Settings Sub Tab
Only the staff designated as System Administrators need to read this section.
New Features
October 2025
You can now set the "Default Ship Phrase” in System Settings. For example, your phrase might be “Ship By Date” or “Required By Date”. See below.
This phrase will be visible on the Project Detail View. You cannot change the phrase there, but you have the opportunity to change it when you preview a purchase order. This phrase will appear on the left hand panel and you can change it prior to creating the purchase order.
August 2026
You can now turn on the new Invoice/Proposal format as well as the new PO format. These new formats offer a slightly newer updated look than the previous versions. Refer to the Reports section below about how to turn on these new formats.
Sub-Charges
In the Settings sub-tab you can enter up to four sub-charges. Sub-charges are ancillary charges that an item might incur. The most common sub-charge is freight since most items will incur a shipping charge.
Sub-charges play an important role in how you create your proposals and invoices. For example, imagine that you are buying a chair for $500.00 and selling it for $750. The freight charge to deliver that chair is $50.00. When you create the proposal for this chair, you can show the price of the chair as $750.00, and at the bottom of the proposal, show a sub-charge for Freight as $50. Alternatively, you can include the sub-charge in the price of the chair, so the proposal shows the chair's price as $800.00
To learn more about how sub-charges can appear in proposals and invoices, read the section on proposals.
In the screenshot below, the firm has set up three sub-charges: Freight, Labor, and Other.
Sub-charges are used on the Item Detail View as shown in the screen shot below. The “MU” in the red square below stands for “Mark up”.
Product Switches
There are several switches on this panel as explained in the table below.
| Setting | Description | Recommended Setting |
|---|---|---|
| Hide Products when navigating to Products List View | When you go to the Products List View, this setting will determine if you see any products on that view. | This switch was initially developed when the DesignSmart system was slower. Speed is no longer an issue so this switch can be on or off. |
| Create New Products when cloning a Project | The way Products work in DesignSmart can be a tremendous time saver if you understand how they work. If designers don't understand how Products work, they can cause issues. Be sure your designers fully understand Products. | The safe option is to turn this switch on. |
| Default to creating a new product when copying an item | When you copy a product, you'll have the option to creat a new product. This switch sets the default behavior. | The safe option is to turn this switch on. |
Report Switches
There are several switches on this panel as explained in the table below.
There are several switches on this panel as explained in the table below.
| Setting | Description | Recommended Setting |
|---|---|---|
| Use New Proposal and Invoice formats? | In August 2026 a new proposal and invoice format were added to DesignSmart. You can turn this swith on and off to determine which format you prefer. | No recommended setting. |
| Use New PO format? | In August 2026 a new PO format was added to DesignSmart. You can turn this swith on and off to determine which format you prefer. | No recommended setting. |
| Show Included Components on Proposal & Invoice? | When creating invoices and proposals, you will see a variety of switches on the left side of the screen that you adjust depending on your firm’s needs. These switches set the default settings for these documents. For example | If your firm leans toward detailed proposals and invoices, you may want to turn these switches on. |
| Default Specification Title | When you select “Generate Specs” from the Actions Menu, you'll be able to name the document you are going to create. Typically firms enter: “Cut Sheet” or “Specification”, or “Work Sheet”. Here you can enter the default name for the document.. | No recommended setting. |
|
Include Distribution on Specs for Primary items |
This is only for firms using the Hospitality module. | No recommended setting. |
Include Distribution on Specs for Component items |
No recommended setting. | No recommended setting. |
Report Switches
| Setting | Description | Recommended Setting |
|---|---|---|
| Enable Revision Tracking |
When on, items will be "locked" when the item is issued, ordered or invoiced. Click here to learn if it makes sense for your firm to turn on Revision Tracking. If you want the Revisions log only to track changes made to the attributes, then turn on the Track Attributes Only switch. |
Set both the Enable Revision Tracking and Track Attributes Only switches to Yes unless instructed to do otherwise. |
Track Attributes Only |
When this switch is turned on, the DesignSmart will only record when attributes are changed. | This depends on your firm. |
Lock Approved Proposal Pricing |
When this switch is turned on, then once a proposal is approved, then designers are not able to change the Proposal pricing. System Administrators can still change the Proposal pricing. | This depends on your firm. |
| Automatically create sequential Item Numbers? | When on, when you create a new item, DesignSmart will determine the item number for the new item based on the item you are on when you click on the New Item or New Component buttons. | Set to Yes unless instructed to do otherwise. |
| Turn on New Customizations for testing | This switch is only used by some clients when they request customizations. | Set to No unless instructed to do otherwise. |
Default Timesheet Filter |
When you go to the Timesheets List View this filter will determine the time frame of timesheets you see. | Set to This Week or This Month. |
Gratis Label |
If you use DesignSmart's time tracking module, then when you create a new time sheet, you will have the option to indicate if the work is to be done for free, or gratis. Here is where you can enter the default phrase. | No recommended setting. |
Default Ship Phrase |
Enter your prefered ship date phrase. Note: This phrase can be adjusted on a per PO basis. When you preview a PO, this field will appear on the control panel on the left and you can change it there. For more information go to Creating POs. |
Normally this would be “Ship By Date” or “Required Delivery By Date” or something similar. |