Candle Business Tracker

Getting Started

The Candle Business Tracker (or CBT) is easy-to-use, even for beginners, so long as you take the time to familiarize yourself with it, and review the Training Series.

There are a few basic things you should know, and do, to get started on the right track when you begin using it.  Here are some things that will help you get started;

Please review them all, before contacting us for support!  That will help us a lot!

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Getting Started After You've Downloaded the Tracker

No matter which version you use, or in what month you begin using it, it's best to review the Get Started page, and listen to the Training Audios. 

If you have questions, Contact Me Directly for Quick Answers.

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Go Through the Training Lessons-

Even if you're experienced with Excel®, it still helps to go through the
Training Audios page.

You can probably skip the Excel Basics lesson if you know Excel pretty well, but it helps to familiarize yourself with all the functionality of the Tracker, before you contact us for support.   Many answers can be found there.

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Size Matters

The CBT for 2012 has grown into a whopping 12.1 MB, due to the new formatted style, 100 scents in 5 prodcut types, and dozens of other products.

So downloading it, even with high-speed internet will take 15-30 seconds... for those with dial-up, you might as well get a cup of coffee or throw some laundry in, 'cause it'll take awhile!   At 56Kbps (Dial-up speed), it'll take at least several minutes.

The CBT is so big, it takes Excel over 20 seconds, just to open it.  This is normal!

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Entering Your Inventory into the CBT for the First Time:

When you first start using the Tracker, here's what you'll want to do first:

• Use a sheet of paper to tally all products you currently have, but keep any Candle of the Month (COTM) products separate.

• Open the CBT and click on the JAN tab.

• Enter your inventory (except the COTM products) in the Beginning Inventory column of the JAN tab of the spreadsheet.

• Add your COTM products in the appropriate tab of the month they were released, on the day your COTM is run (typically 1st, 5th, or 10th).

• Add COTM scents names, in the month they are released.  Add the name just one time, in Column B, where ReplaceNameHere appears sideways. Just click on that cell, type the scent name, and hit Enter.   You'll notice the scent name will then copy throughout the rest of the CBT.

• Enter your mileage from business trips, and see it automatically transfer to your expense spreadsheet

• Enter your State Sales Tax rate in the CUSTOMERS (7.5% is pre-populated, but you can change it to your current rate).

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The Most Common Misconception About Entering Data:

If you try to enter something in, and you get a warning from Excel that says,
"The cell you are trying to change is protected and therefore read-only...",
it simply means the data you're trying to enter really belongs in a different place.

Hidden underneath the hood of the Tracker are many complex formulas.  You don't have to worry about them, but they are locked to prevent them from being deleted or corrupted by accident... hey, it happens!

So you won't need the password, and there should almost never be a need to unlock the document!

Please go through the audio training lessons, to avoid having trouble in this area.

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Backup, Backup, Backup!!

Remember to back up a copy of your CBT to an external hard drive or a rewritable CD, if possible, every time you make changes to it.  It's easy to do, and will soon become habit.

When you're finished working with your main version, hit "Save", and then, hit "Save As...", and save it as your backup copy (whatever you decide to call it).

Unfortunately things happen with computers, and I can't stress enough, the importance of backing up all your data.  Typically, an external hard drive large enough to store your entire computer's capacity (say 500GB or so) can be had for under a hundred bucks... a small price to pay for security if the Tracker crashes, or if your computer crashes, or otherwise gets destroyed or stolen.

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Donations for Future Enhancements

Many of you know, it took months & hundreds of hours to create the Tracker, its  complete support website, the Audio Training Lessons and the Tax Deduction Guide.  Maintaining, updating and testing them all simultaneously has been a massive project.  Between that, and supporting everyone who uses them, it's consumed an incredible amount of time over the past 18 months or so.

Please consider donating towards the Tracker's future.  Think about the value these tools provide for you, the time invested in creating them, and what it might normally cost to have a professional build them.  It's not required, but any donation is greatly appreciated.  If you choose to give, we thank you in advance!!

To donate, you can either;

• Send a check to Roy Juers, PO Box 4012, Woodbridge, VA 22194, or

• Donate electronically using the PayPal Donate button below:

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Getting Support-

I'm here to help answer any questions you have about using the CBT, but I can't  diagnose things that may be happening on your computer itself.  I can assist you better if you provide me with a little information... things like:

• Which version of the CBT you are currently using?

• What kind of computer you use (PC or Mac) and what Operating System?

• Do you have Microsoft Excel® installed on your computer, and if so, which version (2003, 2007, etc.)?   Or do you have an Excel-friendly program like Open Office installed on your computer?

• What tab of the CBT you were in when you began experiencing trouble?

• Exactly what you were trying to do when you began experiencing trouble?

• Have you gone through the Training Audio Series yet?

This information helps me a lot, so when writing for support for the first time, please try to include that info. 

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Do Not Call the Company for CBT Support-

While this website is linked to, through your company back office, and even though the company has approved this document, their Customer Service and IT Support teams cannot provide support for the CBT, and this is by design. 

One thing I wanted to ensure, is that the company doesn't get burdened with questions about the CBT, because they don't know the document, and their time is too valuable helping us maintain our distributorships. 
That's why the CBT document itself is not in the back office.

Since this website was built exclusively for CBT distribution, training and support, it's here where you should initiate any contacts to get help... and I'll be happy to provide it... this baby's my pride & joy, so I'd love to see lots of people using it!

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Roy Juers, Candle Business Tracker Author; 1307 Villa Ln,  Apopka, FL  32712
PH: (703) 232-0832

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