Quarterly Business Indicators Survey for ABS Business Reporting

This survey collects a range of information to produce important data about income, employment, labour costs and other expenses. Depending on the size, industry and other characteristics of a business, we may also ask for operating profit and inventories figures. 

Each business included in QBIS has been selected to make sure the statistics we produce represent the whole Australian business community.  

Businesses of a range of sizes and industries throughout Australia are included in QBIS, as they are all affected differently by government policies and economic events. Each business selected represents a part of the business community, and their contribution is critical to make sure our statistics tell the whole story.  

Small businesses play a critical role in the economy and we consider the activities of small businesses to be as important as larger businesses.  

Smaller businesses have specific characteristics and can be impacted by events in different ways to larger businesses. As a small business, your participation in QBIS means our statistics will reflect the small business experience. 

Your participation in this survey provides us with data that is essential for calculating Australia’s major economic statistics, including Gross Domestic Product (GDP), as well as contributing to statistics in Australian National Accounts: National Income, Expenditure and Product. 

The results from this survey are published in Business Indicators, Australia and include statistics about profits, inventories, sales, and wages and salaries.  

These statistics are used by industry, government and individual businesses to understand Australia’s economy and make informed decisions. 

Yes. Under the Census and Statistics Act 1905, you are obliged to provide the information requested by the ABS. We follow up delayed responses and will assist you if you are having difficulties. 

The length of time that a business is selected in any particular survey will depend on factors such as the size of the business, the number of businesses with similar characteristics, and how significant the activities of the business are to the overall results. 

Smaller businesses have a lower chance of selection and will usually be included in QBIS for three years at a time. However, there are exceptions to this and some small businesses could need to stay in longer than three years, particularly if the business has a significant impact on measurement of economic activity, for example, due to the type or location of the business. 

Yes. The industry, business and government users of QBIS statistics need the most accurate and timely information possible so they can make well-informed decisions which impact Australian businesses and communities. Please note that near final accounts or careful estimates are acceptable where final data is not available. 

Yes. Protecting your privacy and keeping your information secure is of the utmost importance to the ABS. Your information will be treated confidentially, and we assure you that you and the business that you are reporting for will not be identifiable in any published results.   

We comply with the Australian Privacy Principles. If you believe we have breached these principles, please see the information on how to lodge a complaint about privacy matters, contained within our privacy policy. 

The ABS is governed by the dates and deadlines given to us by the Reserve Bank of Australia and National Accounts. QBIS figures are an essential part of the quarterly GDP figures. As a result, the due date for QBIS, which occurs prior to the BAS deadline, cannot be changed, as the timely release of quarterly GDP figures are relied on by key government and private sector stakeholders and international organisations. 

If the business was sold before the beginning of the quarter, please call us on 1800 735 060 (+61 2 6252 8814 outside Australia) to let us know. 

If the business was sold during the reference period and you still have access to the accounts up to the sale date, report what you have and provide a comment to indicate the date of sale. Please also indicate the name of the new business owners if known. 

If you no longer have access to the accounts, us on 1800 735 060 (+61 2 6252 8814 outside Australia) to advise us of the date of sale, and the name of the new business owners if known. 

If a business was operating but did not trade during the quarter, you will still need to submit your report with zero figures. A comment to indicate the business did not trade will also help us to understand your situation. If you connect to accounting software to use ABS Business Reporting, mapping your accounts will produce a report with zeros in all fields. When the business resumes trade in future, the accounts you have selected can be reused. Alternatively, you can choose not to connect to accounting software and enter zero figures manually.

If a business has gone into liquidation or administration during the quarter, please complete the survey using figures up to, and including, the day that the business was liquidated or went into administration. Please also provide a comment to indicate the date that this occurred. 

If you are unable to access the accounts, then the liquidator or administrator should complete the survey. Where this is not possible, best available estimates of the data should be provided. It is acceptable to provide an estimate based on a percentage change from the previous year’s figures. Where estimates are not possible, please call us on 1800 735 060 (+61 2 6252 8814 outside Australia) and one of our team will be happy to assist you. 

Each quarter, the ABS sends correspondence with instructions to access the latest quarter’s survey form. Simply go online to ABS Business Reporting and Sign up to create an account or, if you already have one, Log in.

If you use Xero, cloud-based MYOB or QuickBooks Online you can choose to securely connect to your accounting software, making it easier to complete your survey. Alternatively, you can manually enter information to complete your survey. 

For assistance using ABS Business Reporting, see Getting started or Troubleshooting. 

Employment is a headcount of all people who worked for the business as proprietors, partners, salaried directors, or other employees in the reference pay period. It excludes contractors, as well as casual, or seasonal employees, who are on the payroll, but did not work during this pay period. 

Sales and services income includes all gross income generated from the sale of goods or provision of services from each state/territory in which your business operates. This excludes the Goods and Services Tax (GST), and is net of any discounts given.

Please include:

• sales or transfers to related businesses or to overseas branches of this business
• for long term contracts include progress payments billed
• export sales (f.o.b.)
• rent, leasing and hiring income
• income from consulting services
• repair and service income and fees
• contract, subcontract and commission income
• management fees/charges from related and unrelated businesses
• sponsorship income
• income from operating leases
• delivery charges separately invoiced or itemised to customers
• commission earned from providing the service of travel bookings
• total income earned from tours directly provided
• commission earned from providing services
• income earned from the provision of labour hire or recruitment services.

Please exclude:

• excise and duties received (on behalf of the government)
• sales of assets
• export freight charges
• interest income (include this in Interest income)
• income from finance leases
• payments received under hire purchase arrangements
• royalties income (include this in Remaining income)
• natural resource royalties income (include this in Remaining income).

For wages and salaries including employee entitlements, please report: 

• All wages and salaries, including provisions for employee entitlements - gross (i.e. before tax). 

• Employee entitlements include provisions for wages, annual leave, sick leave, superannuation contributions, salary sacrificed for superannuation contributions or other purposes, and long service leave. These liabilities are measured at the present value of management’s best estimate of the expenditure required to settle the present obligation. 

• People employed on a fixed term contract; e.g. temporary staff or workforce, should only be included if they were paid through the payroll during the reference pay period and Pay As You Go (PAYG) tax was deducted for them. 

• Please do not report: 

  • Payments made to another business for the supply of staff on a fee or contract basis, where the staff entitlements are paid by the business supplying the employees. 

  • Any costs incurred by your business in the conduct of its own recruitment processes (e.g. payment directly to newspapers for running job vacancy advertisements). 

  • Payments made to contractors or sub-contractors operating under their own ABN. 

For superannuation, please only include employer contributions paid into superannuation. This does not include personal superannuation contributions for business owners not drawing a wage. It also does not include salary sacrificed for superannuation contributions, please report these in wages and salaries.

Inventories include all materials, work in progress and finished goods owned by the business, whether held at locations of the business or elsewhere (except overseas).

Inventories should be reported at book value at the end of the reference quarter and split into the following three categories:

• Raw materials - goods that a business holds with the intention of using to produce other goods, or in rendering services. For example, iron ore to produce steel (produce a good) or raw food to make a restaurant meal (provide a service).
• Work-in-progress - goods that still require work to reach the condition they are to be sold in, such as partially assembled machinery. The value of work-in-progress inventories should be reported net of progress payments billed.
• Finished goods - goods that are to be sold in their current condition, including goods for resale.

Inventories do not include depreciable assets of the business or inventories held overseas.

We provide statistics free of charge on our website. Statistics produced from QBIS are published in Business Indicators, Australia and contribute to statistics in the Australian National Accounts: National Income, Expenditure and Product. 

When you report using ABS Business Reporting, you will also be presented with a sample of the statistics we produce from the information you and others provide for the Quarterly Business Indicators Survey.  

You can call us on 1800 735 060 (+61 2 6252 8814 outside Australia) Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm AEST. If you call outside these hours, please leave a message with your contact details and we will return your call as soon as possible.

You can also use our online Business Surveys Contact Form to outline the details of your situation and we will be in touch.