How To Invoice for Interior Design Services

Whether you’re choosing paint colours and flooring for a client’s new kitchen or selecting artwork for a property staging firm, it’s important to carefully track your hours for payment. While the bulk of an interior designer’s work is creative, the administrative side is also key for a healthy cash flow. One of the first things to learn is how to invoice for interior design services. Here’s how to get started.

When should you invoice for interior design services?

Invoicing offers a traditional way to get paid for your services. You can send your client an invoice, which is used as the basis for payment, typically by bank transfer. For small projects or simple consulting services, a single invoice might suffice. However, for ongoing collaboration with businesses and larger clients, you’ll probably want to set up automatic recurring invoices.

In either case, there are numerous benefits associated with sending an invoice for interior design services:

• Make it easier to track client payments and information

• Track past-due balances to chase up on payments

• Keep finances organised for tax compliance

• Encourage easier billing for your customers

With a clear breakdown and description of services rendered, your customers will be better able to understand what they’re paying for.

How to invoice for interior design services

Interior design invoice templates are varied and open for customisation, which means you can create an eye-catching layout to suit your design aesthetic. While there’s no single format to follow, you will be required to include a few key details.

1. Your interior design company name and address

2. Your client’s name and address

3. The date of issue

4. A unique invoice number

5. A breakdown and description of your interior design work

6. A breakdown of costs per service

7. For those charging by the hour, the number of hours and hourly rates

8. Total amount due and payment due date

9. List of payment methods and options

Perhaps the easiest way to get started is by using a straightforward template and filling in the blanks.

Interior design invoice example and template

You can download our simple interior design invoice template byfollowing the link, or you can view additionalfree templates here. One thing to think about as you’re comparing template options is the way you deliver your work. Some interior designers charge a set rate for projects, while others charge for consulting work by the hour. Here are additional types of invoices you might send across:

Predetermined rate per component

Cost per square metre

Department store retail costs

Here’s an interior design invoice example using cost per hour as its basis:

Interior Design Business Name

Company mailing address

Email address and website

Phone number

BILLED TO

Customer name

Customer address

INVOICE NUMBER: 00001

DATE OF ISSUE: DD/MM/YYYY

Tips for collecting payment from an interior design invoice

Creating and sending invoices is only one piece of the puzzle. You also need to get paid, which is why setting out clear, convenient payment terms is so important. Most templates will include a section for payment at the end. You can include an embedded link for the client to click on and be redirected to an easy payment page.

While many invoices put customers in control of the payment timing, this can lead to delayed or missing payments and the need for persistent reminders. In fact, small businesses in the UK are paid an average of 18 days late. GoCardless helps prevent late payments with a pull-based direct debit system, allowing designers to collect payments directly from customer bank accounts instead. Direct debit is ideal for recurring payments, while the Instant Bank Pay feature uses the power of open banking to enable one-off payments for single projects.

We can help

GoCardless is a global payments solution that helps you automate payment collection, cutting down on the amount of financial admin your team needs to deal with. Find out how GoCardless can help you with one-off or recurring payments.