Setting up a profitable database for your business requires a well-designed jewelry software program. But how do you tell if a jewelry software program is well designed? Here are a few questions to ask before making a purchase.

• Is the jewelry software program easy to learn and use?
• Has the program been around long enough to be fully field-tested in a number of retail jewelry stores?
• Is the program constantly updated to meet new marketing challenges, changing retail conditions and tax reporting requirements?

Once you have purchased a jewelry software program, its time to decide what information to cultivate.

The database is only as good as the information you collect

You probably wont want to collect all the data your jewelry software is designed to collect. Just because a program is able to accumulate a lot of different information, doing so can turn an easy job into a difficult one. By the same token, keep the future in mind. Sometimes information that is not needed today may become important later on. So look ahead when planning how to use your jewelry software, but dont fall into the trap of information overload.

Start with the most essential data that should be stored in your jewelry software. This will probably be:

• Customer contact information
• Product or Services purchased
• Purchase price and picture of an item
• Inventory

When setting up your customer contact information, be certain to include e-mails. Even if you dont have a use for them right now, they may turn out to be gold in the future. Plus they are easy to add to any jewelry software customer database.

Other information you may want to include in your jewelry software database might be:

• Information requested and provided to a customer
• Warranties or insurance purchased (if applicable)
• Any gem quality disclosures discussed.

A good jewelry software program will also allow you to collect specialized information that might be applicable to just your store. If you have such a need and dont know how to incorporate it into your jewelry software, contact the programs customer support.

Once you begin collecting data in your jewelry software program ...use it.

Nothing is more useless than a lot of information sitting idle in a jewelry software program. Use it to plan and execute advertising programs...control inventory...order new items...and help make other business decisions. Get in the habit of using your jewelry software everyday and it will quickly become one of your best and most profitable business partners.