How to Set Up Your Chart of Accounts in Studio Designer (for Interior Designers)

As an interior designer, your creativity is your craft—but the success of your business hinges on more than just great design. Bookkeeping for interior designers and financial clarity is essential, and one of the most powerful tools you can use in Studio Designer to achieve it is your Chart of Accounts (COA). Properly setting this up not only helps you stay organized, but also improves budgeting, transparency, and tax preparation. In this article, we'll guide you step-by-step through creating a COA tailored to your design business—plus common mistakes to avoid.

What Is a Chart of Accounts?

A Chart of Accounts is a categorized listing of all your business' financial accounts. It structures your bookkeeping system and defines where income, expenses, assets, and liabilities are tracked. Having a COA customized to income streams, revenue model, and client billing structure is crucial for interior designers.

In Studio Designer, the COA drives all of your financial reports including profit and loss statements, balance sheets, and project-level profitability reports.

Why Customizing Your COA Matters in Interior Design 

Generic bookkeeping systems don’t reflect the unique financial structure of a design business. Designers work with retainers, pass-through vendor costs, client purchases, and high-ticket items—all of which need to be tracked correctly. A well-designed COA helps you:

●      Easily see margins and confirm markups are being applied correctly

●      Separate reimbursable expenses from non-reimbursable expenses

●      See month-to-month expense highs and lows

●      Track sales tax liability

●      Easily create and adhere to budgets

Step-by-Step: Setting Up Your Chart of Accounts in Studio Designer

1. Start with the Default COA in Studio Designer Studio Designer offers a default COA built for designers. This is a great starting point, but it needs refinement.

   
   

2. Segment by Function Group accounts into standard categories:

   
   

   1. Assets & Liabilities: Bank Accounts, Credit Cards, Sales Tax Payable, Loans

      1. Tip: Add the bank name and last four digits to bank and credit card account names. Example: Citi Checking 4532, Citi Visa 8891

   2. Equity: Other than possibly a draw or distribution account, not much to add here

   3. Revenue & COGS (Cost of Goods Sold): Design Fees, Furniture Sales, Installation Income, Freight & Delivery Reimbursements, Vendor Costs, Freight Out, Subcontractor Payments

      1. Tip: Keep related Income and Cost of Goods account related. For example:

         1. Sales Furniture Reference: 4020

         2. Cost of Sales Furniture Reference: 5020

   4. Operating Expenses: Office Supplies, Software Subscriptions, Professional Development

      1. Tip: Keep this area alphabetized and create new Account Codes to group and total specific types of expenses such as payroll costs.

         
         

3. Set Up Reimbursable Accounts: Create separate accounts for Income Reimbursable (Income | Sales) and Expense Reimbursable (Expense | Cost of Sales). This helps to avoid overstating income (which is especially important in states that charge business tax based on gross sales) and makes matching gross income, invoice reports, and sales tax reports easier in the event of a sales tax audit.

   
   

4. Keep it Simple: The chart of accounts is not the place to have details. Having separate expense accounts for each employee for payroll, or for specific vendors for expenses is a bad practice and unnecessary. It’s easy to sort and total by vendor, employee, client, etc. within any expense account.

   
   

5. Limit Who Can Add New Accounts: We constantly see duplicate accounts because there are too many employees with access to add new accounts. Studio Designer doesn’t have a function to combine accounts—once they’ve been created, they are there forever (even though they can be made inactive). Limit this access from the start.

   
   
   
   

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Over-categorizing (too many accounts can clutter reports and confuse your bookkeeper)

• Duplicating accounts (Charitable Contributions is the same as Donations, you don’t need both)

• Not reviewing COA annually (as your business evolves, so should your COA)

  
  

Expert Tips for Designers

• Work with a bookkeeper who understands both Studio Designer and interior design

• Regularly export reports and review your margins per client and per category

Conclusion: Your Chart of Accounts is a Strategic Asset 

When set up correctly, your Chart of Accounts becomes more than a bookkeeping tool—it becomes a window into the financial health of your design firm. By using Studio Designer strategically, you can streamline project billing, enhance profitability, and gain more control over your business. If you need help customizing your COA or want a second pair of eyes on your Studio Designer setup, we’d be happy to support you.