Notes for owners · Industry-Specific Software Guides
Where Interior Design Projects Lose Margin and How to See It Early
Interior projects mostly lose margin in four places: unbilled BOQ changes, material moved between sites, carpenters waiting for laminate, and snag lists that delay the last payment. Each shows up early when the BOQ, purchases, site issues and payments share one project file. GullySystem’s Interior Design Management System is built around that file.
Ganesh HS, Strategy and Technology, GullySystem · · 3 min read
Client changes that never reach the bill
Most changes are agreed in a chat. A client asks for soft-close hinges, a quartz counter or a taller wardrobe. The designer says yes, the carpenter builds it, and the BOQ in Excel stays as it was.
At handover the final invoice is drawn from the signed BOQ. The upgrade is absorbed. Nobody notices until the project is closed.
The fix is a rule before it is a tool. Every change gets a new, dated BOQ version before work starts, and the final bill is read against the last approved one.
- Hardware and fitting upgrades agreed on WhatsApp
- Extra units added at site by the carpenter
- Finish changes from laminate to acrylic or veneer
- Items the client dropped that are still on the purchase list
Plywood and laminate that wander between sites
A carpenter short of sheets takes them from the next flat. Nothing is written down. Both sites now show a wrong balance, and the vendor bill cannot be tied to one client.
Log every issue of sheets and fittings against a project. Record a transfer as a transfer, from one site to another, with a name and a date. Wastage then becomes a figure the office can question.
Compare material ordered, received at site and left over, project by project. A large gap on one site is a question for that supervisor.
Idle days while material is on the way
Laminate that does not arrive leaves a crew sitting on site. The labour is paid either way.
Raise purchase orders straight from the approved BOQ, and track delivery per site. A list of material ordered but not yet delivered tells the office which site will stall next week.
Sequence matters too. Carcass work, shutters, electricals and painting follow each other, so one late delivery pushes every later stage back.
The last payment and the snag list
Stage payments follow work done. The final stage often waits on a snag list kept in a chat thread, where nothing is ever ticked off.
Hold the snag list against the project instead, with each item closed by the person who attended it. The client and the supervisor then read the same list.
Link each payment stage to a piece of finished work, such as carcass complete or handover. Accounts knows what to ask for, and when.
- Snag item, room and date raised
- Who attended and when it closed
- Payment stage the item holds back
- A photo taken after the fix
A monthly margin check for the studio
Once a month, read budget against actual for every live project. Cover material, labour and payments made to carpenters and vendors.
Three questions do most of the work. Which projects have spent past a BOQ line? Which changes have no approved version? Which clients owe for a stage already done?
A shared folder and a careful spreadsheet can carry this for a couple of projects a year. With several sites running at once, one project file per site makes the check quicker.
Project margin leak sheet
A single page per live project, with four columns: changes agreed, material moved, idle days and snags open. Fill it in each Friday from the supervisor’s report. Any line with no approved BOQ version or no closing date is a leak to chase.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
Does the software draw 3D views or working drawings?
No. Keep SketchUp, AutoCAD or whatever your designers use. Approved drawings and material choices are stored against the project, so the site team opens the right version.
Can a client see progress without joining a group?
Yes. A client portal shows progress photos, pending approvals and the payment schedule. Your internal costs stay out of view.
Is a spreadsheet enough for a small studio?
Often, yes. If you handle a couple of projects a year yourself, a shared folder and a good spreadsheet may do. Keep the change log and the snag list either way.