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Business Expenditures Survey
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The Business Expenses Survey (BES) was created originally to compile statistics on business operating expenses for Retail Trade, Wholesale Trade, and Service Industries. Expense data are key components of the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) input-output (I-O) accounts, which are a critical element in the calculation of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Prior to 2003, the BES was conducted quinquenially by a dedicated staff within the Census Bureau. Starting in 2003, the Service Annual Survey (SAS) began collecting selected expense items on their annual form. In 2004, Census and BEA formed a joint team, called the Core Expenses Group (CEG) to evaluate the collection of expense items across the many Census programs. The result of this team effort was a core set of expenses that have been collected on an annual basis since 2005 by the SAS and the Annual Survey of Manufacturers (ASM), and on a quinquennial basis by the Annual Retail Trade Survey (ARTS), Annual Wholesale Trade Survey (AWTS), and the Economic Census for Manufacturing, Construction, and Mining. The BES provides the only reliable National data on detailed business expenses by kind of business for covered industries.
Use of this data requires approval from the Internal Revenue Service. The Census Bureau will coordinate all additional necessary reviews.
Detailed Methodology
The BES is collected every five years coinciding with the collection of the Economic Census (generally years ending in "2" and "7"). Data collection begins in January following the census year. Reported data are requested for the calendar year. A new sample of businesses is introduced every five years.
Data for the BES are collected as a supplement to the Annual Surveys of Retail Trade (including Accommodation and Food Services), and Wholesale Trade. These mail-out/mail-back surveys cover about 29,000 retail, accommodation and food services, and merchant wholesale businesses with paid employees. Currently, the Business Expenses Supplement (BES) covers the following: Wholesale Distributors (North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 42, part) Retail Trade (NAICS 44-45) Merchant Wholesale excluding Manufacturers’ Sales Branches and Offices Previously covered by the predecessor Business Expenses Survey, expenses data coverage of most industries in the service sector as of 2005 is part of the Service Annual Survey. Expenses data for manufacturing, mining, and construction sectors are covered in respective parts of the Economic Census