One email thread, four houses
An interior designer you work with regularly sends a message about three projects: a console table for a townhouse, bedside tables for a country house, and a change to the dining chairs already on order for a flat. Each project has its own client, finish, delivery address and deadline. The designer wants trade pricing, their own branding on anything the end client sees, and a delivery that fits the other trades on site.
It all arrives in one email thread, with attachments from the designer's mood boards and a reply-all from their assistant. You keep the details in your head and a notebook. Then the assistant asks for an update on 'the Chelsea project', and you have to work out which pieces that is.
Trade work does not fit a retail process
Designers are valuable customers for a maker: repeat work, good commissions, and introductions. But their orders are structured differently from a private client's.
- One account covers many projects and end clients.
- Specs come from the designer's scheme, with fabric, finish and dimensions in their documents.
- Trade pricing and terms differ from retail.
- Deliveries are coordinated with other trades and site managers.
- Several people at the designer's studio contact you about the same projects.
What the tangle costs
Mixing up specs between projects is an expensive mistake. Missing a site delivery window can hold up a designer's whole install, which damages a relationship you rely on. Time spent answering status questions from the studio is time away from the bench. And if trade pricing is applied inconsistently, you either lose margin or awkwardly correct invoices.
Trade accounts built for designers
- Each designer has a trade account with their pricing terms, contacts and invoicing details.
- Under the account, each project is its own folder: end client or project name, site address, site contact, install window and any branding rules.
- Each piece in a project has its spec, drawings, finish and fabric approvals, and status, all recorded against that piece.
- Trade prices are applied automatically from your price list, and quotes and invoices go out in the designer's name.
- The designer's team can log in to see their projects, approve drawings and samples, and check progress, instead of emailing to ask.
- Delivery is booked against the project's install window, with the site contact's details on the delivery sheet.
| Question from the studio | Answered today by | With trade accounts |
|---|---|---|
| Where is the Chelsea console? | Checking notes and emails | Project page shows status |
| What finish did we approve? | Searching the thread | Recorded on the piece |
| What is the trade price? | Worked out each time | Applied from your terms |
| When can you deliver to site? | Phone call | Booked in the install window |
Designers who come back
Each project is clear, and the right spec reaches the right piece. The studio can check progress without calling, which they appreciate. Pricing is consistent. Deliveries fit around the site. And when a designer considers who to give the next project to, a maker who is easy to work with is high on the list.
Keeping each project separate also helps at the money end. Deposits, stage payments and invoices are tied to the right project and carry the designer's references, which makes life easier for their bookkeeper and for yours. When a designer asks for a statement across all their projects, it comes from the records rather than from an afternoon with the bank feed.
Is trade work getting messy?
- Designers send orders for several projects in one thread.
- You have confused specs between projects.
- The studio calls often for updates.
- Trade pricing varies from quote to quote.
- Site deliveries clash with other trades.