What happens when customers get behind on instrument rental payments or rental instruments aren’t returned? At 2015 Summer NAMM, Robin Sassi and Kimberly Deverell of San Diego Music Studio gave music retailers the lowdown on collections for rental instruments. Sassi and Deverell spoke frankly from 21 years of experience in business and shared valuable tips on how to avoid pitfalls, improve collections and help the bottom line.

Eighty-eight percent of consumers are more likely to make a purchase from an online shop if it promises free shipping. Still, several factors need to be taken into consideration when determining if offering free shipping is feasible for your retail business. Bryan Van Suchtelen of Lojistic weighs in.

Is debt ever good for music retailers? It can be, according to financial gurus Alan Friedman and Daniel Jobe of Friedman, Kannenberg & Co. At the 2015 NAMM Show, they discussed the appropriate kinds of debt and when debt can create opportunity for a business to grow. Check out this session, and discover what this could mean for your store.

You don’t need an accounting degree to take financial control of your music retail business. At the 2015 NAMM Show, Lori Supinie, president of Senseney Music, offered 10 simple financial tips that will help you make better decisions and give you financial peace of mind. Find out how to keep your music store in the black, create a fiscally minded staff, prevent employee theft and more.

Do you have one too many products celebrating a birthday at your store? Is distressed merchandise choking your inventory? At the 2015 NAMM Show, Bob Popyk, sales expert and Music Trades Magazine columnist, and Alan Friedman, music retail financial guru and partner at Friedman, Kannenberg & Co., teamed up to reveal practical ideas to move obsolete and dated merchandise out the door.

At 2014 Summer NAMM, Robert Christie, owner of A & G Central Music, gave music retailers the straight skinny on repair shop profitability. He focused on the financial side of a successful repair department, how to apply the same sales strategies you use on your sales floor with repairs and how the repair shop interacts with your overall business strategy. “All of these contacts we have with the customers are an opportunity to sell our repair shop,” Christie said.

The school year is drawing to a close. If you have kids, you’re probably planning for their summer activities. But have you looked further into the future—to the day when your kids say “goodbye” to home and “hello” to the college dorm? And when that day arrives, will you be financially prepared to pay for their higher education?

Whether the economy is strong or sluggish, it’s wise to keep a fiscal tight rein on your business. This will protect you during downturns and maximize your profitability in more stable times. Establishing a fiscally sound operation requires simple and long-term changes, but rest assured: There are steps you can take today to get started. Tracy Leenman of Musical Innovations shows you how.

Just as you can’t build a house without a plan, you can’t build a profitable music retail operation without a roadmap. Lori Supinie, president of Senseney Music in Wichita, Kan., offers her 10 best "do's" for stress-free financial operations. Use this as a checklist to keep your music retail business in the black, create a fiscally minded staff and prevent employee theft.

Many business owners have an inflated sense of what their companies are worth. If you want to increase the value of your music store, you need to boost your bottom line. Identifying and exploiting your company's value drivers will result in improved operations and greater profitability. Business valuation expert John DelGrego shows how.