It's not a major deal. The discounts available to C&R holders and the joy of direct delivery of C&R firearms is easily worth the extremely minor inconveniences.
The big thing to remember is that it is a record of your collection during the time the license is valid. If you already have C&R firearms, they do not need to be logged, but each and every acquisition and disposition while the license is in effect needs to be logged. There is always a row over "hey, I didn't use the license to get this, I don't think I should have to log it." The ATF's position is that if the license is valid and you acquire or dispose of any C&R firearm, you need to log that transaction. It's nothing more than a minute of writing.
I've had my C&R for a couple years now, and have not had any issues with it. I don't live in fear of a phone call saying "we want to look at your books," and if they did call, I'd probably just schedule to meet at their office anyway. Some folks obsess over the keeping of any records, but quite honestly, the C&R bound book is not as much info as we need to be keeping for insurance purposes alone anyway. We 03 FFLs are a law abiding bunch and the ATF knows it, so we're left pretty well alone. Just note the limitations on your license and stay within them (you can't order stuff to transfer to another- it's for your use and yours alone).
