A field brief for Sales, Credit & Finance Leadership in the home furnishings and accessories supply industry — before, during, and after Fall High Point Market.
By David Johnston, Vice President & General Manager, Furniture Manufacturers Credit Association (FMCA)
The Showroom Is Ready. Is Your Risk Plan? — FMCA
🪑 The Showroom Is Ready. Is Your Risk Plan?
By David Johnston, Vice President & General Manager, Furniture Manufacturers Credit Association (FMCA)
A field brief for Sales, Credit & Finance Leadership in the home furnishings and accessories supply industry — before, during, and after Fall High Point Market.
Every showroom this October will look its best. The lighting will flatter, the line sheets will sing — and then the real work begins. In a season of uneven traffic, unsettled tariffs, and tight working capital, Market isn’t just a selling event; it’s a stress test. The teams that walk in with structure, visibility, and defined guardrails will ship smarter — and collect faster.
Market compresses a quarter’s worth of decisions into five days. A quick “yes” can win a dealer. A structured “yes, if…” can keep you profitable when freight shifts, credit cycles tighten, and the order book fills faster than the A/R clears.
That’s where visibility separates the reactive from the ready. FMCA’s industry-specific credit interchange provides peer-verified payment behavior — so Sales, Credit, and Finance can make confident, aligned decisions without exposing pricing, SKUs, or customer lists.
Why Visibility Wins Market Season
In this business, credit risk doesn’t vanish during Market — it multiplies. Strong sales weeks mask weak collections. Retailers stretch terms when freight rises. Design studios push orders early, then go quiet until February.
FMCA members trade factual, current payment data — not opinions — so every approval reflects how a retailer is actually paying peers this month.
Facilitate sales: Approve good accounts quickly; structure borderline ones with deposits, staged releases, or term caps.
Mitigate risk: Act early on DBT drift, high-balance spikes, and vendor rotation.
Preserve relationships: Replace “no” with “Yes, if…” — a bridge back to normal terms.
Protect confidentiality: Only trade-line data is visible (last sale date, high balance, past-due status, DBT). Your pricing and SKUs stay private.
ROI Reality: One avoided write-off funds years of membership. At 15% margin, a $25,000 loss requires $166,667 in new clean sales to offset.
With vs. Without FMCA Without FMCA: Approvals rely on lagging bureau data and instinct. With FMCA: Decisions rest on peer-verified payment behavior — what’s happening in our industry, right now.
What’s Different This Fall
Timing: Fall High Point Market runs October 25–29, 2025 — decisions in days, not weeks.
Competition: Buyers have more lines than hours; quick, defensible approvals win.
Demand: Traffic is selective. “Maybe” orders will need structured terms.
Volatility:Tariffs and freight remain unsettled. Quote in bands, not points, so cost swings don’t erase margin.
Why Industry Credit Beats Bureaus Alone
Bureau latency runs 30–90+ days.
Independents and designers are underrepresented.
Strong parent can mask weak doors.
Scores predict capacity, not behavior.
Deductions, claims, and short-pays rarely surface.
Furniture’s seasonal spikes get averaged out.
With vs. Without FMCA Without FMCA: You walk into Market hoping your dealer’s still good. With FMCA: You walk in knowing — because you’ve seen how they’re paying peers this quarter.
Before Market: Build Visibility, Not Just Visuals
Tag every target Green / Amber / Red using FMCA data:
Green: DBT near zero, steady ACH, clean communication → prioritize assortments and approvals.
Amber: DBT drift or growing balances → “yes, with structure.”
Red: Multi-peer late or vendor rotation → freeze exposure or go cash-in-advance.
Pre-wire guardrails: Define deposits, release gates, and term caps — and bake them into every order form. Quote for variability: Use landed-cost bands and “structure if tariffs escalate” clauses so Sales and Finance stay synced.
During Market: Sell Boldly, Structure Precisely
Approve in hours, not weeks. Green moves. Amber structures. Red waits. Most accounts slide before they fail — catch them on the way down, not after.
Document on the spot: Deposit %, release triggers, term cap, ACH-only. A structured yes beats a hopeful sure.
After Market: Turn Promises Into Cash
Confirm terms, releases, and delivery windows.
Invoice clean. Fix EDI errors fast.
Track early tells: DBT slope, balance spikes, vendor hopping.
Unlimited Final Demand Notices (Member Benefit)
FMCA members issue Final Demand Notices through the member portal on FMCA letterhead with the current roster. The 10-day notice often wakes up a quiet retailer — especially those “robbing Peter to pay Paul.” Most cure here, allowing payment without collections, preserving the relationship, and setting the stage for future structured sales. Unlimited notices are included with membership.
The Power of Scheduled Credit Interchange Reports
Pull an initial FMCA report at order time, then schedule follow-ups every 30–60 days. Payment behavior shifts after Market as invoices stack and seasonal liquidity tightens. Scheduled reports show who’s still paying peers, who’s stretching, and who’s rotating vendors. You catch the slide before it becomes a write-off.
The Hidden Cost of Selling Blind
$25,000 loss at 15% margin → $166,667 in new clean sales to offset $50,000 loss at 12% margin → $416,667 $10,000 loss at 20% margin → $50,000
One preventable loss can wipe out a strong Market week. Visibility is inexpensive. Replacing profit isn’t.
Bottom Line
You can’t control tariffs or traffic. You can control who you sell, how you structure it, and how fast you react — if you have the signal.
The teams that win Market season do four things consistently:
Decide fast on facts. Use current, peer-verified behavior — not stale scores — to green-light good accounts and structure the rest.
Structure early, not late. Deposits, staged releases, and term caps protect profit before drift turns into past due.
Monitor after the handshake. Scheduled interchange reports every 30–60 days catch DBT creep and vendor rotation while it’s still fixable.
Escalate professionally. Member-issued Final Demand Notices wake up quiet accounts and often cure without collections, preserving the relationship and future sales.
What does “good” look like when you run this playbook? Lower bad debt on plan, faster approvals, cleaner cash, fewer surprises, and growth you can defend in a pricing and freight environment that won’t sit still.
FMCA exists to make that cadence standard operating procedure — not heroics. Turn on the signal. Ship with structure. Protect the next order and the next quarter.
Connect • Protect • Collect.
Furniture Manufacturers Credit Association (FMCA) serves the home furnishings and accessories supply industry. All credit information is factual, confidential, and shared in compliance with federal antitrust regulations.
Tap into the collective knowledge and experience of over 70 of the top Suppliers and Factoring Firms in the home furnishings and accessories supply industry
Fall Furniture Market New Member Special
Limited Time Offer!
No dues for 2025 plus 30 Free Credit Interchange Reports
The Showroom Is Ready. Is Your Risk Plan?
A field brief for Sales, Credit & Finance Leadership in the home furnishings and accessories supply industry — before, during, and after Fall High Point Market.
By David Johnston, Vice President & General Manager, Furniture Manufacturers Credit Association (FMCA)
🪑 The Showroom Is Ready. Is Your Risk Plan?
By David Johnston, Vice President & General Manager, Furniture Manufacturers Credit Association (FMCA)
A field brief for Sales, Credit & Finance Leadership in the home furnishings and accessories supply industry — before, during, and after Fall High Point Market.
Every showroom this October will look its best. The lighting will flatter, the line sheets will sing — and then the real work begins. In a season of uneven traffic, unsettled tariffs, and tight working capital, Market isn’t just a selling event; it’s a stress test. The teams that walk in with structure, visibility, and defined guardrails will ship smarter — and collect faster.
Market compresses a quarter’s worth of decisions into five days. A quick “yes” can win a dealer. A structured “yes, if…” can keep you profitable when freight shifts, credit cycles tighten, and the order book fills faster than the A/R clears.
That’s where visibility separates the reactive from the ready. FMCA’s industry-specific credit interchange provides peer-verified payment behavior — so Sales, Credit, and Finance can make confident, aligned decisions without exposing pricing, SKUs, or customer lists.
Why Visibility Wins Market Season
In this business, credit risk doesn’t vanish during Market — it multiplies. Strong sales weeks mask weak collections. Retailers stretch terms when freight rises. Design studios push orders early, then go quiet until February.
FMCA members trade factual, current payment data — not opinions — so every approval reflects how a retailer is actually paying peers this month.
Without FMCA: Approvals rely on lagging bureau data and instinct.
With FMCA: Decisions rest on peer-verified payment behavior — what’s happening in our industry, right now.
What’s Different This Fall
Why Industry Credit Beats Bureaus Alone
Without FMCA: You walk into Market hoping your dealer’s still good.
With FMCA: You walk in knowing — because you’ve seen how they’re paying peers this quarter.
Before Market: Build Visibility, Not Just Visuals
Tag every target Green / Amber / Red using FMCA data:
Pre-wire guardrails: Define deposits, release gates, and term caps — and bake them into every order form.
Quote for variability: Use landed-cost bands and “structure if tariffs escalate” clauses so Sales and Finance stay synced.
During Market: Sell Boldly, Structure Precisely
Approve in hours, not weeks. Green moves. Amber structures. Red waits. Most accounts slide before they fail — catch them on the way down, not after.
Document on the spot: Deposit %, release triggers, term cap, ACH-only. A structured yes beats a hopeful sure.
After Market: Turn Promises Into Cash
Unlimited Final Demand Notices (Member Benefit)
FMCA members issue Final Demand Notices through the member portal on FMCA letterhead with the current roster. The 10-day notice often wakes up a quiet retailer — especially those “robbing Peter to pay Paul.” Most cure here, allowing payment without collections, preserving the relationship, and setting the stage for future structured sales. Unlimited notices are included with membership.
The Power of Scheduled Credit Interchange Reports
Pull an initial FMCA report at order time, then schedule follow-ups every 30–60 days. Payment behavior shifts after Market as invoices stack and seasonal liquidity tightens. Scheduled reports show who’s still paying peers, who’s stretching, and who’s rotating vendors. You catch the slide before it becomes a write-off.
The Hidden Cost of Selling Blind
$50,000 loss at 12% margin → $416,667
$10,000 loss at 20% margin → $50,000
One preventable loss can wipe out a strong Market week. Visibility is inexpensive. Replacing profit isn’t.
Bottom Line
You can’t control tariffs or traffic. You can control who you sell, how you structure it, and how fast you react — if you have the signal.
What does “good” look like when you run this playbook? Lower bad debt on plan, faster approvals, cleaner cash, fewer surprises, and growth you can defend in a pricing and freight environment that won’t sit still.
FMCA exists to make that cadence standard operating procedure — not heroics. Turn on the signal. Ship with structure. Protect the next order and the next quarter.
Connect • Protect • Collect.
Furniture Manufacturers Credit Association (FMCA) serves the home furnishings and accessories supply industry. All credit information is factual, confidential, and shared in compliance with federal antitrust regulations.