Key takeaways
What this article covers, in order:
- The chart of accounts for a design studio
- The 3 entries a design studio gets wrong
- What a design studio can claim
- The reports to run every month
- Frequently asked questions
- Where to go next
Fixed-price projects with revisions that never end, print and production bought on the client's behalf, and licensing that should pay for years. If the ledger only sees invoices, the project that ate three weeks looks identical to the one that took three days.
This is the bookkeeping side of that problem: the accounts to set up, the entries that go wrong, and what you can claim. If you are still choosing software, the round-up linked at the end compares the options.
The chart of accounts for a design studio
Start from these rather than the default template. The codes are illustrative; the separations are what matter, because each one answers a question you will be asked later.
2250 Project deposits held
1250 Work in progress on fixed-fee projects
4000 Design fee income
4100 Rebilled print and production
4200 Licensing and royalties
5000 Print and production costs
5100 Freelance design and illustration
6200 Software and font subscriptionsThe 3 entries a design studio gets wrong
A 50% deposit taken at kick-off
A liability until work is delivered, not revenue on day one.
Print bought for a client
A pass-through cost and then rebilled income. Through the fee line, your effective hourly rate looks far better than it is.
Unlimited revisions on a fixed fee
Keep the time in work in progress and report the overrun against that project — it is the only way the next quote is different.
What a design studio can claim
Deductibility follows the rule in your own jurisdiction, so this is a checklist to take to your accountant rather than an answer. For a design studio the cost lines to review first, and the record each one needs, are:
| Cost line | The record to keep |
|---|---|
| Print and production costs | The invoice, and the business-use split where the cost is shared |
| Freelance design and illustration | The invoice, and the business-use split where the cost is shared |
| Software and font subscriptions | The invoice, and the business-use split where the cost is shared |
Whether each of those is deductible, and how much of it, is a rule your tax authority sets and changes. Keep the record either way; take the question to your accountant with the figures in front of you.
The reports to run every month
- Project profitability with design time costed against the fixed fee — review it monthly, not at year end.
- Revision rounds visible, because scope creep is the margin — review it monthly, not at year end.
- Print and production pass-through separated from fee income — review it monthly, not at year end.
- Licensing and royalty income recognised over the licence term — review it monthly, not at year end.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best accounting software for graphic designers?
There is no single best one; there is a best one for a shape of business. For a design studio, work down the criteria in the section above and stop at the first option that clears all of them — that list is short, usually two or three.
The criteria that eliminate most options fastest are: Project profitability with design time costed against the fixed fee; Revision rounds visible, because scope creep is the margin; Print and production pass-through separated from fee income.
Give me a list of accounting software for graphic designers that offer the best security?
Ask for evidence rather than adjectives. The things worth checking, in order: an independent audit you can see (SOC 2 Type II or ISO 27001, with the report date), encryption in transit and at rest, enforced multi-factor authentication, role-based permissions fine enough that a bookkeeper cannot export your whole ledger, an immutable audit trail of who changed what, where your data is hosted and under which country's law, and a stated backup and recovery position.
Then ask the question the brochure will not answer: can you see, after the fact, who changed a figure and what it was before? For a design studio that audit trail is worth more than any single feature on the security page. A vendor who will send the audit report under NDA is telling you something; one who answers with the words "bank-grade security" is telling you something too.
Is there free accounting software for graphic designers?
There are free tiers, and they are real — but the limit is what matters, not the price. Find the cap before you move your books: how many documents or transactions a month, how many bank accounts, how many users, and whether the free tier includes the one thing you came for. HelloBooks has a free plan; /pricing lists what it covers today.
How much does accounting software for graphic designers cost?
Published prices move, and the figure that matters is the one including the module you actually need — inventory, payroll or multi-currency are often a tier up, so the headline price is rarely the price you pay. Price each shortlisted option at the tier that carries what you actually need, on the vendor's own page, on the day you decide.
How do I switch accounting software without losing my history?
Migrate on a period boundary and bring three things: opening trial balance, open customer and supplier balances, and your chart of accounts. Transaction history can usually stay in the old system as a read-only archive — attempting to re-import years of detail is where most migrations lose a week and a reconciliation.
Where to go next
- HelloBooks for graphic design
- The graphic design accounting software round-up
- HelloBooks in the United States
- HelloBooks pricing and what each plan includes
This guide is written for businesses in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. Tax treatment differs by country — check the rule for yours before you act on it.
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