According to the NRA (National Restaurant Association), the 2010 restaurant industry forecasts a 2.5% increase in sales over 2009. McDonald's same store sales are up by 2.6% which includes a 4.3% sales increase in Europe, but a 0.7% drop in U.S. sales.

To see the McDonald's article, go to:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mcdonalds-same-store-sales-rise-26-in-january-2010-02-09

Chain store sales are up by 1.8% (week ended February 6 compared to the previous year). Forecasters are looking for February sales to increase by 2%.

To see the chain store article, go to:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mcdonalds-same-store-sales-rise-26-in-january-2010-02-09

Who cares?

It baffles me to see how many retailers don't care. Whenever I visit a retail store or restaurant (either as a consultant or friend), I always ask, "How's business?" The answer is normally unanalytical. I hear answers like; so-so, bad, not as good as last year, OK, somewhat better than last year and so on. I never hear someone tell me that sales are up 2.5% or down 1.6% from last year.

Very few small retailers seem to keep a Beat Yesterday Book or equivalent. Shari Waters from About.com Retailing offers her views on the importance of a Beat Yesterday Book below.

Retailers shuffle a lot of paperwork. There are Balance Sheets, Profit and Loss statements, Sales & Use forms and more to keep track of a business' financial health. But ask a retailer how their business is doing and many times he or she will have to call their accountant for the answer.

What that retailer doesn't know is that by having the daily, weekly and yearly sales figures on hand, the store's manager can compare this year's sales figures with last year's. By creating a Beat Yesterday Book, that is a central location to jot down daily sales, the retailer will have all this information at a glance. Many successful large retail chain stores have been doing this for decades.

Not only can the retailer track sales with the Beat Yesterday Book, he or she will be able to see any event that may have impacted those sales. We can't always remember what the weather was like last March or what in-store sales event was going on at the time. Sometimes a community happening will cause a decrease or increase in sales and retailers will want to be prepared. This is where the Beat Yesterday Book will come in handy.

Better yet, place your sales figures on a spreadsheet. You should include the date, sales figures, and some notes for each entry. This will allow you to easily compare sales figures from one year to another and monitor trends. Always add notes to your figures. For example, your sales may be lower on a particular day due to a snow storm. They may be higher on another particular day due to a holiday or special sales event.

Why should you care about McDonald's sales or chain store sales? It gives you an indication how the competition is doing. If McDonald's USA sales are down, it is likely that your sales will be down. On the other hand, if McDonald's sales are down and your sales are up, you are beating the competition. Likewise, if chain store sales are down, your sales are also likely to be down. If chain store sales are up, you sales should be up. If chain store sales are down and your sales are up, you're beating the competition.

Having a Beat Yesterday Book or spreadsheet allows you to compare how you are doing compared to previous years. Are you up by 5%? That's good. If you are down, you need to do something about it. These statistics should be at every owner's and every manager's fingertips. You never know when I am going to come in and ask.

To see some major retail store month by month statistics (pretty interesting stuff), go to:

http://retailindustry.about.com/od/statisticsresearch/a/samestoresalescomparison.htm

Don't forget to click on next (on the above site) to see even more data.

For more information on Shari Waters, the Beat Yesterday Book, and About.com Retailing go to:

http://retail.about.com/od/finances/qt/compare_sales.htm

My #5 software program you really need is Malwarebytes.

It's FREE. I have no doubt that it is the best program for removing malware (viruses and spyware) on your computer. It is fast and uses little resources. When  you close down the program, it doesn't use any resources.

I spend a lot of time cleaning up computers that are infected with spyware or viruses. I normally spend about an hour trying to remove problems. If it takes longer than an hour, it could be time to reinstall Windows.

One of our readers recommended Malwarebytes. I gave it a try and it works. Malwarebytes has worked on about the last 20 computers that I've worked with. It found and got rid of all problems on those infected computers.

Here's the big question. If you are using Norton Internet Security or another anti-malware program, why should you need Malwarebytes? That's a great question.

Norton Internet Security and others normally stop most problems, but some malware programs are just too smart. You get a popup that tells you to click on an icon to remove a virus. You were fooled into installing a virus.

Malwarebytes will not prevent a problem from infecting your computer. It will clean off your computer once infected.

Even if you believe your computer is completely malware free, you can use Malwarebytes to find and clean any items that your present Internet Security program may have missed.

Remember, your Internet Security program is always running in the background. Malwarebytes only operates when you start it. It stops working when you close it. It uses absolutely no resources (RAM) when not being used.

I know most of the other free and not free antimalware programs. In my opinion, this is the best. It is also CNET's Editor's Choice and gets outstanding user reviews.

To download and find out more about Malwarebytes, go to:

http://www.malwarebytes.org/products.php

To see more information about Restaurant Employee Wages and Benefits (from the Bureaus of Labor Statistics) go to:

http://www.foodservicewarehouse.com/education/restaurant-operations/employee-wages-and-benefits.aspx