ABACUS Deadline August 15

Fewer than five weeks remain for ABA member booksellers to participate in ABACUS 2007, the survey of independent bookstore operations for fiscal year 2006. The deadline for completing the easy-to-use online survey form is Wednesday, August 15.

Booksellers who submit 2006 financial data by the deadline will receive a personalized report that can help improve a bookstore's operations and bottom line, as well as $50 off their ABA dues.

A bookstore's financial information is kept strictly confidential, but when it is aggregated with input from hundreds of other ABA members, the result is data that helps ABA establish benchmarks for all stores seeking to improve business operations and profitability. ABACUS also provides valuable insight that is used to formulate the association's education curriculum, offered free to member booksellers at BookExpo America and the Winter Institute, among other venues and formats.

Individual bookstore reports include:

• A customized report with detailed analysis of their store's financial results;
• Comparisons with other stores based on more than 20 different criteria;
• An executive summary of the study's key findings;
• Key insights into the drivers of independent bookstore profitability;
• Year-to-year trends data; and
• Opportunities to participate in ancillary studies.

Booksellers interested in learning more about ABACUS can view a sample ABACUS report and facts and figures from previous years' studies as analyzed by ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz. Questions may be addressed to Domnitz at [email protected].