Candle Business Tracker

Roy Juers
Apopka, FL

"Certified Candle Freak!"

Thanks for your enthusiasm, patience, suggestions, donations, & testimonials!

It means so much!


Version History
This section covers historical programming fixes or enhancements made to the Tracker.

This Page is for Reference Only.

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Here's what was added in Version 12.7.0106:

* expanded 6 rows for 9-oz scents announced today:
French  Lavender, Green Tea, Oriental Teakwood,
Sandalwood, Tahitian Spiced Vanilla & Texas Cedarwood

* Updated MSL tab to reflect the above

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Here's what was added in Version 12.7.0101:

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Here's what was added in Version 10.09.0912.

  1. Bella Beauty section created in JAN-DEC, COST, ADJ & SUMMARY.

  2. Specialty Candles section also created in the same tabs.

  3. Mileage tab updated to accept beginning & ending mileage odometer readings, so business mileage can be identified as a percentage of total mileage.

  4. All 2009 COTM scents were blended into the main scent list.

  5. 26-oz. Grande Jars are now shown for each scent (the rows for them are hidden, under scents for which the company has NOT yet released a Grande jar).

  6. The new Bella Bar pricing is now reflected in the Boutique section of JAN-DEC and the SUMMARY.

  7. The RETIRED tab now has a section for the old Bella Bars, which reflects the old pricing.

  8.  

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2009 Version 0601 is No Longer Available!

Here's what was added in Version 0601.

  1. SUMMARY, JAN-DEC, SCENTS, CUSTOMERS, & ADJ tabs:
    Mia Bella Beauty products released June 1st have been added.  They all appear in the
    Bella Boutique section.
    NOTE: THE NEW PRODUCTS WILL NOT APPEAR IN JAN-MAY.  This is normal.

  2. The StoreandShow checklist file has been also updated to include the entire Mia Bella Beauty cosmetics line, for when you take your products on the road.

  3. JAN-DEC, SCENTS:
    The APR, MAY, and JUN COTM's, and their stock #'s, have also been added.

  4. There's a new file available, on the Downloads page, called the IncomeAnalysis-0601.xls.  This is primarily for team-builders, who are looking for a way to keep a close watch on their commissions, with percentages of increase or decrease, to monitor their business growth.  There entire file is locked, except for the commissions columns (in green).

That's pretty much it!!  The only reason I released CBT-0601, was for people registering for the first time, or for those who haven't used Version 0301 for very long, and aren't that thrilled about going through the process of adding the Mia Bella Beauty line.

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Here's what was added or fixed in Version 0301.

  1. SUMMARY, JAN-DEC, SCENTS, CUSTOMERS, & ADJ tabs:
    New products announced on March 1st have been added.  They all appear in the
    Bella Boutique section, with one extra row.  NOTE: THE NEW PRODUCTS WILL NOT APPEAR IN JAN OR FEB.  This is normal.

  2. SUMMARY, JAN-DEC, SCENTS, CUSTOMERS, & ADJ tabs:
    There are more rows and columns, hidden from view, to accommodate 3 new Bakery products, and 64 more Boutique products, to allow for future expansion.

  3. JAN-DEC, SCENTS:
    The March COTM,
    Pear Pomegranate, and its stock #'s have been added.

  4. CUSTOMERS tab:
    Added the ability to change Sales Tax Added rows to "0", for customers who are tax-exempt, such as fundraisers.  This was supposed to be done in Version 0222, but apparently was overlooked.

  5. CUSTOMERS tab:
    The
    Discount column is now displayed as (-Discount). It now requires a negative number to work properly.  So enter a minus (-) sign before any discount amount, and the discount will appear in red & in (parentheses).

  6. SUMMARY tab:
    Adjusted the
    Cost of Ending Inventory column to not include discounts applied to purchases.  This was creating negative product cost when inventory was on the low end.  In the end, it's just a evaluation column anyway... the discounts are really applied in the Cost of Inventory Added column.

  7. JAN-DEC and ADJ tabs:
    A new Discount Code appears in the
    Discounts Section for Buy-3-Get-1-Free (B3G1).  Since it's mathematically the same as the Buy-9-Get-3-Free (B9G3), both these discounts can be entered using the same column.

That's all...

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Here's what was fixed or added in Version 0222.

  1. SUMMARY, JAN-DEC, SCENTS, CUSTOMERS, & ADJ tabs:
    New rows and columns appear for a single new product in the
    Bella Bakery   and 5 more in the Bella Boutique.  There are more rows and columns, hidden from view, that can accommodate another 2 Bakery products, and another 65 Boutique products, to allow for future expansion.

  2. CUSTOMERS tab: Product column headers are color-coded to match the SUMMARY.

  3. CUSTOMERS tab: The additions to the CUSTOMERS tab requires the following new cell range when sorting  (B5:FX124).

  4. All the pages that contain training lessons, are now referred to as modules, and the names of their web pages have been updated.

That's it... doesn't seem like much, but the CUSTOMERS tab required 9000 new or repaired formulas for it to work as designed.

Based on the SUMMARY tab error, I recommend everyone replace their version as time allows.  I can't image the Tracker needing any more work this year, so barring any unforeseen programming issue, this will be the last version of 2009 (unless I create updated versions for the newbies after new products are released).

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Here's what was fixed or added for Version 0216.  This version had to be pulled because it created problems when sorting CUSTOMERS, and there were incorrect formulas found in the ADJ tab, which affected the SUMMARY, and its Cost of Goods Sold.

  1. CUSTOMERS tab: A new column appears for Shipping and Handling charged to clients.

  2. The I & E tab was formatted to allow hiding columns that aren't needed.

That's it!  I wouldn't have released it, if it hadn't been for the sorting issue on CUSTOMERS, but the I & E column-hiding function was a good catch, too!

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Here's what was fixed or added for Version 0214.

  1. CUSTOMERS tab: The Sales Tax Rate is highlighted in yellow, so it's easier to see.

  2. CUSTOMERS tab: Columns were added to accommodate Hand Wash.

  3. CUSTOMERS tab: The Sales Tax Added column has been unlocked, so if you have a customer who is tax-exempt, enter "0" in this field to eliminate sales tax calculations.
    Note: This adds 2 columns to the cell range you'd select when Sorting.

  4. FEB tab: Spring Fever was added as COTM scent.

  5. FEB tab: This is a very minor issue, with no real consequence.  For Angel Wings Mia Melts, the Beginning Inventory column was displaying a whole number, instead of a number with one decimal.  So if the JAN tab's Ending Inventory had a decimal of .5 through .9, the FEB tab's Beginning inventory column would round up to the next whole number.  If it was .4 or less, FEB was rounding down.  Angel Wings in FEB was apparently the only scent and month affected.  This has been fixed.

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Here's what was discovered in Version 0115,
now fixed or added for
Version 0120.

Minor enhancements to the I & E tab, and in JAN-DEC, there are now  indicators next to Scents that are being Retired.

If you are using Version 0115, there's no pressing need to get
Version 0120, unless you want these minor enhancements.

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Here's what was discovered in Version 0112,
now fixed or added for
Version 0115.

  1. SUMMARY tabs: There are rows at the top for Jars, Melts & Votives.  The Cost of Products Added column was not accurate for these products, whenever you had both Current Jars, Melts or Votives and Retired ones.  It was adding in the Retired values twice, due to an error on the ADJ tab. The issue has been fixed.

  2. SUMMARY tab:  Has been locked to protect all formulas.

  3. RETIRED tab: Big Bad Grape and Juniper Breeze were added to the list.

  4. JAN-DEC and ADJ  tabs: More Discount Codes were made available... namely for the Bella Bars & other various products.

  5. JUN tab: COTM scent names from JAN-MAY were not carrying forward to the JUN tab, because the formulas were missing.  Also fixed.

  6. I & E tab: Rows were added to accommodate 300 entries.

  7. SCENTS tab: Rows were added to accommodate ending inventory of all new product rows, and formula error in the GRAND TOTALS row was corrected, which was doubling the total of Bella Bars in error.

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Here's what was discovered in Version 0105, addressed in Version 0112.

First, the January COTM, Wildflowers, and all its stock numbers, was added.

  1. A minor formula issue:

On the SUMMARY tab, there's a row near the top called Bakery Pie Summary, which is a total of all the individual Pie rows below it.  It had a minus sign (-) in the formula of its Retail Value of Ending Inventory column, creating a negative number, that should really be positive.  It's not a major issue, but it does affect the Total Inventory Retail Value in the upper left corner of the SUMMARY tab.  The issue has been fixed.

Three other very minor issues:

  1. Cranberry was missing from the RETIRED tab... fixed

  2. Apricot & Freesia misspelling (Apriocot) was corrected.

  3. Liquorice & Grape Seed pillars are listed twice in the RETIRED tab.  The first one should actually be Cactus & White Peach.  Also fixed.

Numbers (1) and (3) above could each be fixed ourselves, but you may want to get the Version 0112 to correct the formula error in the SUMMARY tab, and the new feature I added below.

On a happy note, I added two additional functions;

  1. On the Form8829 tab, I added the ability to change the Percentage of Business Use of the Home in any month, by unlocking the rows that display the percentage for each month.  I did this because if you moved during the year, there was no way to apply the new percentage to your expenses.
    Now that the row is unlocked, it's an easy thing to adjust.  I'll send a Tips & Tricks out on that soon.

  2. I also added the ability for you to use the Discounts Section in the JAN-DEC tabs, to account for Bella Balm Samples purchased at the Company Special of $49.95, for the 104-Pk.

Here's a tip for how the Tracker treats the way you enter Bella Balm Samples:
Using no discount code, the Tracker assumes the 52-pack at $35 ($0.67 ea)
Use the
Discounted Dozen code, and it assumes the 104-pack $55 ($0.53 ea)
Use the
Bella Blowout code, and it assumes the 104-pk at $49.95 ($0.48 ea)

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Update: Tuesday, 01/06/2009 12:45am

2009 Version 0101 had issues when sorting in the CUSTOMERS tab!  It's bizarre, but the mere act of sorting scrambled the formulas on the last 3 columns on the right side of the tab, resulting in bad data.

I downloaded 2009 Version 0101 to test it, and the columns of the CUSTOMERS tab look like they were already corrupted the last time I uploaded it to the server.
I recommend you download the
Version 2009-0105 and delete Version 0101.

Also, any Version beginning with '12', should also be deleted.

Top of Page^

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Update Contents

The 2009 Version's appearance is relatively unchanged from 2008.
It contains all the products released at our 2008 Summer Fling, and has some cool new functions that should please everyone.

The text in blue below, represents all enhancements made to the spreadsheet:

Changes in the
2009-1230 version released December 30, 2008, include:

  1. All the changes shown in the 0825 version below, are in this one, too.

  2. The DISContinued tab is now called RETIRED.

  3. The CUSTOMER-BASE tab is now simply called, CUSTOMERS.

  4. The Blueberry Cobbler, Hot Orange Danish, Mango Tea, and Sugar Cookie scents, have been moved from the main scent list of JAN-DEC, to the RETIRED tab.

  5. The original Sweet Orange & Chili Pepper Hand Wash, and the Cantaloupe & Kiwi Body Wash, were moved from the JAN-DEC tab's Bella Boutique Section, to the RETIRED tab.

  6. Adding COTM scent names in easier than ever before.  Now, the Tracker is truly set up so that the scent name of a COTM only has to be entered once (in the month it's released), and it copies throughout the rest of the document.

  7. The order of products has changed in the RETIRED tab. Since candle scent names can be added at any time, they are now listed after the other retired products (Body Wash, Hand Wash, and Pillars).  When adding scent names to the list and then sorting them, start sorting below the other products.

  8. The I & E tab has a little Profit/Loss/Self-Employment Tax section at the top, was improved to include the Cost of Goods Sold.  It's more accurate.

  9. Also in the I & E tab, I added a new column for Sales Tax Collected, so it'll be easier to track how much sales tax must be paid to your state (if you have a Reseller's License or State Sales Tax ID #).

  10. In the SUMMARY tab, new columns appear for Cost & MSRP for each item.  By doing this, it is much easier to change the Retail Price of any given item.  All that has to be done now, is change the MSRP for that item, rather than the older & much more complicated way of modifying the actual formulas themselves.

  11. In the MILEAGE tab, the top row of each month has a amount called "Rate Per Mile", which is pre-populated with the IRS' rate for 2009.  If however, IRS changes the rate mid-year (which they did in 2008), you just have to change the Rate Per Mile in the appropriate months.

  12. The CUSTOMER-BASE tab has been renamed to CUSTOMERS, and it now has new columns for Order Sub-Total, Discounts Given, Sales Price (before Tax), Sales Tax Charged, and Final Invoice Amount.  It will help to track discounts given to customers, and how much sales tax collected on orders.  You just need to enter your state's tax rate in the top right corner of the tab.

  13. In the SCENTS  tab, there are new rows that show the Current Inventory of all the Bella Boutique products.  Now, when the year is over, simply print the SCENTS  tab, and use the print to carry forward inventory to the next year.

  14. Any Other changes.

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Changes in the 0825 version released 08/25/2008, included:

  1. All the changes shown in the 0715 version below, are in this one, too.

  2. All the new products released at the 2008 convention are now present: Banana Cream Pie melts, Chocolate Dream Pie, Key Lime Pie, Strawberry Cream Pie, Clove & Bay Leaf Car Air Freshener, Foaming Hand Wash, and the Snow Place Like Home Holiday Jar.

  3. There's been a complete redesign of the JAN-DEC tabs.  Instead of seeing the entire list of scent names in separate sections for Jars, Melts, and Votives, you'll now see one "Candles" section, and the scents are listed only one time, with blocks of rows dedicated to managing the Jars, Melts & Votives in each scent.

  4. The order of products has changed in JAN-DEC.  Since candles are our mainstay product, they are now listed first, followed by the Bella Bakery and Bella Boutique sections.

  5. The links atop the JAN-DEC  tabs have changed.  Instead of links that jump you back & forth between Jars, Melts & Votives, the links are now letters of the alphabet, taking you to scent names that begin with each letter.  It's more streamlined, since you can now jump right to where you want to go.

  6. In the upper-left corner region of the JAN-DEC  tabs, there are also links to the Bakery Section, the Boutique Section, and the monthly candle totals.

  7. COTM scents are now listed after the B's and before the C's, rather than alphabetically under COTM.

  8. The original Hand Wash and Body Wash will remain in the JAN-DEC tabs until the end of 2008.  They are also in the DISCONTINUED (DISC) tabs, but the columns are hidden from view.  This was done to facilitate their phase-out for the 2009 version.

  9. The FRAGRANCE tab is now called the SCENTS tab.  For the most part it's the same, but now it also contains a summary of Discontinued scents too, so you can see your entire current & retired inventory at a glance.

  10. The SUMMARY tab now has a Grand Total for the Cost and Retail Value of all inventory, at the top margin.

  11. Certain rows are hidden from view in places they don't need to be seen.  This streamlines the Tracker even further.  Here are some examples:

    The
    COTM rows:  Future months are hidden, since they'll never be used... so if you're in the MAR tab, you won't see COTM rows for April-December, because you wont be using them until you get to those months.

    The new products:  They weren't released until late July, so they won't be visible in the
    JAN-JUN tabs.  And since they weren't released until the 28th of July, the first 26 days of the JUL tab, for those items, are "grayed out".

    Unavailable Items:  Some items aren't available.  For example, the new Banana Cream Pie is a scent only available in Melts, so its rows for Jars & Votives are hidden. The same applies to rows for Melts under "Unscented".
     

  12. There are now totals for all items entered into the Discounts Section
    (it was necessary to keep the Adjustments (ADJ) tab working).
     

Top of Page^

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A Bit of History

The 2008-0825 version of the Tracker was a major revision, and wasn't originally scheduled for release until 2009.  But Excel problems surfaced with the 0715 version, when I tried adding the new products released at the Summer Fling.  This was because the 0715 version was built & then re-built too many times.  The new 0825 version was built from scratch, and helped eliminate those Excel problems.

The development of the 2009 version, though, also saw some of the same Excel issues.  Basically, you can only do so much formatting in Excel before it starts to choke, and the Tracker is at that stage where very little more formatting can be done.  Fortunately, very little more formatting is needed.

COTM scent names can be added easily, so there's no need to release a new version every single month.  See the JAN-DEC Audio Training Lesson for details on adding COTM scent names.

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Thanks for visiting!

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------------------------------ Roy


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

 

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