Here from American Booksellers Association Chief Financial Officer and former owner of Towne Book Center & Cafe in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, PK Sindwani offers booksellers a look at the best reports to run in order to inform their upcoming year’s budget.

When running a bookstore, it’s easy to get bogged down in day-to-day operations. In order to have a successful long-term strategy, it’s important to carve out some time to create a yearly budget.

Budgeting can help in identifying cash-in-hand, anticipated expenses, and incoming revenue. By referring to their budget, bookstores can measure success against expenditures and ensure capital is available for initiatives that support growth and development. It enables owners to concentrate on cash flow, improve profits, and analyze the rate of return.

The following year-end reports are very helpful in preparing a successful budget and identifying how to allocate your inventory dollars and your precious sales floor.

Booksellers can run these reports through their point-of-sale system or contact their POS for help.

• Category summary report: This will identify how much resources are allocated in different categories and which categories are working the best for the store.
• Inventory turns report: This tells you if you have adequate inventory as well as the right inventory for different sections.
• Sales per square feet per category report: This identifies performance per square feet allocated to different categories.
• Inventory valuation report per department: This is used to calculate total inventory dollars invested in various departments, such as books, gifts, puzzles, cards, etc.