Client retainer tracking
Retainers held as liabilities and recognized as work is delivered.
Interior Design · Seattle & Tacoma
Retainer, product-markup, and project accounting for design firms
Interior designers juggle client retainers, product purchases at trade, markups to client, design fees, and reimbursables — often on the same invoice. Get any one of those wrong and either the client feels overcharged or the firm eats the difference silently. We keep every project's numbers straight so your creative work stays profitable and your books stand up to a client audit.
Why interior design accounting is different
Design firm accounting has two revenue models running at once — hourly/flat-fee design services and product resale — and they behave completely differently for margin, tax, and cash flow. Product sales spike revenue but carry the vendor cost right behind them; design fees are pure margin but recognized against retainers already sitting on the balance sheet. A generic P&L mashes them together and tells you nothing useful about pricing.
What we hear from interior design
- "Client retainers spent before work is earned"
- "Product markups not consistently tracked"
- "Reimbursable expenses lost between projects"
- "Design fees vs. product revenue muddled together"
What we handle for interior design
Fluent in QuickBooks Online, design-industry billing tools.
Product & markup accounting
Every product purchase tied to a client with markup applied correctly.
Project-level P&Ls
Know which projects and services drive real profit.
Reimbursable expense tracking
Expenses billed back to clients without falling through the cracks.
Numbers we track for interior design
Every monthly report includes the metrics that actually drive decisions in your business:
- Realized markup % by project (target vs. actual)
- Design-fee revenue vs. product-revenue mix
- Retainer liability outstanding by client
- Effective billable rate for designers (fees ÷ hours)
- Reimbursables invoiced vs. incurred
Washington-specific for interior design
Washington charges retail sales tax on tangible personal property (furniture, fixtures, decor), and designers who purchase at trade and resell to clients need a reseller permit to buy tax-free. The catch: the designer then owes retail sales tax at the marked-up price when it invoices the client. We keep the reseller purchases, use tax accruals, and retail sales tax collected all reconciled monthly.
Common bookkeeping mistakes in interior design
We see these on almost every set of books we clean up. Fixing them is usually step one of onboarding.
- Recording client retainers as income at receipt — creates phantom profit that has to be reversed as work is delivered
- Buying product at trade with a reseller permit but forgetting to collect and remit retail sales tax on the client resale
- Blending reimbursable travel or shipping into overhead instead of billing it back
Interior Design accounting — frequently asked questions
What Our Clients Say
74 five-star reviews from construction and real estate businesses across Washington
"Ruvim and his team have been great to work with. They're reliable, responsive, and provide accurate bookkeeping and payroll support. We appreciate their attention to detail and the outstanding work they do!"
"I worked with Ruvim and Ready Accounting for over two years and had a great experience. Ruvim is extremely responsible, reliable, and always on top of things. He built a great system that made reconciling all of our company accounts simple and organized, kept our filings on time, and helped us manage ACH payments to our trade partners smoothly. Ruvim is knowledgeable, responsive, and someone you can trust with the financial side of your business. Highly recommend Ready Accounting to any company looking for dependable and professional accounting support."
"Working with Ready Accounting has been smooth and stress-free. Ruvim is knowledgeable, responsive, and truly cares about your success. Highly recommend!"
"Ruvim is the best bookkeeper there is period. We have used several bookkeepers in the past but no one matched his level. I highly recommend using him."
"We have been with ready accounting for about half a year or so and let me say it's been amazing! Upon opening a business and hiring employees, there was so much things needed to be done where I had absolutely no clue how to do! A friend of mine recommended ready accounting and honestly never looked back! He does an amazing job and best of all, I don't have to do a thing! Thanks ready accounting for being trustworthy and amazing!"
"Ruvim is very organized, thorough and knowledgeable. Excellent communication skills, timely and cares about his clients and their business operations. Highly recommend!"
"Ruvim is an incredibly knowledgeable individual who consistently demonstrates responsiveness and helpfulness. Whenever I have questions, he promptly provides accurate answers, making him an invaluable resource for my business. His understanding of my business accounting needs is unparalleled, and he consistently delivers exceptional results. I wholeheartedly recommend him to anyone seeking reliable expertise and support."
5.0 rating from 74 Google reviews
Want the story behind the stars? Read real client case studies — including a Bellevue remodeler and a Tacoma developer.
Book a call with Ruvim
Tell us about your interior design business — we'll follow up to schedule a call, usually the same day.
Prefer to reach out directly? We answer most inquiries within a few hours during business days.
Email us
Info@readyaccounting.coCall us
(253) 367-3672