Furniture store financing

Why is one lender not enough for a furniture store?

A furniture floor sees every kind of shopper in one afternoon: strong credit, thin files, families rebuilding after a hard year. A single bank program serves the first group and declines most of the rest. When that decline lands at the desk after an hour of selling, the shopper walks out with a brochure.

A multi-lender setup fixes that. By default, LendPro sends one application to multiple lenders at once, and when several providers pre-qualify the shopper, their offers show side by side. If you prefer the traditional waterfall setting, the application goes to your prime lender first, then to near prime offers if prime declines, then to No Credit Needed. Either way, one application reaches the lenders in your lineup, and the associate does not log into five lender portals.

The second problem is timing. Many furniture shoppers start online and compare monthly payments before they visit. Embedded pre-qualification puts pre-qualification on product pages and in the cart so shoppers arrive knowing their buying power. Where the provider supports pre-qualification, it uses a soft pull and won't affect credit scores. A lender may run a hard inquiry if the shopper accepts an offer.

What lender tiers should a furniture store offer?

You choose the lenders you want and your routing setting, and LendPro configures the flow for each location. A common starting point for furniture looks like this. Review your Approval Rates report after the first few weeks and work with LendPro on any changes to the order.

LendPro's network spans 18+ lenders and 25+ lending programs; see how the tiers work in waterfall financing, and ask for the current lender lineup for your state during a demo. Lease-to-own is a rental-purchase agreement, not a loan. Total cost is higher than the cash price. Each lender sets its own approval criteria and terms. Availability varies by retailer, state and purchase. Lenders set promotional terms and required disclosures.

Two points matter most for furniture. First, if you use the traditional waterfall setting, put a near prime lender ahead of lease-to-own, so shoppers who can qualify for an installment loan see that option first. Second, furniture tickets run from a $700 accent chair to a $9,000 living room package, and each lender sets its own limits, so review your lender mix for those ticket sizes with LendPro. LendPro uses a financing flow configured for each location based on the lenders assigned to that location and the requirements of those programs. Contact LendPro to review configuration changes.

"LendPro has made a positive impact on the financing process at our store. We are now able to cater to a larger demographic and increase our bottom line."Sarah Pelton, Store Manager, Bernie & Phyl's Furniture

Does LendPro work inside STORIS?

LendPro 2.0 is embedded in STORIS ERP and NextGen, with eSTORIS planned. Associates run LendPro financing, with prime, near prime and lease-to-own options, inside the point of sale instead of switching between lender portals. (Lease-to-own is a rental-purchase agreement, not a loan. Total cost is higher than the cash price.) Results flow back to the sales order, and managers see reporting by lender, store and associate. LendPro 2.0 also supports First Right of Refusal (FROR): on the See If You Pre-Qualify path with the traditional waterfall setting, a lender with that right in your program reviews the application in the position your agreement gives it. The No Credit Needed path skips the primary lenders.

American Furniture Warehouse was an early adopter. The STORIS partnership was announced May 21, 2025, and covered by Furniture Today and Home News Now. Details are on LendPro for STORIS.

In the latest integration, the LendPro portal connected to STORIS handles the full sale: associates apply, finalize, transact and process returns and exchanges in one place, without logging into each lender's portal. Cancel and refund are available for most lenders in the network; a few providers still require the provider's portal for cancellations and refunds.

"A white-glove partner from day one."Lee Nelson, Assistant Controller, American Furniture Warehouse

Not on STORIS? LendPro can launch a hosted application from your POS through the Launch API; ask which systems are supported today. With POS Sync, results return to your system. LendPro's go-live SLA is 10 business days. Timing depends on lender activation and integration scope, and custom integrations take longer. LendPro confirms the start date and prerequisites during onboarding. Additional integration options may be available for specific needs. Discuss your workflow, required data, and implementation requirements with LendPro during an integration call.

How does furniture financing work on the sales floor?

1. The shopper picks a path. On a product page, from a QR code on the price tag, on a sales-floor tablet or kiosk, or from a text link the associate sends, the shopper chooses See If You Pre-Qualify, or No Credit Needed when the store offers it. Where the provider supports pre-qualification, it uses a soft pull and won't affect credit scores. A lender may run a hard inquiry if the shopper accepts an offer.
2. Pre-qualified offers appear. When several providers pre-qualify the shopper, offers show side by side. If you turned on the traditional waterfall setting, they follow your order instead: prime first, then near prime if prime declines, then No Credit Needed. If a lender declines, the application is routed to another applicable lender, if one is available.
3. The associate sells to the pre-qualified amount. "You pre-qualified for up to $6,500, subject to the lender's final approval. The sectional and the two recliners come to $5,800, so there is room for the rug and a protection plan."
4. The shopper selects an offer and completes that provider's full application. The provider shows a confirmation with the available limit. Its full application may ask for employment, debit card and/or bank details. The shopper agrees to the provider's terms and submits. A lender may run a hard inquiry at this step, and the lender's final approval comes after the full application.
5. The associate finalizes the sale in LendPro. Create the invoice and send it for e-signature, in store or by text or email link.
6. Settlement is processed on delivery. Settlement is processed in LendPro when the customer receives the goods or service, so for furniture that is delivery day, not the day the sale is written.
7. The manager reviews results. Daily Applications, Sales Performance and Approval Rates show results by location, lender and associate (associate results need Employee Tracking).

Most furniture shoppers start on the product page. LendPro helps furniture retailers add a See If You Pre-Qualify button and "as low as" monthly payments to product cards, linked to the store's LendPro application, at no additional cost. Abdul Furniture in Corona, NY shows "See your payment estimate" and "As low as $29.10/mo"* on its product cards and runs a dedicated financing page. See AEO financing pages and product-page financing.

Configure financing for each sales channel. Online and in-store lender availability, application requirements, and results may differ. LendPro works with the retailer to establish the appropriate configuration for each channel.

*Example only. Payment estimates are examples only; lenders set APR, term and payment based on approval.

Promotions, long-term financing and advertising

Prime lenders often offer promotional plans, such as special-rate or deferred-interest periods. These are lender programs: the lender sets the terms, qualification and any merchant fee for each plan. Lenders set promotional terms and required disclosures.

• Know your cost per plan. Promotional plans usually carry a higher merchant fee than standard terms. Match plans to margin.
• Use the lender's approved advertising language. Advertising a monthly payment or a promotional term can trigger federal Truth in Lending disclosure requirements. A "from $99 a month" line on a sofa tag or a weekend sale flyer counts as advertising.
• Explain deferred interest plainly. If a promotion is deferred interest, the shopper should understand what happens if the balance is not paid in full by the end of the promotional period.
• Do not let promotions hide the other offers. A shopper who does not qualify for the promotion should still see a near prime or No Credit Needed path, not a dead end.

What changes when furniture is special ordered?

Furniture is often special ordered or delivered days or weeks after the sale. Confirm each lender's timing rules before you go live.

• Offer windows on special orders. Each lender sets how long a pre-qualified offer or approval stays open. A sectional on a long factory lead time can outlast it, so ask each lender what happens when the window closes before delivery.
• Settlement timing. Settlement is processed in LendPro when the customer receives the goods or service. On special orders, cash arrives after delivery, not at the sale.
• Ticket changes. If the order changes before delivery, the financed amount may need to change too. A shopper who wants a higher amount after an approval starts a new application.

What should you ask any furniture financing platform?

Several platforms serve furniture retailers. Ask every provider for a demo with your own credit mix, and use the same questions with each one.

For the full list of questions to ask any vendor, see how to choose a financing platform.

What should furniture stores measure, and what goes wrong?

Track these every month

• Application rate. Take Daily Applications by location and associate and divide by your written sales. This is your own calculation; low numbers usually mean financing is offered too late.
• Approval rates by lender. The Approval Rates report puts lenders side by side: pre-qual and full-app approval rates, average approval and totals by location. It shows whether your lineup and order are right.
• Coverage of the full room. Export to CSV and compare average approval with your average written ticket. Your own analysis shows how often approvals cover the room, not just one piece.
• Results by associate and store. Sales Performance shows results by store, associate and customer when Employee Tracking is on.

What mistakes do furniture stores make?

• Offering financing at the desk only. Shoppers who expect a decline never ask.
• Sending prime declines straight to No Credit Needed programs. Without a near prime tier, shoppers who could get an installment loan pay more than they need to.
• Setting the order once and never revisiting it. Review the Approval Rates report and request configuration changes through LendPro. Changes can be limited by lender agreements and program requirements.
• Ignoring delivery timing. Expired offers on special orders cost sales at the worst moment.
• Letting pre-qualified shoppers walk without follow-up. LendPro notifies the store when a customer applies, and for 30 days after pre-qualification its marketing tools help pre-qualified shoppers return to complete the lender's full application; the lender makes the final decision. This outreach happens with the shopper's consent; shoppers can opt out at any time (reply STOP to texts). See store alerts and follow-up marketing.

Ready to see it with your own lender mix? Book a live demo.