ABACUS

It’s that time of year again: Time to complete ABACUS, ABA’s free annual financial benchmarking survey!

The July 23 deadline to complete the ABACUS survey will be here before you know it.

It’s that time of year again: Time to complete ABACUS, ABA’s free annual financial benchmarking survey!

The ABACUS reports for this cycle will cover 2019 and 2020 financial results, providing participating stores with a user-friendly overview of the economy with regards to the impact of COVID-19, informative graphs, and interpretive information.

Among other reveals, respondents’ net income before taxes has continued to grow and was positive for the third straight year.

More than 300 bookstores participated in the ABACUS-18 survey. On October 16, those stores received an e-mail with information about how to access a report analyzing their 2018 financial results. 

The results of the ABACUS survey help booksellers identify areas that need improvement, areas in which their store is succeeding, and everything in between. Submissions are due July 12.

The customized reports and online tools that reporting stores receive in return for filling out the survey provide a full picture of a bookstore’s financial performance.

To ensure the greatest number of participants, ABA has extended the deadline for ABACUS survey responses to Friday, July 12.

“ABACUS not only helps me run my business better, but it also allows ABA to illustrate to our industry partners the economic realities of indie bookstore operations,” said ABA Board President Jamie Fiocco.

By filling out the ABACUS survey, booksellers will receive a full benchmarking report, a customized bookstore performance report, and a range of online tools that provide a variety of specific analyses.

ABACUS is “as necessary to our business as a point of sale system, a website, or phone system,” said Len Vlahos of Tattered Cover Book Store.

The customized reports and online tools that reporting stores receive in return for filling out the survey provide a full picture of a bookstore’s financial performance.

The customized reports and online tools that reporting stores receive in return for filling out the survey provide a full picture of a bookstore’s financial performance.