationships
• Client monies e.g. why do it, how best to manage (in bank and in Xero/Quickbooks), keeping track of each client, risks and potential disputes
• Knowing your Risks and how to mitigate them e.g. FF&E (insurances, contracts, supplier relationships, cashflow, VAT)

WHAT OUR INTERIOR DESIGN CLIENTS THINK OF US!

Invaluable consultancy session
JMD
“I had a full 2.5 hr in person consultation with Damian where he sat patiently & ran through everything
on my mind. Whilst he is professional & highly expertised, he is extremely approachable & offered
invaluable advice. No question was silly or small for him! I left feeling very clear headed and look
forward to working with him again. Thank you Damian!”

Rock star client service
AHV
“A professional and approachable team. Damian was extremely helpful and I felt he quickly
understood the complexities of my niche industry. I also appreciated his good humour and
communication skills. Highly recommended.”

Easy to work with, great support, professionalism
Roby
“Without Damian I would be lost. After working for years with a large firm that took care of all tax
matters, having to deal with accounting and tax return to properly set up my interior design business
was extremely daunting until I started getting the support of Sakura. Damian guidance, support,
patience and professionalism does allow me to focus on the part of the business I can do and gives
me a great sense of security.”

Great support for Interior Designers
Make No Bones Studio
“New to self-employment and Interior Design, I was fortunate enough to be recommended Sakura’s
services. After a detailed and initial consultation with Damian to review my company history, finances
and direction in which I want to grow my company as I instantly felt reassured that I had all the advice
and support needed to be able to develop my business in the right direction. In addition, Damian has
always been available for any questions to help ensure that as an Interior Designer I am following
best practice and following ‘Agent vs Principal’ guidelines to the letter. I would definitely recommend
any individual or small business looking for professional and personable accountancy services.”

Excellent service
Yasmina
“Damian is a very professional and knowledgeable person. During our telephone consultation he was
patient with my questions and his advice was very helpful. I was very pleased with the service Damian
provided as an accountant”

BOOK AN INITIAL MEETING OR CONSULTANCY SESSION