For Interior Design Firms
If you run an interior design firm with 3 to 15 employees managing multiple active projects, vendor procurement, and new client acquisition simultaneously, this page is written for you.
3x
follow-up touches TIM sends after every design presentation automatically
Same day
milestone invoices go out when a phase is complete, not 18 days later
$5,200
monthly cost of a project coordinator before benefits
Every one of these happens in interior design firms with 3 to 15 employees. They are not failures of creativity. They are failures of the operational layer that no one built.
You spent three weeks on the design concept for a full-home renovation. The presentation was on a Tuesday. The clients were excited. They said they needed a few days to discuss. You sent a recap email on Wednesday. Nothing on Monday. Nothing the following Thursday. On Friday they emailed to say they went with another firm that had followed up twice and sent a detailed project timeline within 48 hours. You lost the project not on design quality but on follow-through speed.
You placed a purchase order for a custom sectional in early March. Lead time quoted was 10 to 12 weeks. Week 14 passed. No delivery. You were managing 6 other active projects. Your assistant checked when the client called asking where their sofa was. The vendor had moved production to 18 weeks and sent an email update that nobody on your team had actioned. The client left a 2-star review mentioning poor communication. The project was beautiful. The operations were not.
Installation day on your largest active project was a Thursday in October. The rooms looked incredible. You were on-site all day. Friday you were on another site visit. The following week you were at a trade market. The milestone invoice for that installation phase, $28,000, went out on November 4th, 18 days after the work was completed. The client paid eventually. But your cash flow that month was $28,000 shorter than it needed to be because the invoice process depended on when you remembered.
Interior design firms are creative businesses running complex project operations. Every active project has procurement timelines, client approvals, vendor coordination, and milestone billing. That is project management work that does not scale by hiring more designers.
Typical week breakdown for a design firm principal managing active projects and new business simultaneously
48 hrs
Follow-up window after a presentation
High-end clients considering a $60,000 to $200,000 design project talk to 2 to 3 firms. The firm that responds fastest with a clear next step and consistent follow-up wins the project before the decision is formally made.
14 wks
Average vendor surprise window
Custom furniture and specialty orders have lead times of 10 to 20 weeks. Without active tracking and proactive client communication, delivery delays become client relationship crises instead of managed project updates.
$5,200
Monthly coordinator cost
A project coordinator who manages client communication, procurement tracking, milestone invoicing, and follow-up costs $5,200 to $6,200 per month before benefits. TIM handles all four simultaneously across every active project.
TIM is Digital Labor. A business operating system for US interior design firms with 3 to 15 employees managing multiple active projects. Every client, every order, and every invoice gets tracked without you in the middle.
Every design presentation gets a 3-touch follow-up sequence with the project timeline attached.
Every purchase order gets tracked against its lead time with automatic client updates when it slips.
Every project milestone triggers an invoice the same day it is marked complete.
Every client gets weekly project status updates without you writing them manually.
Every completed project generates a review request and a referral ask within 24 hours.
Every new inquiry gets an acknowledgment and discovery call scheduling sequence within 2 hours.
TIM is priced against the $5,200 per month salary of the project coordinator it replaces, not against $20 per month software. Here is how all three options compare for an interior design firm.
| Category | Spreadsheet | Project Coordinator | TIM |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | $0 + your time | $4,800-6,200 | Fraction of a hire |
| Proposal follow-up | When remembered | Calendar reminders | Automatic 3-touch sequence |
| Vendor order tracking | Manual email check | Spreadsheet log | Automatic milestone tracking with alerts |
| Milestone invoicing | Days or weeks late | Batched by assistant | Same day as milestone completion |
| Client project updates | When client asks | Weekly email | Automatic progress communications |
| Review and referral ask | Rarely happens | Inconsistent | Every completed project automatically |
Yes. TIM manages client communication, project status updates, and approval requests across every active project simultaneously. Both clients get timely updates without you personally managing each thread.
After a design presentation or proposal delivery, TIM sends a follow-up sequence on day 3, day 7, and day 14. No prospect goes cold because you were deep in a renovation and forgot to follow up.
TIM triggers invoices automatically at each project milestone. The invoice goes out the day the milestone is reached, not whenever your assistant remembers to send it.
TIM tracks open purchase orders, expected delivery dates, and flags delays before they become client surprises. When a lead time shifts, TIM sends the client a proactive communication before they ask why their order has not arrived.
TIM handles the proposal follow-up, the vendor tracking, the milestone invoicing, and the client updates so your firm operates like a studio with a full project management team behind it.
Meet your Tim