Running your interior design practice: 20 questions, short and sourced answers

Estimating, quotes and VAT

By far what you search for most: "chiffrage travaux" is the first query bringing interior designers to this site. Four questions to set the vocabulary and the method.

How do you estimate renovation works as an interior designer?

In six steps: a precise survey, a breakdown into trade packages, quantities per item, reference prices per item (low, typical and high ranges), a 5 to 10% contingency, then a package-by-package review. The estimate is presented to the client as such: it is not the contractors' quotes.

The full guide: Estimating works: the interior designers' method and 2026 prices

What is the difference between an estimate, a quote and a DPGF?

The estimate is your evaluation of the cost of works, not contractual. The quote is a contractor's offer, which binds them. The DPGF is the template you impose on contractors so they price the same quantities, package by package, and their bids become comparable. Three documents, three authors, three scopes.

The full guide: An annotated DPGF example, package by package

Are the works at 10% or 20% VAT?

Your fees are always at 20%. Improvement works in a dwelling completed more than two years ago qualify for the reduced 10% rate, under conditions and with a client attestation; works that bring the property back to new, or on a recent dwelling, stay at 20%. Price item by item, never at a blanket rate.

The full guide: VAT at 10% or 20%: pricing it right

How do you compare contractor quotes that look nothing alike?

By refusing to compare them as they are. First impose a common template (the DPGF), then analyse the bids line by line: quantities, units, included or excluded services, lead time, payment terms. A cheaper lump sum often hides a missing service. The bid analysis is presented to the client with your reasoned recommendation.

The full guide: Comparing contractor quotes: the bid analysis

Project management and site

Second family of queries: "architecture project management", "site report", "site supervision". Phases, deliverables and rhythm.

What are the stages of an interior design project?

Eleven stages, from first contact to handover: enquiry, first meeting, approved concept, preliminary design, estimate, contractor consultation, client agreement, preparation, works, handover, defects liability period. They map onto the CFAI phases (ESQ, APS, APD, PCG, AMT, CET, AOR). Each stage locks an approved deliverable before opening the next.

The full guide: Project management: the 11-step method

How do you write a useful site report in 20 minutes?

A fixed template: date, attendees, progress per package, decisions taken, open points with an owner and a deadline, dated photos. Written on site or within the hour, sent the same day to every contractor and to the client. The report counts as evidence in a dispute: it must be factual, dated, numbered.

The full guide: Site report: template and method

How do you supervise a site without spending your days there?

Through a rhythm rather than presence: a weekly site meeting on a fixed day, a systematic report, a package-by-package schedule shared with contractors and client, and a financial progress check at each payment stage. Supervision is judged by the quality of recorded decisions, not by hours on site.

The full guide: Site supervision: the method that avoids overruns

What must a handover report contain, and how do you handle defects?

The handover report is signed by the client and the contractor, package by package, on a date that starts the guarantees running. It lists defects with a deadline to clear them, and states whether handover is granted with or without reservations. It is the only project document where the word "signature" carries its full legal meaning.

The full guide: Handover report: template, defects and pitfalls

Prospects, clients and tools

Third family: "CRM architect", "quoting software for architects", "interior designer software". Which tool, for what, and when.

Does an interior designer need a CRM?

As soon as enquiries arrive through several channels (website, Instagram, email, phone, word of mouth) and one of them goes unanswered. An interior designer's CRM does five things: a single entry point, a record that speaks building, a pipeline that ends in an agreement, a prospect-to-project switch with no re-typing, and a memory of sources and conversions.

The full guide: CRM for interior designers: the guide

Excel, Notion or a trade tool: what should you use to track prospects?

A spreadsheet holds up to about five enquiries a month. Notion or Airtable can model everything, provided you build and maintain everything. Generic CRMs are designed for sales teams. A trade tool is justified when the prospect record becomes the project, the estimate and the client portal with no copying. The deciding criterion: what happens on the day of the yes.

The full guide: Excel, Notion, HubSpot or a trade tool?

Which management software should an interior designer choose?

First separate 3D (designing) from management (estimating, consulting, supervising, invoicing). For management, compare by use case: estimate and consultation, site supervision, prospects, client portal, mood boards. No tool covers everything; the one that links these cases in a single file saves you the re-typing, which is the real hidden cost.

The full guide: Best software for interior designers: the 2026 comparison

What must quoting software for interior designers be able to do?

Six things: separate the fee quote from the works estimate, rely on an up-to-date building price database, split VAT at 10% or 20% per item, manage versions and change orders linked to the original document, output a PDF under your brand, and have the amount approved online by the client with a timestamp.

The full guide: Quoting software for interior designers: the 2026 guide

Contract, insurance, invoicing and contractors

Fourth family: "interior designer contract", "interior designer insurance", electronic invoicing. The framework that protects your assignment. These answers are general information, dated September 2026, not personalised legal or tax advice.

What does an interior designer's contract contain?

The CFAI templates (AI 1 design, AI 2 design and supervision) set the scope of the assignment, the phases (ESQ to AOR), the fee basis, the schedule, insurance, the conditions for changes and termination, and the limits of liability. A written contract signed before the first sketch is the first protection of your fees.

The full guide: Interior designer's contract: the 2026 CFAI guide

Which insurance must an interior designer hold: professional liability, decennial?

Professional liability covers damage caused in the course of the assignment. Ten-year (decennial) cover becomes mandatory as soon as the assignment touches the structure or works falling under the decennial regime, which is frequent in renovation. Check the exact definition of declared activities: a gap with the assignments actually carried out voids the cover.

The full guide: Interior designer insurance: professional liability and decennial

Electronic invoicing: what changes for an interior designer in 2026?

Since 1 September 2026, every VAT-registered business in France must be able to receive electronic invoices through an accredited platform; the obligation to issue follows for SMEs, very small businesses and micro-entrepreneurs. In practice: choose a platform, check your mandatory mentions, and prepare e-reporting of sales to private clients.

The full guide: Electronic invoicing: what the interior designer must do

How do you vet a contractor before hiring them?

Seven documents: decennial certificate with declared activities, professional liability, URSSAF vigilance certificate under six months old, company registration extract, references you can visit, a detailed compliant quote, and the insurer's contact details. Official links (company register, URSSAF) let you check in ten minutes.

The full guide: Vetting a contractor: the 7-document checklist

Fees, clients and presentation

Last family: "fees", "finding clients as an architect", "mood board". Selling your assignment, presenting it, getting it approved.

How do you set your fees as an interior designer in 2026?

Three models coexist: a percentage of the cost of works (8 to 15% depending on the assignment), a fixed fee per phase, or an hourly rate for consulting (market ranges of €75 to €200 excl. VAT per hour depending on city and experience). The right model is the one that makes visible what the client buys at each phase, and protects your margin when the project runs long.

The full guide: Interior designer fees 2026: the method

How do you find clients as an interior designer?

Word of mouth remains the first channel, provided you equip it: ask for the referral at the right moment, keep an up-to-date portfolio, look after your Google listing and Houzz profile. Instagram helps you get recognised, rarely contacted. Prescribers (estate agents, brokers, tradespeople) bring qualified projects. Measure where each enquiry comes from.

The full guide: Finding clients: the complete 2026 guide

How do you get a concept approved with a mood board?

By treating the mood board as an approval tool, not decoration: one board per atmosphere, real and sourced references, one alternative to decide against, and a dated client approval before moving to preliminary design. An approved board avoids the costliest reversals: the ones that arrive during estimating.

The full guide: Mood board: the method to get a concept approved

Should you delegate works coordination to a partner?

Yes if your value lies in design and coordination eats your days; no if site supervision is your selling point. In both cases the contract must state who coordinates, who answers the client and who carries liability. Delegation is prepared in the engagement contract, not on site.

The full guide: Freeing yourself from coordination: the partner model