Furniture Bank of Central Ohio reaches more families with Lightspeed

Turning generosity into a cornerstone of the community

From humble beginnings, Furniture Bank of Central Ohio has become one of the largest furniture banks in the US. A key part of their growth has been operating thrift stores to sell items that aren’t a match for their donation program. Keeping usable furniture out of landfills is an important part of their mission; in fact, they divert about 350–400 semitrucks of furniture from disposal each year. As President and CEO Philip Washburn puts it, “if we can extend the life of the furniture for as long as possible, we can keep it out of landfills and benefit our whole community.”

By selling a portion of items through their thrift stores, the organization promotes sustainability and generates revenue to support and expand its services. Now operating three thrift stores, the Furniture Bank’s growing scope requires careful coordination and efficient operations—something made possible with the help of Lightspeed.

Upgrading systems came with unexpected benefits

Before Lightspeed, Director of Operations Shelby Furer and her team struggled with their POS. Not only was it complicated to use and even more difficult to train staff on, but it was also faulty, sometimes not even recording sales. When they had issues, they couldn’t get in contact with anyone at the company, making the high monthly prices extra difficult to justify. Shelby wanted to get the company on Lightspeed because she had a positive experience with the system at her previous workplace. Unlike with their old POS, “we’ve never had a problem getting a hold of someone at Lightspeed,” she says.

The business saw a difference as soon as they got started on Lightspeed. Something they didn’t have on their old POS that ended up being a major benefit was Quick Keys, which they’ve used to set up various price points. If they’re unable to scan an item such as a couch, for example, they can simply press the couch price quick key. This has been especially helpful for their senior staff members who have less experience with POS technology. Overall, it’s been so simple to use that it’s drastically reduced the amount of time it takes to train a new employee—what used to take 2-3 days now takes just half of one shift.

Lightspeed takes care of their advanced inventory management needs

In addition to being easy to use and train staff on, Lightspeed has helped the team streamline complex operations. When it comes to inventory in particular, Furniture Bank of Ohio has a lot going on. From donated items to new pieces received through their partnership with Ashley Furniture, they’re responsible for tracking and distributing thousands of items across their stores and donation programs. Lightspeed helped them create a system that’s both simple and effective, enabling staff to accept, sort and organize new pieces easily as they arrive.

And despite their operation growing in both size and complexity, Shelby remains more relaxed than ever. She no longer has to stress about the point of sale or take troubleshooting calls from staff after hours. “The biggest thing is the headaches it has alleviated and the amount of time it has freed up,” she says.

As Furniture Bank of Ohio expands into more communities, Lightspeed will be there.

Furniture Bank of Ohio is in the process of building a warehouse, where they’re hoping to trial a layaway service. This has been a popular request from shoppers since their items are one-of-a-kind. They’re also looking to explore more integrations with Lightspeed, since they’ve already had success with their seamless Mailchimp integration.

Outside of these immediate plans, Furniture Bank of Ohio is also eager to grow. “There are a lot of areas that aren’t being served,” Philip says, “Our hope is to use our hybrid model as a way to expand into some of the surrounding cities and rural communities.” He continues to say, “We’ve got a long way to go, but there’s tons of opportunity for us to make sure that every family, no matter where they live, has access to furniture.”