Accountants for interior designers who buy, bill and install.
Design fees, procurement, deposits and installation separated per project — so you can see the real margin on every scheme, not just a busy bank account.
Who this is for
Built for studios that mix fees and furniture.
Owner-managed interior design businesses — residential, commercial or both — in London, Essex and across the UK.
Run an agency or consultancy rather than a design studio? See our accountants for agencies and consultants.
Sound familiar?
The problems we untangle every week.
Procurement blurring your real income
Furniture and materials bought for clients inflating turnover, so nobody can see what the studio itself actually earns.
Trade discounts sitting in the wrong place
Supplier discounts and commissions netted off, lost, or never reconciled to the client they belong to.
Deposits treated as profit
Client deposits booked straight to income, making cash look better than the project position really is.
No margin per project
Big schemes that consumed months of studio time but can't be shown to have made money.
Supplier invoices with no purchase orders
Boxes of supplier paperwork at year end and no clean way to match costs to projects.
A profitable year, a surprise tax bill
Work in progress lands in the accounts and corporation tax arrives before the client has paid the final balance.
What we do
A finance function built around projects.
Project-level reporting
Design fees, procurement and installation income separated per project, with a margin you can trust on each scheme.
Bookkeeping for interior designers on Xero & FreeAgent
Purchase orders, supplier invoices and recharges matched to projects, reconciled monthly. Tracking set up properly from day one.
Client deposits & stage billing
Deposits and interim invoices posted against the project, so your books show exactly what's been paid versus billed.
VAT for design studios
Returns filed quarterly. We review with you, case by case, whether you're acting as principal or agent on procurement — following HMRC's VAT guide, not guesswork.
Studio costs & overheads
Samples, showroom, travel, CAD and 3D software, and photography tracked as the real cost of winning and delivering work.
Payroll & subcontractors
PAYE and pensions for studio staff, plus a sensible check on subcontractor status — no assumptions that wouldn't survive scrutiny.
Year-end accounts & corporation tax
Prepared and filed ahead of the deadline, with work in progress treated carefully and documented from your project records.
Cash flow you can plan around
Deposit schedules, supplier payments and tax lined up so you can commit to showroom spend and hires with the numbers in front of you.
The VAT question that matters
Principal or agent on procurement? We check, properly.
When your studio buys furniture or materials for a client, whether you are acting as principal or agent changes what counts as your turnover and how VAT works on the recharge. It depends on your contracts and how the arrangement actually runs — so we review it with you case by case rather than assume an answer.
We follow the official guidance — HMRC's VAT guide (Notice 700) — and document the reasoning, so the treatment in your VAT returns is one you can stand behind.
Why studios choose us
Specialist advice, not a year-end surprise.
ACCA-qualified
ACCA-qualified accountants — not an unqualified bookkeeping shop.
Fixed monthly fees
One agreed monthly fee. No hourly billing and no surprise invoices.
Xero & FreeAgent
Xero Silver Partner and FreeAgent partner — your books stay current.
How we work
Easy to onboard. Proactive once you're in.
Discovery call
20 minutes. We learn how your studio bills — fees, procurement, deposits, installation — and where the numbers hurt.
Fixed monthly fee
Scoped to turnover, project volume and complexity. No hourly billing, no surprises.
Systems set up properly
Xero or FreeAgent with project tracking, purchase orders and deposit workflows configured for how you actually work.
Monthly numbers that mean something
Reconciled books, a margin per project, and tax set aside before it's a problem.
Useful next steps
Guides and services for design studios.
Bookkeeping services
Monthly reconciled books with project tracking, purchase orders and recharges handled.
Read moreVAT returns
Quarterly returns filed on time, with your procurement treatment reviewed properly.
Read moreXero accountants
Xero set up with project tracking categories that match how your studio bills.
Read moreSwitching accountant
Clearance, records and HMRC authorisation handled for you — usually 2–4 weeks.
Read moreCommon Questions
Can you separate design fees, procurement and installation income?
Yes — and it's where we start. We set up Xero or FreeAgent so each project shows design fee income, procurement and recharges, and installation income as separate lines. You get a real margin per project instead of one blended turnover figure.
How should client deposits and stage payments be handled?
Deposits and stage invoices are posted against the project, not dropped into general income. VAT is accounted for in line with your invoices and the official guidance, and your project balance always shows what the client has paid against what's been billed.
Do you deal with the VAT on goods we buy for clients?
We keep purchase orders and supplier invoices matched to the right project and review with you, case by case, whether you're acting as principal or agent on procurement — because it changes the VAT treatment. We follow HMRC's VAT guide (Notice 700) rather than rules of thumb.
Can you handle payroll and subcontractors?
Yes. PAYE and pensions for employed studio staff, and we flag when a subcontractor relationship needs a closer look at its status. Where a studio is genuinely in construction work, we'll tell you if CIS applies rather than assume.
What about work in progress at the year end?
Schemes that run across your year end need a careful, supportable view of WIP. We calculate it with you from project records — cautiously, and documented — so the accounts reflect the work done without over-recognising profit.
We're in London / outside Essex — can you still act for us?
Yes. We're based in Brentwood, Essex, and look after design studios across London and the rest of the UK. Everything runs on cloud software, so location isn't a constraint.
See the real margin on every project.
Free 20-minute studio finance review. Plain English, fixed monthly fee, no pressure.