Ongoing Sales and Tax Reporting Pilot Program currently testing consensus-based file formats for both physical and digital books

New York, NY (November 8, 2010) -- Following seven months of intense development and testing, the Book Industry Study Group (BISG) is near completion on a set of recommended best practices for sales and tax reporting for both physical and digital books. Once complete, the new best practices will provide much-needed guidance around the content and structure of a common set of sales and tax reporting elements in a singular format.

The new best practices for sales and tax reporting will address the critical need for industry-wide digital sales reporting guidance made even more acute by the ongoing growth in digital product sales.

"There's been a tremendous amount of interest in the speedy development of sales and tax reporting best practices," said BISG's Deputy Executive Director, Angela Bole. "This interest resulted in an immense collaborative effort with participation from experts across the supply chain. I'm pleased that BISG was able to bring together representatives from leading wholesalers, retailers, data service providers and publishers, all taking the time to provide input into the final product."

In all, over 25 companies participated in the development of the consensus-based best practices. Those who moved into the pilot program, currently in its final stages, include Baker & Taylor, Ingram Content Group, OverDrive, RoyaltyShare (on behalf of Hachette Book Group), Simon & Schuster and Taylor & Francis (UK division). As part of the pilot program, participating companies are simulating actual data interfacing as well as the send and receive reporting processes in flat file (.xls) formats. Following this, the participating companies will complete a detailed questionnaire and take part in one-on-one interviews to assist BISG in evaluating whether the flat file templates are meeting the industry need.

"The Book Industry Study Group's leadership role in facilitating the standards for exchanging data between publishers, wholesalers and retailers has allowed us to make tremendous integration strides in a short period of time," said Dan Johnson, Senior Vice President of Information Systems Development at Baker & Taylor. "We have adopted the proposed sales and tax reporting best practices and are including them in every new contract."

BISG has worked closely with its international counterpart, EDItEUR, to ensure that the final recommendations will be consistent with comparable standards and best practice recommendations being adopted in other countries. By adopting BISG best practices and EDItEUR standards, companies with international operations can be sure their reporting practices meet the requirements of varying tax regimes.

BISG expects the pilot program to wrap up by mid-November 2010. Progress reports will then be shared with BISG’s Supply Chain EDI Committee, the body overseeing the best practice development, before being shared with the book industry at large sometime in January 2011. Full roll out of new best practices, including flat file (.xls) and XML format recommendations, will be complete by the second quarter of 2011.

Media Contacts:
Angela Bole
Book Industry Study Group, Inc.
angela@bisg.org
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About Book Industry Study Group, Inc.
The Book Industry Study Group, Inc. (BISG) is the U.S. book industry's leading trade association for policy, standards and research. The mission of BISG is to create a more informed, empowered and efficient book industry supply chain for both physical and digital products. Membership consists of publishers, manufacturers, suppliers, wholesalers, retailers, librarians, and others engaged in the business of print and electronic media. For over 30 years, BISG has provided a forum for all industry professionals to come together and efficiently address issues and concerns to advance the book community. Learn more about BISG at www.bisg.org.

About EDItEUR
EDItEUR is the global trade standards organization for the book and journal supply chain. Based in London, EDItEUR has members in 18 countries around the world and is best known for the ONIX family of standards; it also provides management for the International ISBN Agency. Contact Mark Bide, Executive Director (mark@editeur.org) for more information.

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