Increased ABACUS Participation Needed by August 15

A significant increase in the number of ABA member stores participating in the 2008 ABACUS survey is needed to make this year's study a reality. The deadline for submitting a bookstore's 2007 financial data is midnight on Friday, August 15, and unless there is a big surge in bookstore participation in the next three weeks, ABA won't have enough information to compile this year's study. All data submitted to the ABACUS study via the easy-to-use online survey form is treated as strictly confidential.

All ABACUS participants receive a customized analysis of their business' financial results, as well as a $50 rebate. In the aggregate, financial data collected by ABACUS is used to produce meaningful averages that allow booksellers to compare their stores to like businesses. A minimum number of stores is needed in order for ABA to break down the results into various categories, and to date, ABA is nowhere near that point. Stores of every size need to respond by August 15, in order to create representative samples.

A few weeks ago, BTW spoke to several ABA members for whom ABACUS has become an invaluable resource. Peter Schertz of Maria's Bookshop in Durango, Colorado, said, "The ABACUS report is indispensable to the financial operation of Maria's Bookshop. I refer to it often.... Our bookkeeper, banker, and everyone involved in our business operations is familiar with the ABACUS report." ABACUS results have helped Sue Boucher of Lake Forest Book Store in Lake Forest, Illinois, make a decision about a store move. "I was able to give the accountant benchmark numbers for the industry as to sales-per-square-foot and rent as a percentage of sales," Boucher said. And Peggy Bieber of Little Professor Book Center in Aberdeen, South Dakota, has used ABACUS to help keep store expenses in line. "I have used it in the past to help me negotiate my current lease and plan to use it in the future," she said. (Read more.)

Completing the ABACUS Survey form takes about an hour. An Excel spreadsheet enables booksellers to organize their financial statement information so that it matches the categories on the ABACUS form.

Questions about ABACUS should be addressed to ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz at avin@bookweb.org or ABA industry consultant David Walker at davidw@bookweb.org.