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If you're in the midst of building your dream team or reorganizing your existing one, understanding the distinct roles and responsibilities of an Admin Assistant and a Project Manager is important. Both are key players in a successful interior design firm, but…
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Navigating the business of interior design often feels like an ongoing journey of trial and error. Perhaps you've found yourself switching between various programs and platforms, seeking that elusive efficiency. The nagging feeling that there must be a resource out there to help you avoid redundant work and prevent important details from slipping through the cracks is all too familiar. Well, good news – I've done some of the homework for you. In this article, you'll find an overview of the most promising players in the realm of project management software. Let's dive in!
1. StyleRow
Who it's for: Interior designers and design professionals
What's great about it: StyleRow offers a seamless platform that combines project management with sourcing and procurement. Its powerful integrations with industry suppliers and manufacturers make it a one-stop solution for managing projects from conception to completion.
Considerations to note: The learning curve for fully utilizing all features can be steep for beginners.
Pricing: StyleRow offers a free version with limited features, and premium plans start at $49/month. Try their 14-day free trial.
2. Dubsado
Who it's for: Service-based businesses including interior designers
What's great about it: Dubsado is renowned for its customizable forms, contracts, and automation features. It enables designers to streamline client onboarding, track project progress, and manage payments, all in one platform.
Considerations to note: The user interface can be overwhelming initially, and some users might find the design customization options a bit limited.
Pricing: Dubsado offers a free trial with limited features, and plans start at $20/month or $200/year.
3. Monday
Who it's for: Teams of all types, including interior design teams
What's great about it: Monday is a highly visual and versatile platform that helps teams manage tasks, projects, and workflows. With customizable templates, it's easy for designers to tailor the platform to their specific needs.
Considerations to note: The pricing can be relatively high for smaller design firms, and the learning curve might be steeper for some users.
Pricing: Monday offers various pricing tiers, starting at $0 for 2 seats or $24/seat per month for unlimited seats. You can try most of their plans with a 14-day free trial.
4. Materlog
Who it's for: Interior designers and architects
What's great about it: Materlog is designed specifically for design professionals, offering procurement tracking and supplier communication services to take those tasks off your plate.
Considerations to note: Some users might miss more features such as visual presentations of selections by room.
Pricing: Materlog starts at $45 per month, and they currently have a waitlist. You can also contact them for a tailored pricing plan.
5. Alcove
Who it's for: Interior designers, builders, and purchasing agents
What's great about it: Alcove combines project management with visual collaboration. Designers can create mood boards, gather feedback, automate tracking, and manage orders and financials seamlessly, all in a visually appealing environment. It even offers Gmail integration.
Considerations to note: It’s a newer platform and, consequently, not as tried-and-true as some others.
Pricing: Plans start at $75/month. Try their 30-day free trial.
6. Gather
Who it's for: Mid- to large-size interior design teams
What's great about it: Gather is designed to streamline the procurement and tracking of FF&E. It helps designers manage specifications, documentation, orders, and tracking in a user-friendly way. Gather includes useful features like a clipper tool and messaging with team members and clients.
Considerations to note: It may be cost-prohibitive for smaller design firms.
Pricing: Gather’s plans start at $165/monthly (annual commitment) for 5 seats, and they also offer custom pricing for teams larger than 10. A free trial can be requested.
Who it's for: Interior designers and design firms
What's great about it: Gold Star Pro offers an all-in-one back-end business management solution for everything from social media content scheduling to Facebook and Google ads to email communication. Its interface makes it easy for designers to stay organized and keep clients informed. Basically, it takes care of the essential tasks that are furthest from actually designing.
Considerations to note: While this software effectively aids in managing various backend aspects of business operations and promotion, it doesn’t include many of the features that design project management programs often do include, such as product libraries or order tracking.
Pricing: Gold Star Pro offers a 14-day free trial, with plans starting at $97/month.
As you can see, a diverse array of programs is emerging, aimed at alleviating the operational demands of the business facet within the realm of interior design. Fortunately, you can take advantage of the free trials that these offer and find the program that is most aligned with your own firm. Discovering the perfect match has the potential to be transformative for your interior design business!
xx, Danae
I never miss a chance to discover emerging technologies and innovative software solutions for interior designers, that’s why I recently attended a demo for StyleRow. This platform caters to interior designers, home stagers, developers, and real estate investors, promising an integrated approach to project management that could solve common pain points and redefine your design process. I’m excited to share what I learned and let you see for yourself whether you think StyleRow could be the answer you’ve been looking for.
Connecting Teams, Clients, and Vendors
Communication is the cornerstone of design success, and StyleRow addresses this by providing distinct views for teams, clients, and vendors. This way, you can seamlessly manage task lists and maintain streamlined communication across multiple layers all within the platform.
Streamlined Team Workflow
StyleRow shines particularly brightly in team-based environments. Imagine a scenario where the lead designer compiles a list of required items, which then allows the design assistant to source each of these items seamlessly. This systematic process is meticulously tracked from inception to completion, with the platform sending timely notifications for any updates or revisions.
Centralized Product Information and Progress Tracking
Input all of the essential product information, from pricing to lead times, and keep track of its status with an easy drop-down menu instead of typing out notes each time. Additionally, the Team Messaging tool facilitates real-time progress updates among team members, fostering an environment of collaboration.
Mastering Organization
Simultaneously manage unlimited projects on StyleRow. Inside each project, categorized folders meticulously document every facet, ranging from initial inspiration photos and floorplans to sourcing endeavors. The platform even includes a clipping tool to save products from various vendor and retail sites, all of which can be stored in a master product library. Manage your time with its optional built-in time tracker.
Comprehensive Tools
You can forget about formatting and filling out spreadsheets and doing double work. This is a toolkit for managing every aspect of your projects, from crafting master shipment tracking lists and finish schedules to material schedules and even adding services such as painting.
Empowering Financial Management
StyleRow makes exporting data to Excel or presentation formats a breeze, while the platform's QuickBooks integration facilitates seamless creation of purchase orders and invoices. Moreover, StyleRow provides an embedded budgeting tool to conveniently track client budgets.
Client Dashboard for Enhanced Interaction
StyleRow enhances the client-designer relationship by providing an interactive client dashboard. This dashboard allows clients to view your proposals and sign off on budgets, orders, and more, all through a shared link. As a designer, you retain total control over the information presented, offering a tailored experience for your clients.
Visual and Functional Harmony
Last but not least, the platform is designed in an intuitive and aesthetically pleasing way, which is something that you, as an interior designer, will surely appreciate!
Affordable Pricing
With its wealth of tools and capabilities, StyleRow offers competitive pricing, catering to teams of up to 5 members at $49.99/month and individuals at $29/month or $299/annually.
If you’re curious to see more, check out their introductory video below, book a demo, or take advantage of their 14-day free trial!
xx, Danae
