HomeBase® 2.3
HomeBase is our free inventory management software. You can work with it offline to catalogue and mange your books. Click here for information on installing HomeBase. Everything you should need to know about how to use HomeBase can be found on our HomeBase 2.3 User Guide. This includes how to add and edit books, how to manage catalogs, how to send your data to AbeBooks, and much more. Below are our FAQs for HomeBase 2.3.
Sending book data to AbeBooks:
HomeBase 2.3 has an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) facility built-in, making uploading files directly from HomeBase to AbeBooks quick and easy. Once you have registered and your bookseller account has been activated, you will need to enter your User ID and account password into HomeBase before you send your first inventory file to AbeBooks. If you are not sure what your User ID is, you can check by signing onto your AbeBooks account and selecting [Your Personal Information] and then [Update Your Account Information]. Your User ID will be displayed at the top of the screen.
To enter and save your User ID and password in HomeBase:
1. Select [View] from the grey menu bar at the top of the HomeBase screen. 2. Then select [Options]. 3. Enter your User ID and re-enter your password to ensure that it is correct. 4. Click [Apply]. 5. Click [OK]. Once your User ID and password have been saved within HomeBase 2.3, you will be able to send your book data to AbeBooks directly from HomeBase via FTP.
Sending a file of ‘All Books’ to AbeBooks:
The first file that you send to AbeBooks should include all the books you have added to HomeBase. To send a file that includes all your books: 1. In the grey menu bar click [File], then [Import/Export], and then [Export/Send to AbeBooks]. 2. In the 'Send Data to AbeBooks' box, select [Upload Books]. 3. Clear the [Changes since last load date] option*. 4. Select the [All Books] option**. 5. Click the [Send] button. 6. Click the [Save] button. A summary of the number of books being sent to AbeBooks is displayed. 7. Click [OK]. The data is exported to a saved file. 8. Click [OK] in the Export Summary box. 9. Click the [Connect] button. A message is displayed stating that, "Connection to ftp.abebooks.com successful." 10. Click the [Send File] button. 11. Click the [Exit] button when the message, "Transfer complete, closing connection," is displayed. * To send only your updates, ensure the [Changes since last load date] option is checked and skip Step 4 above. ** To purge your books, follow the steps above and during Step 4, also check the “Purge” box. This will ensure that the full file you send us replaces everything that you have online. This will correct any discrepancies and help keep your data up-to-date. Once you have uploaded a file to AbeBooks, you will receive an email confirming the file has been received and additional details about the file.
Managing Sold Books in HomeBase 2.3:
It is important to ensure that your online inventory is up-to-date, especially after your first orders have been processed. A book ordered via AbeBooks will automatically be removed from your online inventory, however it is extremely important to also update the book's status in HomeBase. Marking that book as 'Sold' will ensure that the book is not erroneously re-listed with future uploads. It is also important that books sold through other channels are marked as 'Sold' in HomeBase so they are removed from your online inventory. To remove books from the AbeBooks online system using HomeBase 2.3, you are required to change the status of your sold books to [Sold] and then send these changes to AbeBooks. Important Note: It is very important that you do not delete book records from HomeBase 2.3. Your books will only be completely removed from your AbeBooks inventory if you have marked them as [Sold] and sent the changes to AbeBooks. It is imperative that you send your [Sold] book records to AbeBooks on a regular basis, in order to prevent orders for previously sold books.
To mark books as [Sold] in HomeBase:
1. Click [Books] in the red bar. The [Find Books] screen is displayed. 2. Select the book you wish to update. 3. Double click to open the book record. 4. Select [Sold] from the Status list. 5. Click the [Save] button and then click [OK]. Note: There is a shortcut for marking books as [Sold]. On the [Find Books] screen, select the sold books. You can select multiple books by using Ctrl+click. Right-click and select [Mark Selected Books as Sold]. The best way to keep track of sold books in HomeBase is to create a "Sold" catalog and move all of your sold books into it.
To create a Sold catalog:
1. Click [Catalogs] in the red bar. The [Catalogs] screen is displayed. 2. Click the [Add] button, or select [Add] from the 'Edit' menu. The [Add Catalog] box is displayed. 3. Enter the catalog name as "Sold" or "Sold Books" and enter a description (optional). 4. Click the [Save] button. 5. Click [Books] in the red bar. 6. In the Tools menu, select [Move all sold books to]. 7. Select the "Sold" catalog you just created from the drop-down list. Click the [OK] button. All books marked "Sold" will now be moved into your "Sold" catalog. You can now send your books to AbeBooks as you normally would. Other HomeBase 2.3 FAQs:
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