Interior design software: what it should include

Good interior design software should cover the whole project chain, not only drawings: specification and estimate, client approvals, procurement and delivery dates, supplier payments, and a clear view of what the studio earns. The fastest way to choose is to map your own workflow first, then test each tool on one real project. Below are a method, a module checklist and a trial plan.

Start with your workflow, not a feature list

Feature lists are long and look similar from tool to tool. Your last project shows what you actually need.

1. Write the stages of your last finished project in order: brief, concept, specification, client approval, ordering, delivery, installation, final accounts.
2. Next to each stage, mark where information was lost or retyped. Typical cases: a price changed in one file but not in the one sent to the client, or a delivery date known only to one person.
3. Note who touches each stage: designer, procurement manager, accountant, client, contractor.
4. Pick the three stages that cost the most time or money. These become your priority criteria.
5. Write down which files you already produce elsewhere (plans, renders, drawings). The new tool must accept them, not replace them.

Separate design tools from project management tools

CAD, 3D modelling and rendering tools produce drawings and images. Business software holds the data around them: products, prices, dates, payments, approvals. Most studios use both. When you compare options, make sure you compare tools of the same kind, and check that the business tool can store your drawings and renders as files.

Core modules interior design software should have

Use this table as a baseline. For each module there is a test question you can answer in a trial.

Module	What it should do	Test question
Specification and estimate	Items with photo, SKU, dimensions, quantity, price, grouped by room and category	Can you export only the kitchen to a client document?
Product capture	Save a product from a store page without retyping	Save five products from five shops: how many fields need manual work?
Statuses and approvals	Move each item from “needs approval” to “installed”	Can you see every unapproved item in one view?
Procurement timeline	Show order-by dates against construction phases	If a phase moves, do order dates move with it?
Supplier payments	Record advance, balance, invoices and receipts per item	Can you find the unpaid balance for one supplier in under a minute?
Project finances	Show client payments, supplier payments and studio profit	Does the profit figure update when a price changes?
Client access	Let the client view, approve or reject without a complicated login	Can you hide purchase prices and show only client prices?
Team and roles	Assign tasks to the right person, limit what each role can change	Does a task reach the person responsible for ordering?
Import and export	Bring in existing estimates, send out PDF and Excel	Does your current spreadsheet import without manual cleaning?
History and undo	Show who changed what and restore deleted items	Can you restore an item deleted last week?

What to postpone

Decorative extras rarely decide whether a project stays on schedule. If a tool does not pass the estimate, procurement and finance tests, extra features will not fix it. Evaluate them last.

Estimates and specifications: the part you use every day

The estimate is the main working screen, so test it first. A specification for a client and an estimate for the studio are the same data seen in two ways. The software should let you switch between them without keeping two files.

• Each item stores photo, name, supplier link, SKU, dimensions, quantity, unit and currency.
• Purchase price, markup and profit are visible to you and never appear in the client document by default.
• Quantity can be calculated in whole packages with a reserve for cutting, which matters for tiles, wallpaper and flooring.
• One item can be split between several rooms while remaining one purchase and one payment.
• Alternatives can be attached to a main item and shown to the client as options.
• Approved and preliminary items can be viewed separately.
• Items without a price are flagged instead of silently counted as zero.
• Bulk actions work on selected rows: delete, duplicate, create tasks, export.

Check the money logic

Take one item and calculate it by hand. Example: purchase price 1,000 EUR, markup 30%. The client price should be 1,300 EUR and the profit 300 EUR. Then change the markup to 25% and check that every dependent number updates. If you want to verify your own percentages first, use a markup calculator.

Procurement, delivery and supplier payments

Most budget and schedule problems appear after the client approves the estimate. Late orders delay installation, and unclear payments create disputes. Good software treats the purchase as a sequence with dates, not as a price column.

The sequence it should support

1. Approval: the client confirms the item, and the status changes.
2. Order: the responsible person places the order. The order-by date comes from the delivery time and the planned installation date.
3. Invoice and payment: the supplier invoice is attached to the item, with an advance and a remaining balance if needed.
4. Delivery: a planned date is set, and every reschedule is stored with a reason.
5. Acceptance: someone checks SKU, colour, dimensions and quantity on site and records either acceptance or a discrepancy.
6. Installation: the final date closes the item.

Dates should create tasks

If the delivery date has passed and the item has not arrived, someone should be prompted to request a new date. If an item is ordered but has no delivery date, the same applies. Tools that only store dates leave this follow-up to memory. Tools that generate tasks from statuses and dates reduce missed orders.

Use this checklist during the trial:

• You can see what to order first, sorted by order deadline.
• Supplier payment supports an advance and a balance.
• Invoices and receipts attach to the item, not to a general folder only.
• Delivery date changes keep a history and a reason.
• You can see how often each supplier reschedules.
• Acceptance on site records a result and a comment usable in a claim.

Client approvals and communication

Clients ask the same questions: what is approved, what is still open, what it costs, when it arrives. Software that answers these without a call or a new PDF saves hours per project.

• Access by link, with view-only and approve/reject modes, and an expiry date you can revoke.
• Control over what the client sees: price, supplier, receipts, dates. Hidden data should not be sent to the client’s browser at all.
• A preview mode so you can check the client view before sharing.
• Client questions about an item reach the responsible person as a task, not as a lost message.
• Export to PDF for selected rooms or selected items, with or without prices and alternatives.

If you currently run all of this in spreadsheets, the comparison with Excel and Google Sheets shows which parts of the chain break first as the number of projects grows.

How to test a tool on a real project

A demo with sample data hides problems. Use a project you know well, ideally a finished one, so you can compare results with reality.

1. Import or rebuild one room estimate of 15 to 20 items from your own spreadsheet.
2. Add five new products from different online shops and note how much manual correction they need.
3. Set up the team and give two colleagues different roles.
4. Walk three items through the full chain: approval, order, advance payment, delivery date change, acceptance.
5. Share the project with a test client link and check what they see.
6. Export a client PDF for one room and check that no internal prices appear.
7. Delete an item, then restore it from history.

Score the result

Weights should reflect the three stages you picked at the start. The numbers below are an example only.

Criterion	Example weight	Score 1–5
Estimate and specification	30%
Procurement and delivery dates	25%
Payments and finances	20%
Client access and export	15%
Import, team, history	10%

Red flags: you need a second spreadsheet to finish the estimate, profit is calculated outside the tool, the client sees internal data, or there is no way to undo a deletion.

How to do it in ArchiBoard

ArchiBoard covers the modules above in one workspace. To run the trial described in this article, follow these steps. The full feature overview is on the features page, and the Getting Started chapter of the help center explains the first steps in detail.

1. On the main page, in the “Get started” block, click “Create Project”. A name and city are enough.
2. Go to Estimates and click “Import” to upload an Excel, CSV or PDF file, or paste a Google Sheets link. Check the column meanings and click “Import”.
3. To add a new product, click “Add item”, paste the product link, click “Auto-fill”, check the fields and click “Save item”.
4. Switch the estimate view between “Specification” and “Economics” to see the client view and the internal view of the same data.
5. Open Timeline and check the “Upcoming purchases” block to see what to order first.
6. In an item row, open “Vendor & payment” and fill in “Supplier payment”, “Supplier invoices” and the delivery dates. When delivery arrives, use “Acceptance”.
7. Open “Team” and click “Invite member” to add a colleague with a role.
8. Open “Client portal”, go to the “Link access” tab, create a link, and check it in the “Client preview” tab.
9. Click “Export to PDF”, choose the rooms you need and click “Download PDF”.

The Free plan allows up to 20 items and 2 participants, which is enough for a one-room trial. Your account also contains a “Demo project” that does not count toward that limit.

FAQ

Is 3D visualization part of interior design software?

It can be, but it is a separate category. Modelling and rendering tools create images and drawings. Project software manages estimates, purchasing, dates, payments and client approvals. Most studios combine both, so check that your project tool can store drawings and renders and that you can attach them to rooms and documents.

Can spreadsheets replace interior design software?

For one small project, often yes. As projects multiply, spreadsheets struggle with photos, statuses, payment history, client access and task reminders. Copies of the same file also drift apart. Decide by counting how many times you retype data or check dates by hand in a typical week.

How many items should I use for a trial?

Fifteen to twenty items from a real room is enough. It is large enough to test grouping, import, statuses and export, yet small enough to finish in one or two days. Include items with different suppliers, a tile or flooring item with packaging, and at least one item with an alternative.

What should a small studio prioritize?

Prioritize the estimate, procurement dates and supplier payments, because errors there cost direct money. Add client access next. Advanced reporting and team permissions matter more once several people work on the same project. Choose a tool that lets you start with one person and add colleagues later.

How do I move existing projects into new software?

Do not migrate everything. Import active projects only, starting with the estimate, since it holds items, prices and rooms. Then add supplier payments and delivery dates for items already ordered. Finished projects can stay in your archive, with exported PDF or Excel copies kept as reference.