Booksellers on ABACUS: 'Powerful,' 'Effective,' 'Indispensable'

For many ABA members, the ABACUS Survey has become an indispensable tool, helping them to manage day-to-day operations, make crucial business decisions, and accurately plan for the near future. Data gathering for the 2008 ABACUS Survey has been underway since February, and with the Friday, August 15 deadline looming, ABA is urging booksellers to join their colleagues who, for years now, have taken advantage of the crucial information provided by ABACUS. Increased participation in the 2008 survey is needed to ensure the reliability of the study's overall results, as well as ABA's ability to provide individual store reports comparing a business with other stores based on more than 20 different criteria.

"I think the ABACUS report is amazing," said Sue Boucher of Lake Forest Book Store in Lake Forest, Illinois. "We have reported since the beginning of its recent inception and find it to be one of the most powerful tools that a bookseller has."

At Little Professor Book Center in Aberdeen, South Dakota, Peggy Bieber echoed Boucher's thoughts. "It is the most effective tool available to judge how my business is doing compared to other bookstores of a similar size and location," she said. "It has a lot of valuable information that I can use to make good business decisions."

And Peter Schertz of Maria's Bookshop in Durango, Colorado, a self-described "ABACUS junkie," noted: "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. I make sure they are familiar with it, and usually they appreciate gaining that industry perspective. We aren't viewed as such a small mom-and-pop operation when they see how we're utilizing the information."

Maria's uses the ABACUS data as a benchmark to evaluate the financial operation of the business, Schertz reported. "We are able to determine areas in which we are performing well, and those which need improvement," he said. "It's kind of like getting a report card to see how we are performing among our peers. It helps us to set our sights higher."

Boucher found ABACUS especially helpful when she was contemplating moving her bookstore. "I used ABACUS to help run the numbers when we were deciding to move," she explained. "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." With the ABACUS Survey in hand, Boucher determined that the move was the right thing to do, and importantly, what the store needed to do to be in the same fiscal position as it was in the previous location. "Since I have reported from the beginning, I was able to look at how the move affected the store's numbers and also compare year to year. ABACUS helps you to determine the financial health of the store and what areas you need to work on to improve things."

Bieber finds ABACUS a useful benchmark to judge how she's doing as an independent bookseller. "I also use it to help me keep my expenses in line," she said. "I have used it in the past to help me negotiate my current lease and plan to use it in the future."

For her, the most important aspect of the study is the analysis of expenses. "I can see if my expenses are running in line with stores of similar size and make adjustments accordingly," Bieber explained.

And for Boucher it's the year-to-year and store-to-store comparisons, as well as "looking for trends in the industry," that's most important. "It has been very useful in determining types of education for booksellers," she added.

"The vitally important aspect of the ABACUS report is that all member stores participate by submitting their data," Schertz stressed. "We are fortunate to have an industry organization willing to process this data and give it back to us in very useful form. Large numbers of stores participating is the key to the report's usefulness."

As for the time it takes to submit to the ABACUS Survey, while ABA says to allot about an hour of time, Boucher and Bieber both said it takes under a half-hour. Peter Schertz noted, "I have a spreadsheet I fill out that helps to manipulate the data from my QuickBooks chart of accounts to the [ABACUS format]. I'm kind of a nut for ensuring the accuracy of the info I submit, and it usually takes me about an hour or so to complete it. ABA is very helpful in assisting when I need it. It's a good feeling to get it sent off. "

Added Boucher, "It's not much work for what is a great result."

All information provided to the ABACUS study is kept strictly confidential. In addition to a customized analysis of the business' financial results, each participant receives a $50 rebate.

Booksellers with questions about the survey can contact ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz or David Walker, ABA's industry consultant.