Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for bookstores.
A checklist built from how bookstores work, to print or save as a PDF and bring to any supplier meeting.
What the software should cover
Tick each one that matters to your business.
- Title and edition catalogue
- Publisher terms and purchase orders
- Receiving against delivery notes
- Sale-or-return and return to publisher
- Special orders and reservations
- School, library and bulk supply
- Author events and consignment stock
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- Owner view
- Book buyer
- At the counter
- Events coordinator
- Accounts clerk
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Sales by subject and publisher
- Titles with one copy left
- Returnable stock by closing date
- Special orders open and received
- School and library quotes outstanding
- Gift card liability
- Loan stock settled by event
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- Barcode scanner
- Receipt printer
- Card payments
- SMS or WhatsApp
- Accounting export
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- Does it handle ISBNs and editions?
- Can it tell which copies we can still send back?
- How are special orders followed?
- Can we quote a school from a reading list?
- Do second-hand books fit in the same system?
- Can we sell gift cards?
- How do we get our catalogue in?
- Who owns the sales and stock records?
- What does it cost?
- Is it useful for a small shop with a single till?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- Editions and ISBNs get mixed up
- Return windows pass unnoticed
- Special orders vanish into notes
- School and library lists are quoted by hand
- Consignment and event stock is not reconciled
Prefer to talk it through? See the bookstores page.