Designers across the country are rethinking the equation when it comes to their fees. Thinking about making a big change of your own? BOH uncovers why the most important ingredient might not be how you charge, but rather how you talk about it with your clients.

In polite society, talking about money is tacky. Yet in a designer’s very first conversation with a client, “How much is this going to cost me?” is immediately on the table. Explaining your terms and outlining your vision in the same breath are essential ingredients of closing the deal.

If a homeowner interviews three prospective designers, they are likely to be regaled with three different ways of billing for the same job—which all have unique ways of communicating the value of hiring a designer. With no industry-wide best practices at play, it’s easy to see why clients don’t understand how the process works and aren’t sure which designer or billing method to trust.