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    Case study · Furniture retail · Canada

    A custom POS for a Canadian furniture retailer with about $10M in annual sales

    A Canadian furniture retailer with about $10M in annual sales replaced Lightspeed with a point of sale we built around how it sells furniture: special orders and deposits, delivery booking, financing, and the reports the back office runs on. Every member of staff now uses it every day.

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    • About $10Mannual sales
    • Lightspeedreplaced
    • All staffuse it daily
    • 4 areasin one system
    Illustration, not the client's actual screen

    The project at a glance

    Client
    A Canadian furniture retailer (name kept private)
    Scale
    About $10M in annual sales
    Previous system
    Lightspeed
    What we built
    A custom POS: sales and inventory, delivery scheduling, financing and payments, reports and accounting sync
    Result
    In daily use by all staff, with faster checkout and back-office work

    What a furniture store asks of a point of sale

    This section is general context about furniture retail. It does not describe this client's reasons for switching, which we do not publish.

    Selling furniture is not like selling coffee or T-shirts. A single sale can include an item in stock at one store, a sofa that has to be ordered from the maker, a deposit today, a balance on delivery day, and a financing plan on top. The sale is not finished when the customer leaves; it is finished when the last piece is delivered and paid for.

    Retail guides that compare furniture POS systems list the same needs again and again: tracking special and custom orders, taking deposits and layaways, scheduling deliveries, offering customer financing, and tracking sales by employee for commission.

    • Special orders

      Many pieces are ordered after the sale, so the order has to stay open and visible until it arrives, without being counted as stock that is already on the floor.

    • Deposits and balances

      Customers pay part now and the rest later. Staff need to see what is owed on every open order, at any store.

    • Delivery and pickup

      Big items go out on trucks. Someone has to book the date, build the route and assign drivers, and the sale has to know when it went out.

    • Financing

      Big-ticket buyers often pay over time, which adds a financing plan and sometimes a split payment to the checkout.

    • Commission and reporting

      Sales staff are often paid on commission, so sales have to be tracked by person, and the numbers have to reach the accounting system without retyping.

    Off-the-shelf systems cover a lot of this. Lightspeed Retail (R-Series), for example, documents special orders, layaways and online deposit requests in its help centre (deposit requests need Lightspeed Payments). A general retail POS is built to serve many kinds of shops, so whether it fits a particular furniture business depends on how that business runs its deliveries, financing and back office. Many stores run well on one. Sources

    What we built: one system for the whole sale

    The POS covers four areas that used to be separate steps. Each picture below is a drawing we made to show the idea. It is an illustration, not the client's actual screen.

    Sales and inventory

    Checkout, stock across locations, special orders, deposits and layaway in one sale.

    • Checkout built for big-ticket, multi-item sales
    • Stock levels across multiple locations
    • Special orders that stay open until the item arrives
    • Deposits and layaway tracked against each order
    Illustration, not the client's actual screen

    Delivery scheduling

    Delivery and pickup booking, routes and driver assignment, tied to the sale.

    • Book a delivery or a pickup from the sale itself
    • Plan delivery routes
    • Assign drivers to each route
    Illustration, not the client's actual screen

    Financing and payments

    Financing plans, split payments and integrated card terminals at the counter.

    • Financing plans recorded on the sale
    • Split payments across more than one method
    • Integrated card terminals, so amounts are not keyed twice
    Illustration, not the client's actual screen

    Reports and accounting

    Sales and commission reports, and a sync to the accounting system.

    • Sales reports
    • Commission reports by salesperson
    • Accounting sync, so sales reach the books without retyping
    Illustration, not the client's actual screen

    Selling furniture on a POS that was not built for it?

    Tell us how a sale runs in your store. You get a fixed written quote within one business day.

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    The switch from Lightspeed

    Before this project the retailer ran Lightspeed. The custom POS replaced it, and it is now the system the business runs on.

    Lightspeed is a well-known POS and many retailers use it successfully. We do not publish the client's reasons for changing, and nothing on this page should be read as a criticism of Lightspeed.

    How we approach a POS migration

    These are the steps we follow when a business moves off an existing POS. They describe our general approach, not a record of this client's project.

    1. 1

      Export and map the data

      We export products, customers and open orders from the old system and map every field to the new one, including special orders still waiting on stock and deposits still owed.

    2. 2

      Import and reconcile

      We import into the new POS and check totals against the old system, so stock counts and balances owing match before anyone relies on them.

    3. 3

      Run both side by side

      For a short parallel run, staff keep the old system available while the new one handles real sales, so any gap shows up before the old system is switched off.

    4. 4

      Train the staff

      Sales, delivery and office staff each learn the parts they use. Training happens on the real system with real products.

    5. 5

      Switch over and support

      Once the numbers match and staff are comfortable, the old system is retired. We stay on hand for fixes and the next round of changes.

    Results

    • In daily use by all staff

      Every member of staff uses the POS every day.

    • Faster checkout and back office

      Checkout and back-office work are faster than before. The sale, the delivery booking, the payment and the reports now sit in one system.

    • Replaced Lightspeed

      The custom POS replaced the retailer's previous system, Lightspeed.

    We report only what the client has confirmed. We have not published time savings or sales figures because we have not measured them in a way we could stand behind.

    Who a custom POS is for

    • Furniture, mattress, appliance and home furnishings retailers
    • Stores with more than one location or a warehouse, where stock has to be visible everywhere
    • Businesses that take deposits, special orders and layaways on most sales
    • Retailers that run their own delivery trucks and drivers
    • Stores that offer financing or take split payments at the counter
    • Owners who pay sales staff on commission and want those reports without spreadsheets

    Probably not for you if

    • A single small store whose current POS already does the job: stay on it
    • A business that needs to be selling next week: an off-the-shelf POS is faster to start

    What a custom POS costs

    What you needPrice (CAD)What it covers
    Custom business software, including a custom POSTypically $10,000 to $40,000Checkout, stock, orders and the reports you need, built around how your store runs.
    Complex systemsAbove $40,000, quoted individuallyMany locations, many integrations, or heavy data migration.
    Maintenance and supportAbout 15% to 20% of the build per yearHosting, updates, security patches, backups and small changes. Optional.

    All prices are in Canadian dollars and are our general price bands, not what this client paid, which we do not publish. Card processing fees go to your payment processor and are separate. You get a fixed written quote after scoping.

    Get a fixed quote in 24 hoursWill a custom POS pay for itself? Try the calculator

    How we would build yours

    1. 1

      Fixed quote within 24 hours

      Send the form with a few lines about your store. Within one business day you get a fixed written quote or a short list of questions.

    2. 2

      Map how you sell

      We walk through a real sale from the floor to the final delivery, and agree what the first release must do.

    3. 3

      Build in weekly cycles

      Each week ends with a working version your staff can try. Feedback goes into the next cycle.

    4. 4

      Migrate and run in parallel

      We move your products, customers and open orders, then run alongside your current POS until the numbers match.

    5. 5

      Train, launch, support

      Staff training, switch-over, and an optional support plan after launch. You own the code.

    Questions about a custom POS

    What does a custom POS for a furniture store cost?

    At FourCents, custom business software such as a POS typically costs $10,000 to $40,000 CAD. Complex systems with many locations or integrations are quoted individually above $40,000. You get a fixed written quote after scoping. We do not publish what any client paid.

    Is Lightspeed a bad choice for a furniture store?

    No. Lightspeed Retail supports special orders, layaways and deposits (online deposit requests need Lightspeed Payments), and many stores run well on it. A custom POS makes sense when the way you handle deliveries, financing, commission or accounting no longer fits a general product and your team is filling the gaps by hand.

    Why is the client not named?

    We keep client names private unless a client agrees to be named. The client facts on this page are the ones confirmed for publication: the scale, the system it replaced, what we built and the results listed.

    Can a custom POS connect to our accounting software?

    Yes. This client's POS syncs sales to its accounting system. We connect through the accounting product's published interface, and the quote names which system and which records are synced.

    Will our card terminals work with it?

    This POS uses integrated card terminals. Which terminals a new build can use depends on your payment processor and what its integration supports, so we confirm that during scoping before the quote is fixed.

    Can we move our data from our current POS?

    Usually, yes. Most POS products can export products, customers and orders. We map that data into the new system, reconcile the totals, and run both systems side by side before switching over.

    Do we own the system?

    Yes. On our projects the client owns the source code, so there is no licence fee to us and no lock-in.

    Get a fixed quote in 24 hours

    Tell us how you sell: stores, special orders, deliveries, financing, the POS you use now. Within one business day you get a fixed written quote in CAD, or a short list of questions.

    For scale: a custom POS is typically $10,000 to $40,000 CAD. Phone number optional.

    Not sure it is worth it yet? Run the build vs buy calculator.

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    Free, no obligation. Fixed quote within 24 hours. Phone and budget are optional.

    Read before you decide

    Sources

    Lightspeed is a trademark of its owner. FourCents is not affiliated with Lightspeed.

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