How to Improve Your Business and Save $50

The weeks are dwindling down for ABA member booksellers who want to participate in this year's ABACUS, the survey of independent bookstore operations for fiscal year 2006. Only 27 days remain to complete the easy-to-use online survey form. Booksellers who submit their 2006 financial data by August 15 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].