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Big Tickets, Long Lead Times, Clean Books
Furniture stores carry expensive stock, take deposits weeks or months before delivery and pay freight on nearly everything that comes through the door. We keep each of those in its place, so your margin by category is real.
Furniture Store Accounting In Michigan
A furniture store does not look like other retail from the inside. Every sale is big enough that one mistake shows up on the statement, a special order can sit on the books for weeks before it ships, and the showroom floor is inventory and advertising at the same time.
We work with furniture retailers across Michigan and virtually nationwide, and furniture is one of the industries we serve most closely. The work leans on cost accounting, because the question is never only what you sold. It is what that piece actually cost you by the time it reached the customer's living room.
Why Furniture Books Drift Off Course
Six places the money gets misplaced in a showroom business.
Putting Every Deposit And Freight Bill In Its Place
We set up QuickBooks Online so customer deposits, special orders, freight-in and delivery each have a home, then close the books monthly through our retail and inventory accounting service. Inventory is reconciled to your counts, floor models are written down when their value drops, and gross margin is reported by category: upholstery, case goods, mattresses, outdoor or however your floor is laid out.
Sales tax on furniture has its own wrinkles, including which period the tax belongs to when a customer pays a deposit now and takes delivery later, and how delivery and installation charges appear on the invoice. Our Michigan sales tax filing reconciles each return to the sales you recorded, so nothing is reported twice or missed.
Big buys go out long before the season pays them back, so we also build cash flow forecasts around your ordering calendar. You see the tight weeks coming and can time a spring buy so payroll is covered.
Deposit, Freight And Showroom Questions
When does a customer deposit count as revenue?
On your books, when the customer takes delivery or the sale is otherwise complete. Until then it is money held against a future sale, and it sits on the balance sheet as a liability. For tax, the answer depends on your accounting method, so deposits taken near year end are worth a conversation before December closes.
Should freight be part of my inventory cost?
Generally, yes. Freight to bring goods into your store is part of what the inventory cost you to acquire, while delivery to the customer is a selling cost. Keeping them separate means each category's margin includes its true landed cost, and you can compare what you charge for delivery with what delivery actually costs you.
How should we value floor models and discontinued pieces?
On the books, inventory is carried at the lower of what it cost and what it can realistically sell for. When a floor sample or a discontinued collection is marked down below cost, we write its value down in that month, so the loss shows up when it happens rather than as a surprise at the year-end count.
Furnishing Lake Houses And Cottages
Across much of Michigan, furniture sales follow the cottage calendar. Summer places get furnished and refreshed ahead of the season, rentals turn over between guests, and winter can go quiet for weeks. We plan inventory and cash around that rhythm, and we work with stores across the State of Michigan by phone, video and secure file exchange.
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Return to IndustriesKnow What Each Category Really Earns
Tell us how your showroom runs, from the first deposit to the delivery truck. We will walk you through where deposits, freight and floor models would sit in your books.