Inventory or Burden ? Master Studio Designer Inventory Best Practices
In this session, Julia Nina from New Age Financial Consulting walks interior design firms and showrooms through the essentials of inventory management in Studio Designer.
She focuses on best practices for purchasing, receiving, tracking, and selling inventory, highlighting how the system can streamline workflows and improve financial oversight.
Why Inventory Management Matters
Inventory isn’t just about keeping items on hand—it’s about knowing exactly what you have, where it is, and how it impacts your business. Julia explains that whether you’re proactively buying for showroom stock, managing a storefront, or occasionally buying back items from clients, defining your inventory approach upfront is critical for smooth operations.
Creating and Managing Inventory IDs
A core concept Julia emphasizes is the Inventory ID. Each item needs a unique identifier, ideally including a date and a sales code, to make tracking and reporting simple. She recommends a consistent naming convention that everyone on the team follows. Recent updates even allow IDs to be edited after creation, which helps fix errors without disrupting the system.
Tracking Costs and Item Details
Inventory items function similarly to standard items in Studio Designer, with required fields for vendors, sales codes, and location. Julia demonstrates entering an antique chair, showing how purchase cost, selling price, and showroom location are recorded. She notes that images are crucial for quick identification and specification. Ancillary costs like freight, installation, or repairs should be tracked as separate, non-primary items linked to the main inventory record to maintain accurate cost accounting.
Purchasing and Receiving Inventory
To purchase inventory, a client named “Inventory” is used, linking items to the correct Inventory ID. Julia explains how multiple quantities and additional costs like freight can be added while keeping the primary quantity accurate. Inventory quantities only update when items are received with vendor invoices, and the system supports partial receipts to match real-world scenarios.
Selling Inventory
When selling inventory, items are linked to their Inventory ID using the Sell Inventory function. The system tracks available quantity, recommended selling price, and ensures items are proposed to clients before invoicing. Julia stresses the importance of internal processes, such as principal approval for pricing, especially for unique or high-value items.
Handling Special Scenarios
For items acquired from other designers or previous owners, Julia advises recording them through an Owner’s Contribution or loan account to separate these purchases from operational expenses. Walk-in sales can be managed using a generic client record, ensuring inventory decrements correctly while integrating manually with POS systems like Shopify or Square.
Tips for Efficiency and Accuracy
Julia shares practical advice, including entering accessory items as separate IDs when they sell individually, using reports to track true profitability, and always selling inventory items out of stock first. Partial sales and receipts are supported, giving firms granular control over inventory. Regular reconciliation and clear workflows ensure accuracy and accountability.
Key Takeaways
By setting up consistent Inventory IDs, tracking ancillary costs separately, and maintaining disciplined workflows, design firms can leverage Studio Designer to manage inventory efficiently, improve financial oversight, and streamline operations.
Whether for purchasing, receiving, or selling, inventory management becomes a powerful tool rather than just a record-keeping task.
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Julia Nina from New Age Financial Consulting dives into the often-overlooked world of inventory management for interior design firms and showrooms. She highlights how inventory isn’t just about keeping track of items on hand—it’s a critical part of running a smooth, profitable, and professional design business. From purchasing and receiving to selling and tracking ancillary costs, Julia breaks down how to make Studio Designer work for you and your team.
Why Inventory Management is Essential
Managing inventory in a design business isn’t just about organizing furniture or accessories. It’s about understanding what you have, where it’s located, how much it costs, and how it affects your bottom line. Julia explains that firms can approach inventory in several ways: proactively purchasing items for showrooms or client projects, managing a physical storefront, or occasionally buying back items from clients to maintain relationships. Each approach has its own nuances, and setting a clear strategy from the start ensures that the Studio Designer inventory module supports, rather than complicates, your workflow.
Creating and Managing Inventory IDs
One of the first keys to inventory success, according to Julia, is creating clear, consistent Inventory IDs. Every item in the system needs a unique identifier that tells you what it is, where it came from, and when it was purchased. Julia suggests including a date in the ID and using a simple formula, like combining a sales code, sequential number, and purchase date. For example, “Furniture01-041024” might represent a chair bought on April 10th, 2024. Having a uniform naming convention not only keeps the team aligned but also makes reporting, auditing, and inventory liquidation much simpler. Studio Designer even allows you to edit IDs after creation, which is a lifesaver if mistakes happen or items are entered incorrectly.
Tracking Costs and Item Details
Inventory items are very similar to regular item records in Studio Designer, but with a few key differences. Each inventory item has fields for vendors, sales codes, location, purchase cost, and selling price. Julia stresses the importance of tracking location—whether in a showroom, storage room, or office—to avoid the chaos of misplaced items. Ancillary costs like freight, installation, or repairs are tracked as separate, non-primary items linked to the main inventory record. This way, your total cost is accurate without inflating the quantity of the actual merchandise. Julia demonstrates this with an antique chair: purchased for $29.95, listed with a selling price of $6,500, and located in the 19th Street showroom. Images are also essential—they make it easy for your team to identify items quickly and help avoid mistakes when selling or moving inventory.
Purchasing and Receiving Inventory
Purchasing inventory in Studio Designer might seem a little unintuitive at first. Julia explains that the system requires purchases to be linked to a client record—so many firms create a generic “Inventory” client to generate purchase orders. This lets you track quantities, costs, and ancillary charges like freight without confusing your real client projects. When items arrive, inventory quantities only update once they are marked as received, with vendor invoices recorded. Partial receipts are supported too—if you order two chairs and only one arrives, the system prorates costs and updates quantities automatically. The “Primary” checkbox ensures that only items that truly impact inventory quantity are counted, keeping freight or damage charges separate but still linked to the item’s total cost.
Selling Inventory Items
When it comes time to sell, Studio Designer allows you to link a new item record to an existing Inventory ID and use the “Sell Inventory” function. The system shows recommended selling prices, markups, and available quantities, but it doesn’t display the purchase cost to clients, which helps maintain professional discretion. Julia recommends placing items on a proposal before invoicing, so the system can track committed quantities and prevent overselling. For unique or high-value items, she stresses the importance of internal approvals for pricing—nothing should leave your showroom without a clear agreement on cost and margin.
Handling Special Cases
Inventory doesn’t always come from standard purchases. Julia covers scenarios like buying from another designer or previous owner, explaining that these purchases should be tracked separately through an Owner’s Contribution or loan account. This ensures clarity on financial statements and owner equity. Similarly, walk-in sales or POS transactions can use a generic client record, allowing inventory to decrement properly without creating a unique client project. While Studio Designer doesn’t directly integrate with external POS systems like Shopify or Stripe, transactions can be manually reconciled, ensuring your accounting stays accurate.
Tips for Efficiency and Accuracy
Throughout the session, Julia shares practical advice to make inventory management easier. Multiple accessory items from a single vendor should be entered as separate Inventory IDs if they will sell individually. Profitability doesn’t appear automatically in the inventory module, so running profit reports is critical for understanding true margins. Always sell out of inventory first before invoicing clients, and leverage partial receipts or sales to maintain accurate counts. Large lots or sets may need to be grouped or itemized based on operational needs, but consistency is key. Tracking inventory on an accrual basis aligns with accounting best practices, ensuring that financial reporting is accurate and compliant.
Key Takeaways
By establishing clear Inventory IDs, tracking ancillary costs separately, maintaining disciplined workflows, and using Studio Designer’s inventory features effectively, design firms can transform inventory management from a complicated chore into a strategic advantage. It gives teams confidence that they know exactly what they have, where it is, and how much it costs—improving both operational efficiency and financial oversight.
Julia concludes by emphasizing the value of regular workflows, strong internal communication, and leveraging the support resources available, including Studio Designer’s helpdesk and AI-powered chat. With the right setup and consistency, inventory management becomes a tool for clarity and profitability rather than a source of stress or confusion.
