2012 Economic Census
MN-55102 Corporate, Subsidiary, and Regional Managing Offices
Categories
Questions
Sector Questions
1. Does it matter if my business collects the information in a fiscal year rather than a calendar year?
2. What are leased employees (Item 7)?
3. Should leased employees be included in "Employment and Payroll" (Item 7)?
4. What is meant by "Number of employees for pay period including March 12th" (Item 7)?
5. What are fringe benefits (Item 7)?
6. What if my "Kind of Business or Activity" is not listed (Item 19)?
Form Questions
7. What is different with the 2012 Economic Census forms compared with the 2007 Economic Census forms?
8. What if the form I received does not apply to my business or operation?
9. If I don't have information should I leave an item blank?
10. Do I report company-wide or regional-wide revenue at the central location (corporate headquarters or regional office, etc.) (Item 5)?
11. We are the headquarters location and we perform administrative duties only, we have no outside sales, only transfers of funds from our own company's establishments. Should we report these intra-company transfers as sales (Item 5)?
12. All "Sales/Receipts/Revenue" (Item 5) and "Selected Expenses" (Item 16) are recorded at the headquarters. What do we report on this corporate, subsidiary, and managing office report form?
13. How do I report inventories (Item 9 and 10)?
14. What is included under "Licensing of rights to use intellectual property" (Item 22)?
15. Where do I report receipts from "Franchising" activities (Item 22)?
16. We do not keep employment figures separate in order to report (Item 26 A). What should we report?
Answers
Sector Questions
1. 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 2012 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.
2. 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).
3. 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.
4. What is meant by "Number of employees for pay period including March 12th" (Item 7)?
Report those employees paid or employed at this location in the pay period that includes March 12th. For example, those employees working part time, on vacation, or considered employees during the pay period that includes March 12th will be considered employees for reporting purposes for Item 7. The March 12th date is the standard used by the Internal Revenue Services 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 holidays. Therefore, the fourth quarter employment will be significantly higher than their first quarter employment, whereas other types of businesses may not add staff during the holidays.
5. 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, etc., for employees at this establishment.
6. 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.
Form Questions
7. What is different with the 2012 Economic Census forms compared with 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.
8. What if the form I received does not apply to my business or operation?
It is important that your business provide data for the 2012 Economic Census. Please use the form you received to provide census information for your business. Each form was designed to ask basic questions of every business (e.g., employment, payroll, revenue, operational status). If your kind of business is not listed in Item 19, please write a brief description at the end of that section. Also, at the end of the form there is a "Remarks" section where you can give any additional information that you feel is important in order to understand your data.
9. If I don't have information should I leave an item blank?
No. Please provide your best estimate of any item that is not available from your business records. Identify and explain any estimate you provide in the "Remarks" section.
10. Do I report company-wide or regional-wide revenue at the central location (corporate headquarters or regional office, etc.) (Item 5)?
No. Report only sales/revenue/receipts made from this location. If the revenue was realized elsewhere, report the revenue on the appropriate establishment's form. If there are no receipts or revenue at this location mark the "None" box in Item 5. If there are receipts or revenue at this location but figures are not available at the time of reporting, estimate receipts or revenue in Item 5.
11. We are the headquarters location and we perform administrative duties only, we have no outside sales, only transfers of funds from our own company's establishments. Should we report these intra-company transfers as sales (Item 5)?
If this location had no sales other than intra-company transfers (payment for services within your own company) then check the "None" box in Item 5. Intra-company transfers (transferring funds from one location to another within the same company for services or goods) are excluded from sales for the Economic Census (see the instruction sheet for details). Also, if this location had no sales, there is no need to complete Item 22.
12. All "Sales/Receipts/Revenue" (Item 5) and "Selected Expenses" (Item 16) are recorded at the headquarters. What do we report on this corporate, subsidiary, and managing office report form?
Only report "Sales/Receipts/Revenues" from goods produced or services provided by staff at this location. For goods and services produced at other locations of the company, report those sales and receipts on the Economic Census forms for those establishments. Do not report consolidated company totals. If this establishment did not have sales or receipts to customers outside your enterprise, mark the "None" box in Item 5.
Report all operating expenses for this establishment in the first column of Item 16, excluding payroll reported in Item 7. In the second column of Item 16, report payments made by this establishment to cover expenses made by other establishments of your company for the specific types of expenses indicated. Mark "None" for all that do not apply. Do not report consolidated company totals.13. How do I report inventories (Item 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 in total inventories. Exclude the value of inventories held by this establishment but owned by others.
14. 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.
15. Where do I report receipts from "Franchising" activities (Item 22)?
Receipts from franchising activities should be reported under line 3, "Franchising", of Item 22. Franchising is defined as granting permission to operate a business (the franchisee) under a trademark or brand name of the granting business (franchisor).
16. We do not keep employment figures separate in order to report (Item 26 A). What should we report?
Estimates of employment are acceptable. The number of employees reported in Item 26 should match the number of employees reported for Item 7 A. If the exact numbers for "Employees by Function" are unavailable, estimate the number of employees. If there are groups of employees that do not fit under categories listed on the form, report these employees under "Other Administrative and Management" or "All other" and describe their function.
