Why do lead times cause so many problems?
Furniture and finishes have long, variable lead times, and the date that matters is not the order date but the date the item must be on site. When lead times are remembered rather than recorded, orders are placed late, installation slips and the client sees the design studio as disorganised.
Which properties track lead times?
| Property | Type | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Lead time (weeks) | Number | The supplier's quoted lead time |
| Needed on site | Date | When the item must arrive |
| Order by | Formula | Needed on site minus lead time |
| Ordered on | Date | When the order was placed |
| Supplier confirmed delivery | Date | The supplier's confirmed date, not the estimate |
| Delay (days) | Formula | Confirmed delivery minus needed on site, if positive |
| Status | Status | Specified, quoted, approved, ordered, in production, shipped, delivered, installed |
How do you set up the views?
- 1
Order now
Approved items where Order by is within 14 days and ordered is empty.
- 2
Late risk
Items where the delay formula is above zero.
- 3
Chase today
Ordered items without a confirmed date, or with a confirmed date within 14 days, grouped by vendor.
- 4
Arriving this month
Confirmed delivery in the next 30 days, by project.
How should you work with vendors?
Ask for confirmed dates in writing, record them the same day and re-confirm at fixed points: after order, at production start and two weeks before dispatch. Record the vendor's reliability in the Vendors database so future specification decisions use real history.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I track lead times in Notion?
- Store lead time in weeks, the needed-on-site date and a formula for order-by date, with a separate property for confirmed delivery.
- What is an order-by date?
- The latest date to place an order so the item arrives on time: needed-on-site date minus lead time.
- How do I see delayed items?
- A formula comparing confirmed delivery with the needed date, and a view filtered to positive delays.
- Should I track vendor reliability?
- Yes. Record on-time performance in a Vendors database to inform future specification.
- Does this work for small studios?
- Yes. Even a handful of items per project benefits from an order-by formula.
Sources
Keep reading
- Studio workflowsHow to build an FF&E schedule in NotionBuild an FF&E schedule in Notion: one item per row linked to rooms and suppliers, procurement statuses, lead times, budgets, approvals and client-ready views.4 min read · 17 October 2026
- Interior designInterior design fee proposals that get signed (and how to track them in Notion)How to write interior design fee proposals clients sign: scope, fee structure, exclusions, stages and terms, plus a Notion pipeline to track every proposal.3 min read · 17 October 2026
- Interior designClient approval tracking for interior design: from mood board to ready-to-orderTrack interior design approvals item by item: scheme sign-off, selection approvals, ready-to-order checks and a dated record that survives a change of mind.3 min read · 17 October 2026