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Some inquiries, such as e-commerce and leased employment, have been removed from the 2007 Economic Census forms. To better reflect the changing economy and to help ensure proper classification of establishments, the "Detail of Receipts/Revenue" inquiry (Item 22) has been revised on all service industry forms.

2. Does it matter if my business collects the information in a fiscal year rather than a calendar year?

Most items can be reported based on the company's fiscal year. However, please report employment and payroll data for the 2007 calendar year. At the end of the form there is a "Certification" question (Item 30) where you can enter the time period covered by the report.

3. What if a publishing company operates newsgathering, editorial, and similar offices that do not directly generate sales or receipts (Item 5)?

Mark the "None" box and include the sales or receipts on the census form for the establishment where they are generated.

4. How do I report international receipts or revenue (Item 5)?

Report international receipts or revenue for services performed for foreign parent, subsidiaries, branches, and companies not affiliated with your company. Exclude receipts or revenue generated by foreign parent, subsidiaries, and branch locations.

5. What are leased employees (Item 7)?

A leased employee is a full- or part-time employee of a business or organization that has contracted with an employee leasing company (also known as a Professional Employer Organization) to obtain human resource management services. The employee leasing company provides a wide range of human resource and personnel management services, such as payroll accounting, payroll tax return preparation and filing, benefits administration, recruiting, and labor relations management to the client business. The employee leasing company and client organization operate as co-employers with regard to the human relations responsibilities to the employees covered by their contract. The employee leasing company pays wages and employment taxes for the leased employees out of its own accounts. Exclude full- or part-time employees whose payroll was filed under an employee leasing company's Employer Identification Number (EIN).

6. Should leased employees be included in "Employment and Payroll" (Item 7)?

No, exclude full- or part-time employees whose payroll was filed under an employee leasing company's Employer Identification Number (EIN). Only report employment and payroll for employees who were 1) working at this establishment, 2) whose payroll was reported on your Internal Revenue Service Form 941, Employer's Quarterly Federal Tax Return, and 3) filed under the EIN shown in the mailing address or corrected in Item 1.

7. What is meant by "Number of employees for pay period including March 12th" (Item 7)?

The March 12th date is the standard used by the Internal Revenue Service on Form 941, Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return. All businesses are required to report their number of employees for this time period to facilitate reporting and to ensure consistency across industries. For example, many retail businesses hire extra employees during the holidays. Therefore, their fourth quarter employment will be significantly higher than their first quarter employment, whereas other types of businesses may not add staff during the holidays.

8. What are fringe benefits (Item 7)?

Fringe benefits are the employer's costs for social security tax, unemployment tax, workmen's compensation insurance, state disability insurance pension plans, stock purchase plans, union-negotiated benefits, life insurance premiums, and insurance premiums on hospital and medical plans for employees at this establishment.

9. How should I report inventories (Items 9 and 10)?

Report the value of all inventories owned by this establishment, regardless of where the inventories are held. Include finished goods, work-in-process, and materials, parts, and supplies.

10. Can you explain the inventory valuation methods (Item 10)?

LIFO - A method of valuing inventory and cost of goods sold where the last goods purchased are assumed to be the first goods sold, so that the ending inventory consists of the first goods purchased. LIFO assigns the costs of the last items purchased to the first items sold. LIFO matches the most recent costs incurred with current revenue.

FIFO - A method of valuing inventory that assumes the oldest stock items are the first items sold (during an accounting period). Ending inventory therefore consists of the most recently purchased goods or most recent costs. FIFO approximates the results that would be obtained by matching the specific cost of each item sold if items were sold in the order in which they were purchased.

Average cost - Method of valuing inventory that assumes the costs of the items included in an inventory change reflect the average historical cost of all items in stock.

Standard cost - Represents various methods of valuing inventory. Methods tend to be either management judgment of actual cost, or rule of thumb based on the previous year's cost.

LIFO reserve - Companies that calculate inventories under both the LIFO and FIFO methods can calculate LIFO reserves. This figure is the difference between the FIFO ending inventory balance and the LIFO ending inventory balance. LIFO reserve is the amount of the asset computed under FIFO that is not reported under LIFO.

Work in process - References partially completed units in production along with related (overhead) costs.

Raw materials - References goods purchased for use in the production process.

Finished goods - References produced products that are completed and ready for sale.

11. What if my “Kind of Business or Activity” is not listed (Item 19)?

Please choose "Other kind of business or activity" at the end of the list, and briefly describe your establishment's principal business activity in the space provided.

12. What if my establishment conducts several kinds of business (Item 19)?

Please choose the one box that best describes the principal kind of business your reporting establishment conducts. If your principal business is not listed, please choose "Other kind of business or activity" at the end of the list and briefly describe it in the space provided.

13. What if my service or business products are not listed in the "Detail of Receipts/Revenue" (Item 22)?

Please use the "All other receipts or revenue" line in Item 22 to provide information for any previously unlisted product line(s) and give a brief description.

14. What is "Operating systems software publishing" (Item 22)?

"Operating systems software publishing" generally involves publishing the low-level software that handles the interface to peripheral hardware, schedules tasks, allocates storage, and presents a default interface to the user when no application program is running (includes all client and network operating systems).

15. What is "Network software publishing" (Item 22)?

"Network software publishing" generally involves publishing software that is used to control, monitor, manage and communicate with operating systems, networks, network services, databases, storage and networked applications in an integrated and cooperative fashion across a network from a central location. (Includes all network management software, server software, security and encryption software, middleware, etc).

16. What is "Database management software publishing" (Item 22)?

This service involves publishing a collection/suite of software programs that enables the storage, modification and extraction of information from a database. There are many different types of DBMSs ranging from small systems that run on computers to huge systems that run on mainframes.

17. What is "Development tools and programming languages software publishing" (Item 22)?

It involves publishing software used to assist in the development and/or authoring of computer programs. Software products support the professional developer in the design, development, and implementation of a variety of software systems and solutions. (Includes all program development tools and programming languages software).

18. What is "Website design and development services" (Item 22)?

This service consists of designing the structure and content of a web page and/or of writing the computer code necessary to create and implement a web page. Exclude receipts from: Service contracts where the design and development of a web page is bundled with the hosting of the web page.

19. What is "Database design and development services" (Item 22)?

This service consists of designing the structure and content of a database and/or of writing the computer code necessary to create and implement a database (data warehouse). Exclude receipts from: Service contracts where the design and development of a database is bundled with the on-going management of the data holdings.

20. What is "Customization and integration of cross-industry applications" (Item 22)?

This service consists of adapting (modifying, configuring, etc.) and installing an existing cross-industry application so that it functions within the clients' information system environment. Additional services may include custom programming and training. Exclude receipts from: Service contracts where customization and integration is bundled with the hosting and management of the application on an on-going basis.

21. What is "Customization and integration of vertical-market applications" (Item 22)?

This service consists of adapting (modifying, configuring, etc.) and installing an existing vertical market application so that it is functional within the clients' information system environment. Exclude receipts from: service contracts where customization and integration is bundled with the hosting and management of the application on an on-going basis.

22. What is included under "Licensing of rights to use intellectual property" (Item 22)?

“Licensing of rights to use intellectual property” includes receipts from granting permission to use intellectual property to other entities for the purpose of commercializing (i.e., using the property in its business operations). This includes the rights to use the intellectual property in product design, manufacturing, or business processes; and/or to publish, reproduce, distribute, rent, adapt, etc.

23. Where should I report receipts from the sale of products protected by patent, trademark, and copyright laws (e.g., software, videos, and books) (Item 22)?

Receipts from products that are sold to end-users, whether for personal or business use, that are protected by end-user license agreements that govern how the property can be used by the purchaser should be reported under the specific product line being sold, and not under intellectual property.

Last revised: August 30 2007 11:08:14

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1. What is different with the 2007 Economic Census forms compared with the 2002 Economic Census forms?