Clodou

Who it's for / Interior designers

Interior design invoices that separate the fee, the furniture and the costs

Interior designers rarely bill just one thing. There is the design fee, flat per room or for the project, or hourly against the hours you log; a retainer or deposit before work starts; then the furniture, lighting and decor you buy for the client, at the price you set, with samples and delivery on top. Tell Clodou what you agreed and it writes the invoice for your interior design services with each part on its own lines, keeps track of the deposit and the balance, and logs what you paid vendors against the project budget.

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Sound familiar?

  • A design fee, a deposit and several rounds of furniture purchases tracked in a spreadsheet
  • Clients puzzled by an invoice that mixes the design fee with the sofa
  • Samples, swatches and delivery paid on your card and never billed back
  • A budget agreed at the start and no clear view of what has been spent against it

How Clodou helps

An invoice breakdown clients can follow

Design fee, procurement and reimbursable costs go on separate lines, in the order and words you give: the room, the piece, the quantity, the price. With the tax you set on each line, the client sees what was design work, what was furniture and what was delivery.

Procurement at your client price

Give Clodou the price you charge for each piece, such as 2 table lamps at $340. It applies no markup by itself, and it never sources or orders products: you choose and buy from your vendors, and Clodou bills the client what you tell it.

Budget and costs on one project

Create a project for each room or home with its budget. Log what you paid vendors, samples and delivery as expenses on it, from a sentence or a receipt photo you confirm, and the project shows those costs next to the budget.

How interior designers bill, and how Clodou handles it

Design fees: flat per room, per project or by the hour

Many designers charge a flat design fee per room or for the whole project, and others bill consultations, design time and site visits by the hour. A flat fee is one line, such as living room design fee, $3,800, or one line per room. For hourly work, create a project with your hourly rate and log hours on it as you go: "invoice my unbilled time" turns the billable hours into one draft invoice at that rate, one line per entry with its date, and marks them billed.

Retainers and deposits before work starts

Designers often ask for a retainer or deposit before design work starts, and terms vary: some apply it to the design fee, others to the final invoice. Write your terms in the quote's note. To count the deposit toward the fee, turn the accepted quote into one invoice and record the deposit as a partial payment when it arrives: Clodou keeps the balance until the last payment marks the invoice paid. If you prefer a separate deposit invoice, ask for one with the amount you agreed.

Procurement and reimbursable costs

Furniture, lighting, rugs and decor bought for the client are often billed at a client price the designer sets, whether that is trade price plus a percentage, retail or cost, as agreed with the client. Many designers also ask to be paid before they place orders. Give Clodou the client price for each piece: it applies no markup by itself and never sources or orders anything. Samples, freight and delivery are often billed back as reimbursables at what you paid. Where tax applies to goods you resell, Clodou applies the rate you set, per line if needed; the rules are yours to check with your accountant.

An interior design invoice example: a living room, from design fee to furniture

  1. Step 1

    Quote Elena Marlowe for her living room: a flat design fee of $3,800. Note: concept, floor plan, furniture plan and two revision rounds included; $1,900 deposit to start, balance at the final presentation. Also create a project, Marlowe living room, with a $12,000 budget.

    Adds Elena Marlowe as a client and creates quote DEV-0012 with one line, living room design fee, $3,800. No tax is set on this workspace, so the total is $3,800, and the note prints on the PDF. Creates the Marlowe living room project, linked to Elena, with a $12,000 budget.

  2. Step 2

    Elena accepted and paid the $1,900 deposit. Turn DEV-0012 into an invoice; I sent it to her.

    Creates invoice INV-0048 for $3,800 with the same line and note, plus a reference to DEV-0012, marks it sent and shows an approval card to record $1,900 received. Once you approve it, $1,900 is still owed on INV-0048.

  3. Step 3

    Invoice Elena for procurement before I order: sofa $4,200, 2 table lamps at $340, wool rug $1,150 and coffee table $890, with 8% sales tax on those. Then reimbursables, no tax: fabric samples $65 and white-glove delivery $380.

    Creates draft invoice INV-0049 with six lines, the four procurement lines first, then the two reimbursables. Procurement comes to $6,920 (the lamps are 2 at $340, $680), plus 8% sales tax, $553.60. Reimbursables come to $445, untaxed. Total: $7,918.60.

  4. Step 4

    I sent INV-0049 and Elena paid it in full. Log what I paid on the Marlowe living room project: $4,630 for the sofa, rug and coffee table, $480 for the lamps, $65 for the samples and $380 for delivery.

    Marks INV-0049 as sent and shows an approval card to record $7,918.60 received; once you approve it, the invoice is marked paid. Records four expenses on the project, $5,555 in all, so Marlowe living room shows $5,555 in recorded costs next to its $12,000 budget.

Just ask

Quote Elena Marlowe a $3,800 design fee for her living room, with a $1,900 deposit to start

Invoice Elena for a sofa at $4,200 and 2 table lamps at $340, with 8% sales tax on both

Log $65 of fabric samples on the Marlowe living room project

Questions

What should an interior design invoice breakdown show?
A clear breakdown keeps three kinds of lines apart: the design fee, flat or by the hour; procurement, each piece at the client price you set with its quantity; and reimbursable costs such as samples, freight and delivery. Clodou prints each line as you give it, with the tax you set, your logo, your business details and a note for your terms. There is no interior design invoice template to fill in: one sentence describes the invoice.
Can I mark up furniture and decor?
Yes, by giving the price you charge the client on each line, whether that is your trade price plus your percentage, retail or cost. Clodou applies no markup by itself. If you show a markup or a procurement fee openly, give its amount and it becomes its own line, such as procurement fee, $450.
How do I take a design retainer or deposit?
Write your terms in the quote's note, turn the accepted quote into one invoice and record the deposit as a partial payment when it arrives. Recording a payment waits for the approval of an owner or admin, and Clodou keeps the balance. In Clodou, a retainer is a fixed monthly amount: use one if a client pays a set fee each month for ongoing design work, and Clodou prepares a draft invoice every month for you to check.
Should I charge sales tax on the furniture I resell?
Clodou cannot tell you, so check the rules that apply to you with your accountant. Once you know, Clodou applies the rate you set: the workspace's, another rate on one invoice, or a rate per line, so goods and services can be taxed differently if your rules say so. It never picks a rate for you. Tax words follow your workspace's country: sales tax, VAT, GST or GST/HST.
What does Clodou not do for interior designers?
It does not source products or place orders with vendors, and it has no client portal, mood boards or e-signature. It does not process card payments either: on Solo and Team, your own payment link prints on invoices. Keep your design and vendor tools; Clodou handles the business side: clients, quotes, invoices, payments, expenses, projects and time.
What does it cost?
Free covers up to 5 clients and 20 AI actions a month, with no separate cap on quotes and invoices (making them in the chat uses AI actions). Solo, with your payment link on invoices, is $29 a month per workspace. Team, with 5 seats and automatic reminders, is $79 a month. Prices are in USD, and the first 14 days are a free Team trial.

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Your whole back office, in one chat

Every new workspace starts with a 14-day trial of Team, no card required. Then stay on Free: up to 5 clients and 20 AI actions a month; quotes and invoices have no separate cap, and making them in the chat uses AI actions.

Free: $0. Solo: $29 a month. Team: $79 a month with 5 seats. Prices per workspace, in USD.

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