Run your team, access and monthly reporting
To run an interior firm's team well, record attendance for office and site staff the same way every day, onboard each new designer with a written first-week plan, give each role access only to the projects and money it needs, and send partners the same one-page set of numbers every month: leads, wins, projects running, money due and profit.
On this page
Track attendance for office and site teams
Office staff and site teams work differently. Site attendance is often the bigger gap, because labour and supervisors move between sites.
- Use one attendance sheet with date, name, role, site or office, in time and out time.
- Ask supervisors to post a morning team photo in the site group as proof of presence.
- Record labour headcount per site per day, since it drives labour cost.
- Total days per person each month before payroll.
- Review late starts by site, not by person, to spot site-level problems.
In the D&B Operating System, supervisors record labour and attendance from site, and the owner sees team workload and attendance.
Onboard a new designer in one structured week
A new designer should know your standards before touching a client file.
- Day 1: share the design brief template, file naming rules and rate card.
- Day 2: walk through two finished projects, from brief to handover.
- Day 3: shadow a site visit and a client design review.
- Day 4: prepare a sample layout and BOQ for review.
- Day 5: assign a first project with a senior designer as reviewer.
- Give access only to that designer's projects.
In the D&B Operating System, designers see only the projects they are on, with briefs, measurements and design rounds in one place.
Control who sees what
Not everyone needs rates, margins and client payments. Leaks of rate cards to competitors and vendors are a real risk.
| Role | Should see | Should not see |
|---|---|---|
| Owner or partner | Everything | Nothing restricted |
| Project manager | Their projects, tasks, vendors, site updates | Firm-wide profit, other managers' margins |
| Designer | Briefs, drawings, approvals on their projects | Rate cards, vendor costs, payments |
| Site supervisor | Today's tasks, drawings for their site | Quotes, client payments |
| Accounts | Quotes, invoices, payments, vendor bills | Design files they do not need |
The D&B Operating System uses tiered roles and permissions for owner, project manager, designer, site supervisor and accounts, with sign-in protected by two-step verification.
Report monthly numbers to partners
Partners need the same numbers in the same order every month, so trends are obvious.
- New leads by source and conversion rate by stage.
- Projects won, with total contract value.
- Projects running, and which are late.
- Money invoiced, received and overdue.
- Profit by completed project against budget.
- Three decisions needed from partners this month.
The D&B Operating System reports conversion by stage, overdue payments and project profitability, and the owner can share reports with partners.
Hold a 30-minute weekly owner review
Monthly reports work best when the owner also checks the same numbers each week. Every Monday, look at new leads, follow-ups due, projects running late, money overdue and any site with low attendance. Pick the three issues that need action and give each one an owner and a date. By month end, the partner report holds no surprises.
Questions people ask
How do I track team attendance in an interior design firm?
Keep one daily attendance record for office and site staff with name, role, location and times, and ask supervisors for a morning team photo from each site. Total it monthly before payroll.
What is the easiest way to track team attendance?
A shared sheet plus a morning photo in each site WhatsApp group is the easiest start. Move to an app once you run several sites at once.
How do I onboard a new designer in an interior design firm?
Give them a written first-week plan: your templates and naming rules, two past projects, a site visit, a sample layout and BOQ, then a first project with a senior reviewer.
What is the easiest way to onboard a new designer?
Keep an onboarding folder with your brief template, rate card, naming rules and two sample projects, and pair the new designer with a senior reviewer for the first month.
How do I control who sees what in an interior design firm?
Define roles first, then give each role access only to the projects and figures it needs. Designers and supervisors usually should not see rate cards, margins or client payments.
What is the easiest way to control who sees what?
Use separate shared folders by role and project, or software with role-based permissions. Review access whenever someone joins or leaves.
How do I report monthly numbers to partners in an interior design firm?
Send a one-page report in the same order every month: leads and conversion, projects won, projects running and late, money invoiced, received and overdue, profit by project, and decisions needed.
What is the easiest way to report monthly numbers to partners?
Build one report template and fill it from your lead, project and payment sheets on the first working day of each month. Keep the order fixed.