Julia Nikishina - Studio Designer 101: Essentials for New Users
Learn how to set up Studio Designer correctly from the beginning, eliminate hidden configuration issues, and turn your system into a streamlined operating foundation instead of a daily source of friction.
If you’ve ever wondered why proposals do not behave the way you expect, why deposits look wrong, why purchase orders split unexpectedly, or why small setup choices keep creating big downstream problems, this conversation will fundamentally change how you think about Studio Designer configuration.
This session breaks down the system settings, defaults, and structural decisions that separate studios who feel confident and efficient in Studio Designer from those constantly fixing issues after the fact. Rather than focusing on day to day item entry, the conversation zooms out to show how upstream setup choices quietly control workflow, pricing, purchasing, and reporting across the entire firm.
Hosted by Studio Designer and led by Julia, an accounting and CFO expert specializing in creative and design based businesses, this is a candid, no fluff walkthrough of what actually matters when setting up and maintaining Studio Designer. There is no sugarcoating, only clear explanations of where firms go wrong, why problems keep resurfacing, and how to fix them at the root instead of applying temporary workarounds.
Inside this discussion, you’ll learn the real world system practices high performing firms rely on:
Why Company Settings Control Everything Downstream
You’ll understand why company level settings are the foundation of the entire system and how they flow directly into vendors, clients, items, proposals, purchase orders, and invoices. The session shows how defaults related to markups, deposits, sidemarks, billing formats, and approvals quietly automate decisions every day. When these settings are intentional, they save time and reduce errors. When they are overlooked, they override user intent and create confusion later in the workflow.
Vendor Setup as a Communication Tool
Vendor records are framed as operational instructions, not just accounting data. You’ll learn how vendor terms, deposit percentages, and preferred payment methods work together and how term codes can silently override deposit settings. This section explains why deposits sometimes appear incorrect during ordering and how proper vendor setup prevents payment surprises and last minute scrambling.
Preventing Margin Erosion With Smart Automation
The conversation highlights how features like copy purchase exist to protect profit, not limit flexibility. You’ll see how Studio Designer keeps selling and purchase costs aligned by default and why intentional overrides matter. Setting default markups by client, vendor, or sales code reduces repetitive entry and ensures pricing consistency across projects and teams.
Sidemarks, Address IDs, and Vendor Facing Information
Sidemarks are broken down clearly, including where they pull from, how address IDs impact purchase orders, and how to control what vendors see. This is framed not only as an operational issue, but also as a privacy and professionalism consideration, especially for high profile or sensitive clients.
Using Attachments and Images to Centralize Information
The session explores how to use attachments and images on vendor and client records to centralize W9s, certificates of insurance, contracts, quotes, drawings, and authorizations directly inside Studio Designer. Default attachment folders and visibility controls are shown as a way to reduce email dependency and keep critical documentation tied to the records that matter.
Client and Vendor Records as Living Databases
Rather than treating records as static, the conversation encourages firms to use client and vendor profiles as living sources of truth. Contacts, notes, documents, and images all contribute to smoother communication and fewer mistakes, especially as teams grow.
User Management and Permissions Done Right
You’ll learn how to properly add users, connect licenses, assign access, and avoid common onboarding mistakes that prevent new team members from logging in or seeing what they need. Clear permission structure is positioned as essential for both efficiency and data security.
Why Setup Discipline Saves Time Later
The underlying message throughout the session is that Studio Designer is not difficult, but it is structured. Time spent upfront on thoughtful setup prevents countless hours of troubleshooting, rework, and frustration later. Firms that understand how settings flow and automate intelligently experience smoother workflows and fewer surprises.
Using Support and Training Strategically
The video also reinforces where to get help, including the knowledge base, learning hub, recorded trainings, webinars, and the support team. It emphasizes that effective support starts with understanding how the system is designed and asking clear, specific questions.
Why Studio Designer Should Feel Like an Operating System
The core takeaway is that Studio Designer works best when it is treated as a structured operating system, not a collection of disconnected tools. When setup is intentional and standards are clear, the system supports design teams quietly and reliably instead of constantly needing intervention.
This is a must watch for any studio owner, operations manager, or team lead who wants Studio Designer to feel organized, predictable, and scalable rather than reactive and frustrating.
You’ll walk away with a clearer understanding of how Studio Designer settings truly work, practical steps to clean up existing configuration issues, and a framework for building a system that supports growth instead of slowing it down.
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Hi everyone, and welcome. Today we’re going to talk about something that doesn’t always feel exciting at first, but absolutely determines how smooth or stressful your studio will be as you grow. We’re talking about the essential Studio Designer features every new design firm needs to understand early on, before habits form and before small setup issues turn into big operational problems.
If you’re new to Studio Designer, or if you’ve been using it for a while but still feel like you’re constantly fixing things after the fact, this conversation is for you. What we’re really focusing on here is foundation. Not daily data entry, not shortcuts, not workarounds, but the core features and settings that quietly control everything downstream.
Studio Designer is not difficult, but it is structured. And once you understand how that structure works, the system becomes dramatically easier to use.
Let’s start at the highest level, because this is where most firms underestimate the impact of their choices.
Company settings control everything. They flow into your vendors, your clients, your items, your proposals, your purchase orders, and your invoices. When these defaults are set intentionally, they automate decisions for you every single day. When they are ignored or left at random, they override your intent later and create confusion that feels impossible to trace back.
Things like default markups, deposit requirements, sidemarks, billing formats, approval workflows, and reporting behavior all start here. New firms often rush past these settings because they just want to start entering items, but those early decisions shape how the system behaves long term.
From there, vendor setup becomes one of the most important features to master.
Vendor records are not just contact cards or accounting placeholders. They are instructions. Vendor terms, deposit percentages, and preferred payment methods communicate how that vendor expects to be paid and how Studio Designer will behave when you place an order.
One of the most common issues new firms face is seeing deposits behave in unexpected ways. Often, this is not an item issue at all. It is a vendor term quietly overriding a deposit percentage. Understanding how these pieces interact prevents last minute payment surprises and helps your team trust what they see on purchase orders.
Automation plays a big role here as well.
Features like copy purchase are not designed to limit flexibility. They are designed to protect margin. When selling and purchase costs stay aligned by default, it reduces pricing errors and prevents accidental profit erosion. Overrides should be intentional, not accidental, and mastering this feature early builds pricing discipline into your workflow.
Setting default markups by client, vendor, or sales code is another essential feature for new firms. It eliminates repetitive data entry and ensures consistency, especially as more team members start creating items.
Another area that deserves early attention is sidemarks and address control.
Sidemarks pull from specific fields, and address IDs determine what vendors see on purchase orders. This is not just an operational detail. It is also a privacy and professionalism issue. Especially for firms working with high profile or sensitive clients, understanding exactly what information is shared and where it comes from is critical.
Attachments and images are another feature new firms often underuse.
Studio Designer allows you to store W9s, certificates of insurance, contracts, quotes, drawings, and authorization forms directly on vendor and client records. When used correctly, this turns Studio into a centralized system of record instead of something that relies on email threads and shared drives.
Default attachment folders and visibility controls help teams stay organized and ensure the right documents are accessible to the right people at the right time.
Client and vendor records should also be treated as living databases, not static entries you set once and forget. Contacts, notes, images, and documents all contribute to smoother communication and fewer mistakes, especially as your studio grows and more people touch the same projects.
User management is another essential feature that deserves attention early.
Adding users, linking licenses, assigning permissions, and controlling access should be done intentionally. Many onboarding issues come from small setup oversights that prevent new hires from logging in properly or seeing what they need. Clear permission structure supports both efficiency and data security, and it becomes harder to fix retroactively as teams expand.
Throughout all of this, there is one consistent theme.
Time spent on setup is time saved later.
Studio Designer rewards firms that think ahead, standardize early, and understand how features connect. When setup is intentional, daily work becomes faster, cleaner, and less stressful. Teams stop fighting the system and start trusting it.
And when questions do come up, knowing how to use support and training resources matters. The knowledge base, learning hub, recorded trainings, webinars, and support team are all there, but they work best when you understand the structure of the system and can ask clear, specific questions.
At the end of the day, Studio Designer should feel like an operating system for your firm. Not something you work around, but something that supports you quietly in the background.
When new design firms master these essential features early, they set themselves up for smoother workflows, stronger financial control, and far fewer headaches as they grow.
That is the goal.
