On Demand Education Sessions

Now that you have received your individualized ABACUS report for 2023, join ABA's Chief Financial Officer (and former bookseller), PK Sindwani, and Greg Mann, VP of Industry Insights, to review key takeaways, identify opportunities for improving your store's profitability, and discuss ways you can use ABACUS in your advocacy efforts for your store.

• Guide
• Slide Deck
• Spreadsheet Template

• Slide Deck
• 2022 ABACUS Report
• Budgeting and Monitoring Workbook
• 2022 ABACUS Snapshot

• Jessica Stockton-Bagnulo, Greenlight Bookstore - Brooklyn, NY
• Gabriel Moushabeck, Booklink Booksellers Inc. - Northampton, MA
• Sarah Hutton, Village Books - Bellingham, WA
• Tina Ferguson, Face in a Book - El Dorado Hills, CA

Join ABA CFO PK Sindwani, a former bookstore owner, and our accounting staff for our session designed to jumpstart your ABACUS submission. In this session, you’ll receive step-by-step instructions to fill out your ABACUS survey, tips on how to find your information to complete the survey, and ways to find time to report.

Attend a forthcoming workshop with PK for one-on-one assistance with filling out the 2023 ABACUS Survey the submission deadline of July 21, 2024.

• Monday, June 17, at 4:00 pm ET
• Tuesday, June 25, at 8:00 pm ET
• Tuesday, July 9, at 10:00 am ET
• Wednesday, July 10, at 5:00 pm ET

ABA's Lightning Talk series features booksellers presenting 5-10 minute talks on tech tools, organizational strategies, communication methods, or innovations they’ve made in their stores. On March 14, 2024, Emily Autenrieth (A Seat at the Table Books) discussed Calculating Sales for Store Sustainability.

• Automatically and electronically organize publisher invoices to reduce paperwork and free up time.
• Provide access to invoice information 24x7, enabling you to manage invoices when it’s most convenient for you.
• Provide electronic invoices, allowing you to verify shipments and raise claims for damages or shortages at the point of delivery.
• Allow payments to be prepared and remittances received and stored electronically.
• Link with QuickBooks, enabling automated entry of invoice data directly into QuickBooks.

A big challenge for all bookstores is the volume and management of publisher invoices. In this session, you’ll hear from Batch colleagues and current Batch users about how they save time and money using Batch to manage their invoices and prepare payments to publishing partners. The session will include discussion and demonstrations with focus on how Batch:
- Automatically and electronically organizes invoices to reduce paperwork and free up time.
- Provides access to invoice information 24x7, enabling you to manage invoices when it’s most convenient for you.
- Provides electronic invoices, allowing you to verify shipments and raise claims for damages or shortages at the point of delivery.
- Allows payments to be prepared and remittances received and stored electronically.
- Links with QuickBooks; enabling automated entry of invoice data directly into QuickBooks.

Whether your store or a portion of your bookstore is classified by the IRS as a nonprofit or not, you can still raise funds by applying for grants. Come to this session to learn more about the art and science of grant writing for both nonprofit and for-profit bookstores.

Attachment	Size
9_05 AM An Introduction to Researching and Writing Grants.pptx	5.96 MB

This financial modeling workshop will help you evaluate potential new initiatives for your business. Whether you think it’s time to expand your space with another physical or pop-up location, you want to begin or increase your offering of used books or non-book items, or you’re considering adding a cafe or bar, this workshop will walk you through the financial analysis to help you make sound business decisions. Preliminary work in the Strategic Planning Series: Part I, Part II, and Part III will benefit attendees of this session.

Attachment	Size
Wi2023 Financial Modeling Workshop Powerpoint	1.09 MB

This conversation is for stores of all sizes and designed with your questions in mind. PK Sindwani, former bookseller and current ABA CFO, and Cynthia Compton, owner of 4 Kids Books & Toys (Zionsville, IN), will spend the majority of the session taking financial questions from the audience. No question is too big or too small! This interactive group discussion will take into account a variety of business models, and practical advice will be given about how to integrate what you’ve learned to assist with making sound business decisions.

During this session, ABA IndieCommerce Director Phil Davies and Marketing Manager Courtney Wallace will share tips, tricks, and best practices for creating better product photography.

A full transcription is available for this session. Please note that it is machine-generated and not reviewed for accuracy.

Attachment	Size
Chat Copy	503 bytes
Transcript	48.16 KB

Batch for Books is a web-based platform that bookstores can use to manage invoices across multiple publishers and streamline the payment management process. In this session, longtime veteran of the indie bookstore community and current Program Manager for Batch for Books U.S. Nathan Halter will present what Batch for Books is, how it works, and why it is a valuable tool, and he will provide a demonstration.

A full transcription and closed captioning are available for this session. Please note that both are machine-generated and are not reviewed for accuracy.

Attachment	Size
Batch for Bookstores Presentation	1.38 MB
Getting Started with Batch	240.42 KB
Batch Vender Differences	91.69 KB
Chat Copy	1.63 KB
Transcript	57.16 KB

If you are having trouble trying to figure out where to access information or finding the time to report, ABA CFO (and former bookseller) PK Sindwani presents a special ABACUS webinar to help you jump start your submission and answer any questions that may be slowing you down.

Accurate and timely bookkeeping is the foundation of a profitable business. This session will cover the fundamentals of bookkeeping, with a focus on the general ledger document, and explain how proper bookkeeping improves efficiency and, ultimately, saves time and money. In addition, attendees will get a brief overview of cash flow, income statements, and balance sheets.

Download the handouts here. Note: You need to be signed in with a bookseller account to access the handouts.

For many stores, 2020 was the most difficult business year in decades, and 2021 will present many ongoing challenges. This session will help you plan for success by focusing on a few key topics: monitoring or creating your budget, responding to changing business conditions, managing your cash flow, and monitoring important benchmarking data to track your progress and meet your yearly goals. This session will provide a template for building your annual budget. Panelists: PK Sindwani, ABA (White Plains, NY); Jennifer Almodovar, ABA (White Plains, NY)

“Co-op” is a word booksellers often hear from publishers, but it can be quite confusing to try to decipher what it is. In this session, Jenny Cohen of Waucoma Bookstore in Hood River, OR provides an overview of cooperative advertising: what it is, where it comes from, and how a store can maximize their spending using accrued co-op dollars from publishers.

Attachment	Size
Utilizing Coop Presentation (PDF)	4.96 MB

ABACUS is a yearly benchmarking survey that gathers essential information and insights on bookstore financials. This unique and actionable data is key to a store’s long-term viability, as it can be used to create budgets and analyze important business questions. Bookseller panelists who regularly submit to ABACUS will explain how they have been able to implement changes based on their ABACUS report. In this session, booksellers will learn:

• How to read key lines in an ABACUS report
• How to recognize and make changes in bookstore financials
• Important points to consider when making short- and long-term budgets based on ABACUS data

Information on how and when to submit your data to participate in the ABACUS report

Attachment	Size
ABACUS Highlights pdf	188.33 KB
Using ABACUS as a Budgeting Tool Presentation (PDF)	2.14 MB

The 101-level seminar, led by ABA CFO Robyn DesHotel and Cynthia Compton of 4 Kids Books & Toys in Zionsville, Indiana, covers the fundamentals of budgeting, understanding cash flow, business financing, bookkeeping, and financial statements. The seminar concentrates on bookstore finances as opposed to bookstore accounting and deep financial experience is not required.

This video is available to logged-in, ABA bookseller members only.

The Principals of Bookstore Finance Seminar was presented at the 2018 Fall Regional Shows. 

Attachment	Size
Financial Management Workshop Slides (pdf)	1.09 MB
Financial Management ABACUS Slides (pdf)	645.31 KB
Store Expansion Study Spreadsheet (xlsx)	30.94 KB

Jesse Mecham is the author of You Need A Budget: The Proven System for Breaking the Paycheck to Paycheck Cycle, Getting Out of Debt, and Living the Life You Want. YNAB is best-known for teaching “Four Rules” to help people really gain control of their money. Jesse puts his business lessons in action by teaching attendees how they personally can change the way they think about their money. He’ll teach attendees his “Four Rules” walking them through hilarious (because they’re so true!) examples of money mistakes, and what they can do today to start having their money line up with what really matters.

ABACUS is a yearly benchmarking survey that gathers key information and insights on bookstore financials. Stores that participate in ABACUS know how important this unique and actionable data is to their store’s long-term viability. Industry Insights, the organization that compiles and analyzes the confidential bookstore data, will offer a tutorial on the new ABACUS web portal, review key survey trends and results, and demonstrate how to generate reports to best utilize a store’s data. In addition, booksellers who regularly submit to ABACUS will explain how they have been able to implement changes based on their ABACUS report.

Attachment	Size
ABACUS 101	413.3 KB
Sample P&L	219.28 KB

Pre-registration required; for owners and managers only. Registration is closed. Exiting a much-loved business can be difficult to consider, but whether you are preparing to retire or you expect to own your store for many years to come, it is important to have a plan in place for your business and to consider all succession options. A bookseller who has gone through the process of selling a store as well as a representative from a local financial group that offers business valuations will lead a conversation on how to prepare for this important step in the life of your store.

Attachment	Size
Elements of Succession Planning for Selling a Bookstore (PDF)	86.18 KB

This 101-level seminar covers the fundamentals of budgeting, understanding cash flow, business financing, bookkeeping, and financial statements. The workshop includes a segment focusing on strategies for achieving higher profits and improving cash flow. The program concludes with an interactive group discussion, working through an example of how booksellers can use their store’s financial information to make sound business decisions. The seminar concentrates on bookstore finances as opposed to bookstore accounting, and though it is helpful for attendees to be familiar with basic bookstore finances, deep financial experience is not required.

Attachment	Size
Principles of Financial Management (pdf)	1.15 MB
Store Expansion Scenarios (xlsx)	32.07 KB
ABACUS and the 2% Solution (pdf)	598.24 KB
Sales Change Analysis (pdf)	193.07 KB
Ordering Direct vs Wholesale (pdf)	176.59 KB
ABACUS 16 Highlights (pdf)	187.23 KB

An ongoing commitment to improving margins is a key to increasing bookstore profits. Focusing on freight costs, cost of goods sold, and even shrinkage can help any business improve the bottom line. Panelists in this session will help booksellers focus on successful strategies and best practices that will help guide booksellers into greater profitability.

• Sally Brewster, Park Road Books (Charlotte, NC)
• Cynthia Compton, 4 Kids Books & Toys (Zionsville, IN)
• Paul Hanson, Village Books (Bellingham, WA)
• Libby Manthey, Riverwalk Books (Chelan, WA) (Moderator)
   

Attachment	Size
Increasing Margin (PDF)	3.38 MB

In this detailed financial session, publishers will walk booksellers through the Profit and Loss statement of a new trade title and the financial realities of publishing, while delineating the many factors that affect both the bookstore channel and consumers. Important P&L line items such as suggested retail price, production costs, marketing, and returns will be discussed, as will broader themes that impact the day-to-day cost of publishing.

• George Gibson, Publishing Director, Bloomsbury USA (New York, NY)
• Matty Goldberg, President of Publishing and Client Sales Development, Perseus Book Group (New York, NY)
• Kirsty Melville, President and Publisher, Andrews McMeel Universal (Kansas City, MO)
• Steven Pace, Sales Director, Workman Publishing (New York, NY)
• Joy Dallanegra-Sanger, ABA (White Plains, NY) (Moderator)
   

Attachment	Size
Economics of Publishing Definitions (PDF)	178.53 KB
Economics of Publishing mid list P&L (PDF)	183.48 KB
Economics of Publishing bestseller P&L (PDF)	183.47 KB

A business plan is a document typically associated with launching a bookstore. However, any time you decide to make a change to your operations, it's critical to have a plan.  This session will include a review of the essentials for any business plan. Attendees will have a chance to have their own business plans reviewed post-Winter Institute by panelist Jodi Rhoden, Owner/Operator of Short Street Cakes and Teacher at Birds Eye Business Planning (Asheville, NC).

• Jill Hendrix, Fiction Addiction (Greenville, SC)
• Chris Morrow, Northshire Bookstore (Manchester Center, VT)
• Jodi Rhoden, Owner/Operator of Short Street Cakes and Teacher at Birds Eye Business Planning (Asheville, NC)
• Annie Philbrick, Bank Square Books (Mystic, CT) (Moderator)

Attachment	Size
Developing a Business Plan - Putting All the Pieces Together (PDF)	173.04 KB

Whether you need business capital for a store redesign, expansion, or to open a second location, this session will help you to think about non-traditional options to acquire the capital you need. From social media campaigns to community involvement, there are a growing number of new options beyond the bank loan.

Attachment	Size
Considering Alternative Financing (PDF)	505.45 KB