Final Chance to Participate in ABACUS

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The deadline for American Booksellers Association member bookstores to submit their 2016 financial data to the ABACUS-16 survey is 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on Wednesday, October 11.

ABA member bookstores can begin the submission process by going to www.ABACUSbenchmarking.com. Please note that you will have to set up a new ABACUS account from the secure ABACUS-16 website.

ABA Senior Strategy Office Dan Cullen called ABACUS “a one-of-a-kind tool that hundreds of independent bookstores have found to be critical in their financial and strategic planning,” and encouraged all member booksellers to participate.

By submitting their store data for ABACUS-16, stores will receive a detailed individual store performance report that analyzes their financial results, including relevant and insightful benchmarking comparisons across a number of criteria.

Once stores submit their 2016 financial data — which should take approximately 30 minutes — they are eligible to apply for the Avin Mark Domnitz Scholarship to attend the upcoming, sold-out Winter Institute (January 22–25 in Memphis, Tennessee) by sending an e-mail with “Domnitz Scholarship” in the subject line to ABA Education Manager Lisa Winn. The e-mail should include the applicant’s name, staff title, store name, and store contact information.

As part of this new partnership with Industry Insights, in addition to the customized printed report, bookstores participating in ABACUS-16 will be able to access a secure and private online searchable results tool that allows users to compile ABACUS data using criteria that they select.

Booksellers with questions about submitting to ABACUS-16 are encouraged to contact Michael Becher, CPA, of Industry Insights at (614) 389-2100, ext. 114, or at [email protected]. Booksellers who have general questions about ABACUS can contact ABA’s Dan Cullen via e-mail or at (800) 637-0037, ext. 7560.