Cool Tools for Interior Designers

By Robin Callan

By now, using smartphones to simplify your life or increase productivity is not exactly a revolutionary new concept, but what apps particularly enhance an interior designer’s world? Here are a few I can’t live without:

1. AT&T Navigator or Google Navigation. As a busy interior designer, you spend an awful lot of time driving all over the place, visiting clients and shopping for selections. Getting from A to B efficiently helps you manage your bottom line, and nothing supports this effort more than a GPS navigator app. Google Maps just doesn’t cut it for me—I really need a nice computer lady to alert me if I’ve taken a wrong turn at Albuquerque. More importantly, I depend on her to tell me how to find my way back. If you’re a lucky Android user, you can download Google Navigation for FREE, but if you’re an iPhone user like me, I recommend ponying up a few bucks for AT&T Navigator. ($9.99/mo.)

2. HoursTracker is a handy timeclock app for interior designers who bill by time versus flat fees. Define each client’s hourly rate, select a rounding option (I round off to the nearest 15-minute increment), and then clock in or out—it’s that simple. Add a description to the time you’ve tracked, if you like, so you can document tasks associated with the time. For a minimal monthly subscription, HoursTracker will perform auto backups of your timesheet to a cloud server. When you’re ready for billing, the app can generate a report in multiple formats, which you can email directly to yourself or your bookkeeper. ($2.99 + optional backup subscription)

3. Expensify is a FREE expense tracking app that creates exportable expense reports, and the beauty part is that it’s turbo-charged if you add Receipt Scanning. You know that fancy scanner advertised on late-night TV that scans any document and converts it into searchable records so you never have to do data entry again? That’s what Receipt Scanning is with Expensify. For 20 cents per receipt, you can take a photo of any receipt and Receipt Scanning will automatically classify your expense and fill in all of the pertinent data. Genius!

4. Dropbox is the best way to share files with your clients, and it’s FREE. Set up a folder for each job, invite your client to share access to the folder or email them a link to a specific file. Because it’s on a cloud server, you never have to worry about losing information if your hard drive takes a powder, and since it’s Web-based, you can access your files from any computer with Internet access. Pulling up files on your smartphone takes two seconds via this handy app.

5. iConnect is a note-taking app I use all the time to jot down quick info like paint selections and pricing information for materials I want to recommend. It’s easy to add photos and videos to notes, and sharing with clients and contractors via email is a breeze. (FREE)

6. Zillow allows you to offer the right advice to clients who are concerned about resale and ROI. Using the built-in GPS location tracker, you can browse MLS information—including photos of homes on the market—to see what comparable homes are listing for in your clients’ neighborhoods. Armed with this information, you can accurately help them determine whether or not a prospective home improvement project is a wise investment. (FREE)

7. iHandy Level is perfect for quick art installations or anytime a small level would suffice. After you download the app and complete a quick and easy calibration process, just align the bubble in your onscreen virtual level, the same as as you would with a conventional tool. (FREE)

8. Yelp combines its quintessential online review site with location tracking to help you discover the right business based on your immediate area. This is especially helpful if you’re in the middle of an installation in a neighborhood you’re unfamiliar with. Need a side table in a hurry? Find your closest options easily and scroll through photos and reviews before you go. (FREE)

9. Groupon, Living Social, and Buy With Me are easy-to-navigate apps that routinely feature 50%-off deals from companies like furniture stores and handyman services, saving you and/or your clients some serious change. (FREE)

10. Facebook and Twitter have mobile apps to keep you connected with followers while you’re out and about. Spy a supercute lamp with a superlow price? Post a pic with details in a snap and share your fab find! (FREE)

11. MobileRSS keeps you entertained if you find yourself detained. Waiting for a contractor to show up? Browse the latest posts from your favorite design blogs until he or she finally arrives. (FREE)

Robin Callan is the founder of Room Fu, an Austin, Texas interior design firm and long-time defender of affordable design. Her blog, Fu for Thought, features steals and deals, design-related musings, and interviews with celebrity designers. She is grateful to be supported by a great group of service professionals in Austin, who keep her thriving practice rolling.