The questions cover income, employment, labour costs and other expenses. We may also ask for operating profit and inventory figures depending on the size, industry and other characteristics of your business.
Quarterly Business Indicators Survey for ABS Business Reporting
Information about your Quarterly Business Indicators Survey, what to report and why your contribution is important.
Ready to complete your survey?
If you have received an email or letter asking you to complete your survey, go to ABS Business Reporting to get started.
Contact us
If you can't find what you need on this page, outline the details of your situation in our online Business Surveys Contact Form and we will be in touch. Alternatively, you can call us on 1800 642 149 (+61 2 6252 8802 overseas) Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm AEST.
You may also find an answer to your question on our ABS Business Reporting help page, which includes hints and tips to help you complete your survey using ABS Business Reporting.
Purpose of the survey
Each quarter, we ask businesses of all shapes and sizes to participate in our Quarterly Business Indicators Survey (QBIS). The information you and others provide helps build a picture of businesses across Australia. It also helps government and industry understand the challenges and successes that businesses like yours are experiencing. Your participation informs decisions that can impact you, your business and your community.
Visit the ABS homepage to see more about what statistics ABS produce.
Why should I connect to accounting software to complete my survey?
Your data is important, but we understand your time is important too.
If the business you are reporting for uses Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks, connecting securely to your accounting software in ABS Business Reporting can make it faster and easier to complete your survey.
When you connect, you will see information from your accounting software on screen as you complete your survey. You can select accounts or categories to include for each survey question, and a total will be generated automatically.
People who have connected to accounting software to help complete their survey have found it streamlines the process and is intuitive and easy to use.
Watch this short video to learn more about connecting to accounting software to help you complete your survey.
Connecting to accounting software in ABS Business Reporting makes it faster and easier to complete ABS financial surveys.
If the business you are reporting for uses Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks online, you can now choose to securely connect to your accounting software to help you report.
Once you connect, you'll be able to select which accounts or categories you want to include for each of the reporting questions.
The accounts you select will be saved securely so that if you need to report again, you'll be taken straight to a prefilled report and only need to review and submit.
Connecting to accounting software streamlines the reporting process, eliminating the risk of manual errors and saving you time.
As a small business owner, when completing the ABS form, I'd recommend connecting your accounting data. Connecting the accounting data really made the setup for the form easy, and each following quarter was almost click of a button.
More information on ABS Business Reporting can be found at www.abs.gov.au/br
Thank you
The ABS thanks all businesses for their continued support in responding to our surveys.
Giving back
When you report through ABS Business Reporting, you will be presented with a sample of the statistics we produce from the information you and others provide each quarter.
The information shows what you are contributing to and makes it easier for you to explore our statistics and keep up to date with industry trends.
Data will be presented for key indicators at an industry level. If you have chosen to connect to accounting software, you can also select the ‘Compare my business’ function. Here you can see the same indicators for the business you are reporting for, shown next to industry data for comparison.
Frequently asked questions
What questions are asked in QBIS?
Why has my business been included in QBIS?
How is my information used? Why is it important?
Do I have to answer the questions?
How long will I need to participate in this survey?
Do I have to provide figures for this survey right now?
Will my information be kept safe, secure and confidential?
Why isn't this survey due at the same time as my Business Activity Statement (BAS)?
The data I provided isn't accurate and now I have more accurate figures available. What should I do?
Reporting where there have been changes to your business structure
Reporting for a business that was sold before the beginning of, or during the quarter
Reporting for a business that was still operating but did not trade during the quarter
Reporting for a business that has gone into liquidation or administration during the quarter
How to complete this survey
Each quarter, the ABS sends an email or letter with instructions to access the latest quarter’s survey form.
Go to www.abs.gov.au/businessreporting and create an account to get started. If you already have an account, log in and follow the on-screen instructions to complete your survey.
For assistance using ABS Business Reporting, see ABS Business Reporting help.
What to report in QBIS
The following information provides guidance on what to include and exclude for each item in ABS Business Reporting.