This sales tax blog series was written by Dakota Design Company and evaluated by CVW Accounting, 2/24/25.

Sales tax is a complex topic, and one that prompts many questions from interior design business owners. This post is part one of our Sales Tax Blog Series.

First, if you are purchasing to-the-trade-only products, and selling them to your clients, you already will have a sales tax permit (that allows you to make purchases without paying sales tax). You should understand how to invoice your clients for the appropriate amount of sales tax on transactions and how and when to remit the sales tax you collect to your state Department of Revenue for state and local sales tax. For any designer who needs a refresher on these sales tax basics, please read this post that covers all this need-to-know information. 

The Dear Dakota blog series where I provide complimentary consulting and advice to interior designers is a members-only feature. If you’d like the ability to submit your questions and get the chance to have me answer them on the blog, please become a member of The DTS Files.

If you’re already a member and you’d like to submit a question, log into your account and access the form inside this blog.

If every project feels like a custom job and your workflow is all over the place, you’re making business way harder than it needs to be and I have a GUESS as to what’s happening.

The secret to scaling isn’t doing more—it’s doing less, but in a smarter, more strategic way.

Ready to stop reinventing the wheel with every new project? This is EXACTLY where I would start if we worked together 1:1.

When presenting your design fees to a potential interior design client, do you send the proposal first and the contract later? Or do you send everything at once so they have all the details before signing?

Some interior designers separate these steps. Some do them at the same time. Some send a contract out later, like mid project (🙀). Others don’t use a contract at all (🙈).

Obviously—the last two? NOT good strategies.

If you want a process that protects your business, builds trust, and keeps projects running smoothly, the proposal and contract go hand-in-hand.

PS: I’m not an attorney and this is not legal advice. This is based on my experience working 1:1 with over 100 interior design businesses.

Keep reading for my advice on when to send these two documents.

You’ve finally made it to the end of a project, the furniture is installed, everything is in place… and yet, something feels unfinished. The excitement you expected from your client? Yes, they love it, but there’s still something left to be desired.

And, maybe they don’t fully realize it, but you do. Because YOU know the power of styling.

When styling and accessorizing aren’t part of your interior design process, the project never truly feels complete. Read more to learn why.

In our blog post, Color Theory Part 1: Color Language and Color Attributes, we explored some basic color theory. Here, we will delve into how colors interact with one another and talk more about how interior designers make color selections effectively.

There is a lot to say about how colors interact together. And this is at the heart of how interior designers put together color palettes and schemes. That is where the artistry happens. And the interaction of multiple colors together can be extraordinarily visually impactful, eliciting strong human emotions and reactions.

Keep reading for the second lesson from Dr. Gloria on color theory and how it impacts your design process and client onboarding.

As an interior designer, you started your business to design—not to focus on marketing and sales. But when you decide to go out on your own, sales and marketing are CRITICAL if you want to book clients.

I've talked to a lot of interior designers, and I know most of them don’t enjoy having sales conversations. They get nervous. They trip over their words. And next thing you know, they’re discounting their services, throwing in extras for free, and practically handing over the keys to a new car while they’re at it.

But here’s something I believe so firmly in (I mean, I built my entire business on it, so obviously, I believe in this):

If you have a solid client experience process in place, you shouldn’t have to "sell" at all.

Yes, you read that right. When your process is seamless, proactive, and aligned with your ideal client’s needs, people should be 90% pre-sold before you even get to the dreaded "selling" phase.

*Now, I’m not saying you don’t have to market. You do. You should always be marketing. But I’m saying you won’t have to SELL.

Remember sales and marketing are two different things.

Let’s break this down.

Join The DTS Files to keep reading.