Inventory

The book is selling very well and I'd call this launch a huge success. It will be a while before we break even, but if published books only sell an average of 150 copies, we are well on our way to beating the average. Excellent!

Today, someone asked me how many books we've sold and I had to think for a bit. Let's see... this many at the conference, then add in the ones from the party, plus the two to my friend, the ones I dropped off at the bookstore, the ones Laura bought (but do those really count toward overall sales numbers?), several copies my mother-in-law said she bought from Amazon... um... I think... we've sold... this many? No, I forgot the five my friend bought as gifts. So that's ... um... wait... I lost my count.

This is ridiculous. I've been writing them down one by one in a notebook; the ones I've sold and the one's I've given away as gifts or as promotional copies. I'm positive I haven't forgotten to write any down, but I don't have a way to keep track automatically. I can't just pull up a number on any day and say, Ah ha! I've sold 50! Instead, I have to use my fingers and count hatch marks. Not a good way to run a business.

I've been learning how to use Peach Tree accounting software, and for creating invoices, it's great. Supposedly, once I learn how to use the program properly, it can tell me instantly what my sales are, my earnings, and eventually, my profit. I've been trying to input every sale into a Peach Tree invoice and I THINK I've figured it out. My husband told me the college teaches classes on how to use Peach Tree. You mean this program is so complicated you need a college class to use it? Great!

I ran across a software program "specifically for publishers." But it's $295.00 bucks. Seeing as I've already maxed one credit card, I'm not sure my business budget can handle another big bill. But what money am I losing simply by wandering around Peach Tree aimlessly? I'd better look into other options.

In the meantime, I'll keep plugging away at Peach Tree, so at least I can have a basic idea of where my books are going and who has actually PAID for one.