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Profitability by design. Not by chance

Interior design profitability workbook
Programa
Programa
Updated: 28 May 2025

⼻ From concept to final delivery

Discover a design studio system and build a toolkit that works - for you

Managing your interior design business with clarity—and profit

Interior designers didn’t start studios to manage spreadsheets, chase down product specs, or justify their fees over and over again. Yet, profitability issues often stem from exactly that: inconsistent processes, untracked time, and unclear service models.

The outcome? Time and margin lost—not to bad clients, but to internal admin.

Lexie Gillies

Lexie Gillies

Accredited Interior Designer, Programa
Learn SEO for Designers

Meet your host

Interior designer and technology advocate Lexie Gillies brings a global perspective to the intersection of design and innovation. She helps designers and architects streamline their studio operations through thoughtful technology integration. Drawing from her background in luxury residential design and experiential marketing, Lexie will share real-world examples of how leading firms are modernizing their workflows while staying creatively focused.

This workbook

will help you

Identify your most profitable projects

Quote and budget confidently with clients

Build templates and workflows that streamline your day

Ideal for:

Growing interior design studios, or interior designers and specifiers ready to ditch the chaos and operate with clarity.

Programa’s design studio workshop—Live with ASID Illinois at NeoCon

During NeoCon, Programa presented “Profitability by Design, Not by Chance” with ASID Illinois during a live workshop at The Mart, NeoCon 2025. The response from studio owners made one thing clear: every design business needs stronger tools for managing clients, time, projects, and profitability—without compromising design.

 

This article breaks down that same content, so you can follow it like a workbook. Whether you’re building from scratch or optimizing what’s already working, it’s designed to help you work smarter, not harder.

Are you managing your interior design projects—or are they managing you?

A profitable studio doesn’t rely on guesswork. It runs on defined workflows, packaged services, and the ability to track project costs and time in real time.

Let’s walk through the foundations of a scalable, profitable interior design business.

1. Audit your services and workflows

Start by mapping out:

  • What types of projects do you offer? (e.g. styling, renovation, new build)
  • What phases and deliverables are common across those project types?
  • What tasks repeat project after project?

Goal: Identify repeatable patterns and translate them into reusable project templates inside your interior design software.

Interior designers using standardised templates cut setup time by 25%

Interior Design Business Handbook Survey

2. Create custom templates inside Programa

For every major service (e.g. hospitality remodel, styling package), build a distinct template that includes:

  • Task list and timeline structure
  • Key milestones (client presentations, selections, procurement)
  • Embedded tools like specifications and schedules

Goal: These templates are the foundation for repeatable, profitable design delivery.

3. Package your services like products

Instead of quoting every project from scratch, turn your most common offerings into productised design services. This gives clients clarity—and protects your time.

Include in your template:

  • Timeline range
  • Scope and deliverables
  • Inclusions and exclusions
  • Flat-fee pricing

 

A styling package might look like:

Styling package

StageItems
DiscoveryClient questionnaire, onboarding, site photography
ConceptPinboard, space plan options, selections
SpecificationFinal product selections, spec & schedules
ImplementationLogistics, install, wrap-up

Studios offering packaged services saw 28% fewer instances of scope creep.

ASID Business Performance Study

4. Centralise your product information

Every design studio needs a Product Library—a central location to manage your preferred vendors, product specs, and repeat-use FF&E.

Inside Programa, your Product Library supports:

  • Pre-approved selections, organized by category or project type
  • Reuse of common product combos
  • Consistent material specs across projects
  • Rapid selection for repeatable design packages

This alone can save up to 20% of sourcing time—a huge win for both residential and commercial firms.

Commercial A&D professionals spend 36% of their time completing drawings and presentations, and 19% sourcing products. Residential designers spend 28% of time sourcing.

ASID Industry Time Study
Programa product library

5. Use your software to manage interior design clients

Client experience is core to studio profitability. Disjointed communication leads to confusion, misalignment, and scope disputes.

Programa's Client Dashboard supports:

  • Live project progress
  • Transparent deliverables and selections
  • Fewer back-and-forth emails
  • Stronger client trust

When every client touchpoint is documented and clear, you protect your margins and your reputation.

Sharable specifications on Programa

Key takeaways from “Profitability by Design”

This isn’t theory. It’s a proven structure we’ve presented in live workshops and one-on-one sessions with hundreds of interior designers.

  • Audit your services and phases
  • Build templates aligned to those services
  • Package them with clear scope and pricing
  • Leverage your Product Library
  • Create a repeatable client experience
Project client dashboard in Programa

Programa is the operating system for your design studio

When your systems support your services, profitability becomes the default—not the exception.

  • Manage interior design projects with defined workflows
  • Productise your services with consistent structure
  • Track time and scope in one place
  • Align client expectations with real deliverables
  • Centralise your sourcing and specs

You became a designer to create

Programa helps you protect that
Table of contents
  1. Master your time, profits, and creative vision with Programa
  2. Why attend this US focused Programa webinar?
  3. Template mastery: your secret weapon for scalability
  4. How to create your project management ecosystem
  5. Packaged design service: Transform how clients see your value
  6. The power of a Product Library
  7. Project template showcase: the design package
  8. Programa: Powerful tools
  9. Interior Design & Architecture Software For Professional Interior Designers & Architects
  10. Interior Design Software For Professional Interior Designers
  11. Getting Started Dashboard
  12. Schedules
  13. Client Dashboard
  14. Web Clipper
  15. Pinboards
  16. Project Management
  17. Invoicing
  18. Address Book
  19. Trade Portal
  20. Why Invest in a Design Process?
  21. Crafting Your Unique Process
  22. Unlock Your Potential with The Design Coach
  23. Beanbags: Where Comfort Meets Elegance
  24. Serving Trays: Functional Elegance
  25. Lights: Illuminating Ambiance
  26. Board View:
  27. List View:
  28. Timeline View:
  29. Seamless Integration for Holistic Project Management
  30. Why Don’t Spreadsheets Suit The Needs Of Interior Designers?
  31. Enter Programa
  32. Clear and Precise Presentations
  33. Easier Management of Data
  34. Exports That Work The Way You Do
  35. What is a Spec Sheet?
  36. The Power of Programa
  37. Flexible Design Features
  38. Ease of Use
  39. Cost Savings
  40. Increased Productivity
  41. The Issue
  42. The Result
  43. The Solution
  44. Latest Updates
  45. What is an Interior Design Quotation?
  46. Key Components of an Interior Design Quotation
  47. Interior Design Quotation Format and Free Template
  48. How Do You Create an Interior Design Quotation Quickly & Easily?
  49. Beyond the Proposal: Invoicing with Programa
  50. Start Your Project Proposals with Programa
  51. ⼻ From concept to final delivery
  52. Managing your interior design business with clarity—and profit
    1. Ideal for:
  53. Programa’s design studio workshop—Live with ASID Illinois at NeoCon
  54. Are you managing your interior design projects—or are they managing you?
  55. 1. Audit your services and workflows
  56. 2. Create custom templates inside Programa
  57. 3. Package your services like products
  58. 4. Centralise your product information
  59. 5. Use your software to manage interior design clients
  60. Key takeaways from “Profitability by Design”
  61. Programa is the operating system for your design studio
  • Interior Design
Reading: Profitability by design, not by chance, Studio workbook
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Join the world’s best studios

During NeoCon, Programa presented “Profitability by Design, Not by Chance” with ASID Illinois during a live workshop at The Mart, NeoCon 2025.

The response from studio owners made one thing clear: every design business needs stronger tools for managing clients, time, projects, and profitability—without compromising design.