19 road-tested digital tools that save designers time and energy

technology | Dec 27, 2023

Most of the design industry has finally moved away from sending faxes—but as we move fully into the digital age, what does it take to keep your business humming? These are the top tech platforms designers love now.

Project Management Software

If you feel like you’re swimming in a sea of spreadsheets, toggling from tab to tab on your browser to track sourcing, invoicing, time and more, you might be ready to invest in a design-centric project management system.

» Studio Designer

Developed more than 30 years ago, this well-established platform has a user base of 14,000 designers—including design stars like Kelly Wearstler, Nate Berkus and Rafael de Cárdenas—and facilitates the creation of proposals, quote requests, time billing, invoicing and accounting for the interior design industry. Part of what designers like about Studio Designer is its client-facing portal, where projects can be viewed anytime and payments can be made via credit or debit card and bank transfers. For South Orange, New Jersey–based designer Gail Davis, that streamlined payment processing has been a game changer. “I can generate an invoice and send it to the client’s portal,” she says. “It’s easy breezy.”

What it costs: Pricing begins at $54 per user each month for a basic plan and increases to $72 per month for additional features like time tracking, to-do lists and an integrated calendar.

Great for: Designers who want an easy-to-use client portal

» Houzz Pro

The trade membership division of the home remodeling platform, which was formerly known as Ivy, offers an array of tools for industry professionals, from its well-known product clipper to email marketing

and lead generation functions, integration with Quickbooks and an augmented reality feature that allows designers and their clients to virtually experience their proposed vision onsite in 3D. The platform also comes with built-in lead generation from Houzz, which offers designers the ability to target clients with certain budgets and zero in on specific area codes.

What it costs: Packages range from $65 per month to $400 per month for more advertising-focused tiers.

Great for: Firms seeking built-in lead generation and marketing help

» StyleRow

Launched in 2019 by Los Angeles designer Erinn Valencich, StyleRow was founded out of Valencich’s own frustration with juggling a hodgepodge of platforms to run her firm. StyleRow has a particular emphasis on product sourcing, offering a to-the-trade marketplace featuring roughly 160 vendors, where designers can integrate product sourcing and vendor communication into the same platform that they’re using for project management. On StyleRow, designers can access trade pricing and share pieces with clients in just a few clicks and, similar to Studio Designer, clients can then communicate with the design team via a dedicated portal. “I see it as a place for the entire industry to connect and work in a smarter way,” Valencich told BOH when the platform debuted. “You shouldn’t have to hunt for answers to simple questions like ‘Did that invoice go out?’ The platform automates parts of the process that would usually require a bunch of phone calls … between all moving parts—showrooms, manufacturers, designers and their clients.”

What it costs: A basic account is free; a paid tier for $49 per month includes budgeting functions and the ability to import and export PowerPoint and Excel documents. Custom plans for larger firms are also available.

Great for: Designers who want all-in-one sourcing options

» Mydoma Studio

In 2014, Ottawa, Ontario–based designer Sarah Daniele started building what would become Mydoma with her husband, erstwhile app developer Thomas Martineau, as a tool to help run her own firm. After realizing that the pain points she had solved with the platform were shared by many designers, the pair launched Mydoma Studio as a wider offering. The resulting platform provides tools for project and client management, purchase orders and invoicing, vendor and team collaboration, time tracking, mood boards and product sourcing. Following its acquisition of EDesign Tribe in 2022, Mydoma now also offers members access to shared templates for business essentials like a basic interior design contract or an initial client questionnaire, as well as webinars and events.

What it costs: Starting at $49 per month for a basic account, Mydoma’s rates go up as your team size increases—for example, monthly fees are $99 for a team of three.

Great for: Designers who want to connect with a community and appreciate business guidance

» Design Manager

In addition to the project management functions that its competitors offer, Design Manager has additional applications for firms that hold inventory in multiple locations, stock product, or operate a showroom or storefront. Those retail-minded features have made the platform a go-to for designers like Bria Hammel and Thom Filicia, who rely on the platform’s tools to accept payments for merchandise and track inventory and employee commissions as they balance design work with bustling retail operations. Another feature, dubbed the Data Collection Module, enables designers to generate inventory barcodes and integrate barcode scanners.

What it costs: $65 a month per user.

Great for: Designers who operate a retail shop or have a digital storefront to manage

» Design Files

While it’s similar to other design-specific project management tools—its features include a room planner, product clipper, time tracking and Quickbooks integration—Design Files stands out by offering a unique plan tailored for e-designers. That includes an option for designers to integrate their design packages (say you sell a basic room design plan for $800, for example) onto their website and easily process payment upfront. There’s also functionality that allows e-designers to discount their packages as a short-term promotion, giving even small firms the ability to offer a seamless digital experience to their clients.

What it costs: E-design packages begin at $49 a month per user, while a full service plan (which includes invoicing functionality, a time tracker and Quickbooks integration) starts at $69 a month per user.

Great for: Anyone looking for a design-in-a-box service offering that makes transactions a breeze

Task Management

There are a million moving parts to any design project. From presentations to procurement to payment, there is plenty of room for tasks to slip through the cracks. We asked designers to share their favorite tools for keeping all their ducks in a row.

» Asana

Work management program Asana is a helpful tool for designers to manage communication and organization. Whether it’s creating task lists or team boards to track project flow or communicating with vendors, builders and clients, the software makes project management accessible and efficient. Since adopting the software, Los Angeles–based designer and principal of Wrensted Interiors Shaun Crha noticed his firm needs fewer team meetings and calls. “I’m now addicted to the dopamine hit I get by completing tasks, which is encouraging when long projects make it hard to see how much progress you’ve really made,” he says. “My team knows the best way to get me to finish something is to assign it to me in Asana—I hate staring at an easy task in my list, so it’s also become an accountability tool for us.” The platform’s Standard Operating Procedures service can also help designers save time, creating a template with a ready-made to-do list for each new client or project, complete with tasks and deadlines for each team member.

What it costs: Asana offers a free basic plan, a premium account at $10.99 a month as well as a business plan at $24.99 a month.

Great for: Designers who are goal-oriented and enjoy checking things off their to-do lists

» Airtable

Airtable is a programmable database that manages both projects and customer relationships. The platform allows designers to track client information—potential clients, active clients, and even the profitability of each client—as well as purchases for individual projects. For Atlanta- and Oakland, California–based designer Kelly Finley, Airtable is a way to streamline her firm’s client information in one place. “We love that the software allows us to create different views of the same data, and that we can then send an active link of that view to the client so they can assess their budget in real time,” she says. “It reduces the need to constantly update the client, and we don’t have to keep track of each cost separately, as the information updates as we input new data.” For Philadelphia-based designer Lucy O’Brien, Airtable is the “brain” behind her firm, with an administrative hub for internal documents as well as client-facing workspaces for each project, with separate tabs for each room, construction documents and paint schedules. “This platform has the clarity of Excel spreadsheets but enables you to upload pictures, documents, links and so much more into the cells,” says O’Brien. “That feature was one of the main reasons I finally stuck with Airtable—so many of the other systems I tried did not give the overall organization and document storage I wanted in a visual way that felt clean and organized.”

What it costs: A free plan is available to start but increases to $45 per month for the most sophisticated plan, which offers perks like storage of 100 gigabytes of attachments.

Great for: Designers looking to upgrade their operations from an Excel spreadsheet

» Trello

Project management platform Trello helps designers organize individual projects and tasks, as well as work together behind the scenes with their team. By assigning different tasks to different employees, designers can easily communicate with staff and get real-time progress updates. The platform can offer more nuanced insights, as well: “I use Trello to track our potential projects—inquiries, intro calls, site visits, proposal, follow-up—with dates and project details, and it helps me understand how we win and lose projects,” says New Jersey–based designer Rachael Grochowski, who keeps tabs on how long it takes to deliver a proposal after connecting with a prospective client to assess how delays affect the likelihood of winning the job. She’s found that too much time passing usually means the firm loses a project—but the record of past inquiries also makes it easy to follow up down the road. “Many times projects get delayed and by reminding them we are still interested, it often reignites the project.”

What it costs: A free version of Trello is available for smaller teams, but plans can go up to $17.50 per user a month depending on the number of features required.

Great for: Designers who need information organized visually

» Related reading: 5 shortcuts to making tech work for you and your firm
Ready for an upgrade? From project management to time tracking and invoicing, designers tell us their favorite solutions that make it easier to manage a firm.

Human Resources

For design firms without a dedicated human resources team, third-party platforms outsource key management functions like payroll, benefits, workers’ compensation and training to make employee management a breeze.

» ADP

One of the larger payroll, human resources and tax platforms, ADP offers a range of services for businesses of all sizes, from 1 to 1,000 employees. For companies with up to 50 employees, there’s Run by ADP, a small business–minded option that can help manage payroll, taxes, and basic hiring and onboarding. It also offers access to HR professionals, employee benefits, workers’ compensation, automatic quarterly and annual tax filings and time-tracking solutions—though some of those features require paying additional fees. “I’m in a war against printing things out, so the ADP feature that allows us to track time-off requests is appealing to me,” says Dallas-based designer Jean Liu. “It has nice, easy features and negates the need for us to print out a form, get it signed by the appropriate manager and then file it away for record keeping.” There are different tiers of service available within the Run package, from basic payroll functions to an HR Pro offering that includes legal assistance.

What it costs: Because the plans can vary based on add-on services, ADP is not as transparent about its pricing as other softwares on the market, and requires details about a business before generating a quote. (For a ballpark number, one designer reported paying $60 for every biweekly pay period.)

Great for: Designers who want a simple-to-use platform with the backing of the world’s largest payroll provider

» Paychex

Like ADP, Paychex is popular among larger companies, but it has options for medium and small businesses too, making it a good choice for firms hoping to scale up. Paychex also offers a plan for the self-employed, Paychex Solo, which includes payroll, a retirement-plan option and business incorporation services. A nice perk is the inclusion of a dedicated payroll specialist and access to HR advisers, something other companies charge extra for. Other features include compliance support, employee recognition, time clocks, talent management and compensation benchmarking. Paychex also offers a voice assist function that’s compatible with Google devices, making it possible to start payroll processing with a simple “Hey, Google.”

What it costs: Pricing varies from plan to plan but is typically a monthly fee plus an additional fee per employee. The Flex Essentials plan (a base-level payroll option), for example, costs $39 per month plus $5 per employee.

Great for: Bigger firms or solopreneurs in search of stress-free payroll and HR solutions

» Gusto

While it doesn’t have as many bells and whistles as some of its competitors, Gusto is a great option for small businesses where payroll is a pain point. Many other platforms offer payroll only as an add-on and require you to purchase their core HR products first; the category’s big players, like Paychex and ADP, charge by each pay run. By contrast, Gusto offers unlimited pay runs for a flat monthly fee. For Los Angeles–based designer Linda Hayslett, Gusto has been an easy option to manage her firm’s operations. “I can use it on my phone and on my computer, so if I’m out of town, I don’t have to worry that I can’t access it or that I’m going to miss a payday,” she says. “It’s a great platform for small businesses like my boutique firm because it helps me understand some of the logistics needed with employee payment.” Great customer service and help with tax forms are another plus, says Hayslett.

What it costs: Monthly fees start at $40, plus $6 per employee.

Great for: Business owners who want to streamline payroll systems

» Rippling

Rippling aims to be a holistic business management hub, offering general HR and payroll functions in addition to services like expense approvals, vendor payments and an IT integration package that can streamline setting up and managing your employees’ computers and business software. Additionally, that IT module can give your team a central location to access apps like Google Workspace, Slack, Zoom, Dropbox and Asana. Rippling offers both domestic and international payroll options, so it’s a solid option for companies working in multiple countries, and its IT offerings make it a great fit for remote-first companies. Onboarding and hiring modules are some of its marquee features—the company boasts that it can complete the onboarding process of an average employee in 90 seconds.

What it costs: Though the base fee is $8 a month, many of the
company’s services, like HR phone support, cost extra and are priced as individual add-ons that could make some designers feel nickel-and-dimed.

Great for: Firms where rapid growth is a top priority

» TriNet Zenefits

Unlike some of its competitors that are known for their payroll processing, Trinet (which bought competitor Zenefits in 2022) is known for its HR offerings. The platform offers three plans that can be purchased on a monthly or yearly basis, with a minimum requirement of five payees. Zenefits offers basic HR features such as time tracking and scheduling—services other companies, like ADP, charge extra for—so it’s a good option for firms with hourly employees. According to reviews, a standout feature is Zenefits Compliance Assistant tool, which helps you to understand what’s required of you as an employer and monitor your compliance status.

What it costs: Monthly plans start at $8 per employee, with payroll capabilities as an extra monthly add-on of $6 per employee.

Great for: Firms where employees need to track their own hours

» JustWorks

Justworks is a professional employer organization (PEO) and operates on a co-employment basis, meaning it’s an employer of record for your employees—an arrangement that allows it to handle HR and payroll on a company’s behalf. The co-employment relationship means Justworks takes on some legal liability as an employer, which isn’t the case for software-based payroll services like Paychex or ADP. In exchange, you hand over control of some things like the employee handbook and workplace policies.

What it costs: More streamlined than some other options, Justworks offers just two plans, Basic ($49 a month per employee) and Plus ($99 a month per employee).

Great for: Businesses that want a robust HR offering

Creative Suite

They say a picture is worth a thousand words—in design, the exchange rate must be double, at least. Designers share their top tools for bringing their ideas to life, whether it’s in the conference room or on social media.

» Canva

Graphic design software Canva is a great way for designers to create graphics for social media promotion or client meetings alike. For Kate Winnington of Delaware-based furniture showroom and firm C&E Furniture, the tool streamlined her team’s design boards into one accessible space. This collaborative feature is also key for Texas-based designer Alison Giese, whose team uses commenting and tagging features to collaborate as they assemble client presentations. Designers report that the learning curve is lower than other programs and that the platform makes it easier to get consistent, with a framework to create specific brand guidelines for faster presentation building. “It’s leveled up our professionalism, and clients have been impressed,” says Giese, who uses the platform for all of her firm’s client-facing documents and some back-of-house processes, like the concept boards that shape the design development phase. “The way we present information to clients is very important to me, and we have found Canva to be incredibly helpful in creating professional-level documents with relative ease. I feel like it’s the CliffsNotes of graphic design!”

What it costs: A free version allows users to access and edit more than 250,000 templates. Canva Pro costs $119.99 a year and gives users unlimited access to premium templates, graphics and fonts for more creative freedom and additional branding opportunities.

Great for: Designers who want to level up their client presentations or social media presence

» Splice

A favorite of design influencers, Splice offers users the power of a desktop video-editing software in app form. Its easy-to-use features include trimming and cropping, adding music or voice over, overlaying text and applying effects or filters. Unlike desktop editing software, Splice integrates directly with top social media platforms, making exporting as simple as a few taps. And because the editing work isn’t done within a social media platform’s app, there are no watermarks or branding, which means you can upload the same content to multiple platforms.

What it costs: Splice offers a free trial and then works on a subscription model starting at $4.99 a week.

Great for: Designers looking to edit video on the go

» Adobe Suite

From video and audio editing to Photoshop, Adobe Suite is a jack-of-all-trades. On the creative side, this platform allows designers to create content for clients and for social media promotion. For designers who don’t do in-house 3D renderings, Photoshop and InDesign can be helpful alternatives for creating elevation mock-ups with real textures and finishes. “We use InDesign to create client presentation packets; and we use Lightroom, Illustrator, Adobe Express and Premier Pro to create social media posts and videos,” says Virginia-based designer Tracy Morris. “Adobe allows us to create images and presentation materials quickly and easily.”

What it costs: An all-access plan to the Adobe Cloud can cost $54.99 a month, but a la carte options for individual software are also available at varying rates.

Great for: Firms that want a one-stop shop for their creative

» Planoly

Creating the content is most of the work, but someone still has to post it. In a day and age when social media is at the forefront of marketing, designers can get a leg up by planning ahead instead of tackling their posts day by day. Planoly allows users to map out their social content weeks in advance, then manage and measure the performance of each post. For designers who feel bogged down by finding time to post or curating their Instagram grid, the service offers an easy way to keep up with your feed on your own time.

What it costs: Plans start at $11.25 per month and go up to $36.50 per month.

Great for: Designers looking to create a consistent social media presence and step away from the grind of posting in real time

This article originally appeared in Fall 2023 issue of Business of Home. Subscribe or become a BOH Insider for more.