On the Ask Us Anything podcast, BOH editor in chief Kaitlin Petersen taps former Trade Tales guests to answer real, confidential designer questions, offering a safe space to discuss business challenges. Have a question of your own to ask? Send an email to start the conversation.

This week, we’re fielding a question from a designer who is ready to tackle her firm’s finances in a new way. This designer finds it difficult to track her firm’s profitability—which makes the strategy for improving her margins feel like a total mystery. Now, she’s wondering how she can assert some control over her finances in order to boost her earnings.

Designer Dan Rak, whose firm has offices in Chicago and Southwest Florida, jumps in with advice on why the right sourcing approach is crucial, how a designer-friendly accounting software can create financial transparency, and the importance of regularly examining your firm’s cost structure.

Crucial insight: Utilizing a design accounting software (in Rak’s case, Studio Designer) allows him to not only better track his firm’s finances, but also use that information to negotiate better pricing and ultimately improve profit margins. “As designers we move a significant amount of product, and there’s power in that from a business perspective,” says Rak. “Knowing how much economic volume you’re doing is a good tool as you go to Market and have a conversation with the different upholstery companies and case good companies and rug companies. … They want your business, and if they know you’re doing X dollars in volume, that’s attractive to them, and they’re going to want to win your business, and will be more aggressive in their pricing structures.”

Key quote: “Successful business owners have a sixth sense about what the market will bear for their services or their product. You should be continuously trying to improve the level of service that you provide, and also consistently trying to get paid more for it.”

This episode was sponsored by Four Hands and Crypton. If you like what you hear, subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.