One designer. Eight projects. No spreadsheets.
Alessandra Smith Design
Melbourne, Australia
Solo Decorator

About this designer

Alessandra Smith is a Melbourne-based interior decorator known for layering bold colour with heritage character. Transitioning from pharmacy to design, she now runs nine projects at once, balancing function and style while managing every detail herself as a solo practitioner.

The issue

What Alessandra was originally using & the issues

Before Programa, Alessandra relied on scattered spreadsheets, email chains, and manual spec management. Project details were fragmented, leading to duplicated effort, delayed approvals, and constant chasing of suppliers, clients, and contractors for updates.

The fix

What she’s currently using

Alessandra now manages all admin in Programa - from Project Management and Time Tracking to Schedules, Specifications, Budgets, and the Client Dashboard. Features like our Add from URL, Web Clipper, QR codes, and grouped task phases keep every element live, accessible, and accurate.

The result

The outcome of using Programa

Approvals are 50% faster, spreadsheets are down by 80%, and she can confidently quote and forecast using tracked data. With everything in one place, Alessandra has reduced last-minute panic, scaled her workload, and freed more time for design and client relationships.

Alessandra Smith Design
Photographer
Lessons
Full feature
Spreadsheets & Specifications
More time, more projects
Switch & save with Programa
Try Programa for free with a 7 day trial

Try Programa for free with a 7 day trial

Join the world’s best studios

Explore how solo interior designer Alessandra Smith transformed her business by implementing a single project management system. Previously managing complex interior design projects with spreadsheets and countless emails, Alessandra, a solo practitioner, discovered a more efficient method. Her story showcases a better way of operating a solo design business by ditching fragmented tools. See how she used the new all-in-one system to centralize all specifications, creating real-time schedules and budgets - providing real value and control. The software integrates seamlessly into the working day, helping solo interior design businesses deliver a better project workflow. Through centralized client communication she was also able to save her valuable time and focus on more detailed tasks, such as mood board creation. Using time tracking effectively within the new process helped her see real-time results, quickly. Explore more ways to control sourcing and implement product libraries and web clipping features. Now, Alessandra is empowered to handle a higher number of interior decorating clients, and she can be much more hands-on - managing detailed aspects of each project using this new platform for solo designers. Her implementation plan involved linking product information, including custom elements of her heritage-focused designs using QR codes on site. Her case for solo interior decorators and designers to reframe their workflow is highlighted throughout, encouraging more time for their creativity to flow instead of manual data entry. Finally, discover how she created structured and well documented project management that made her life, and projects more manageable. Discover a better way to manage interior design businesses and finally unlock better business results, here today.