Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Insights is a quarterly survey of 5,000 small businesses in the US, Canada, the UK, and Australia. The survey covers small business financial health and growth, challenges and opportunities, technology and AI, employment and productivity, revenue and costs, cash flow and payments, financing and investment, and more. The latest data is from the October 2025 wave of the survey.
Dive into each topic using the links below.
This is 12 points higher than the January 2024 low of 32%.
With 44% reporting growth but 79% wanting it, this suggests small businesses need more help to achieve their growth goals.
The long-term trend indicates a small increase in the number of businesses reporting a profit.
Respondents say advertising and marketing are where they need the most help over the next 3 months. Nearly 2 in 5 (41%) want to boost productivity.
Inflation has been the No.1 challenge identified by respondents in every wave of the survey since April 2023.
Project costing and price estimates emerge as the most common operational challenge: identified by nearly 1 in 5 (18%).
Echoing the earlier finding that boosting customer demand is where respondents need most help, the No.1 investment they plan to make over the next 3 months is into their sales and marketing.
This is a 2 point increase from 12 months ago (65%).
This has increased 3 points from 68% in July 2025.
Accounting software remains the preferred solution but more than half report using manual processes.
Across all the digital tools they use, accounting systems are the most useful, according to the respondents; followed by their own website, HR/payroll software, payment platforms, and social media.
More than two-thirds (69%) agree that the No.1 benefit of the digital tools they use is greater efficiency.
More than a third (35%) report challenges with the lack of integration between the different digital tools and systems they use in their business.
This has remained unchanged since April 2025. Moderate use has increased from 49% to 54% over the past 9 months.
This is a notable increase since July 2024, when 48% reported regular use of AI. Daily use has more than doubled over the past 12 months.
Nearly two-thirds (64%) of respondents using AI report that they use a GenAI application. Around 1 in 10 (9%) report using AI agents.
More than 2 in 5 (44%) of respondents using AI say they use it for marketing.
1 in 4 (25%) said their workdays are shorter thanks to AI—compared to just 1 in 10 (10%) who said AI has made their workdays longer.
Among the 23% of respondents who said they don't use AI, more than half (45%) are considering it. But the majority of these businesses have no specific deadlines.
The most effective ways to encourage more people to use AI, according to the survey, would be to resolve concerns about privacy or security and help them understand how AI could help them.
This is a notable increase since July 2024, when only about 2 in 5 (46%) said AI was boosting their productivity.
Productivity is a complex topic but for this survey it was defined simply, as: “higher output for the same or lower input costs.” The number of respondents reporting productivity growth has increased from 48% in October 2024.
The number of respondents predicting a larger workforce in 3 months’ time has trended down since April 2023, but is currently higher than the low of 31% reported in October 2022.
1 in 10 (10%) said their entire workforce is made up of contract workers.
Reflecting broader labor market trends, the number of respondents reporting hiring challenges continues to decline.
Similar to hiring, the number of respondents reporting employee retention challenges continues to decline.
On average, more than two-thirds (67%) of respondents say healthcare benefits are most effective for employee retention. When answering this question, respondents were specifically asked to consider benefits that persuade skilled workers to stay.
This is a 15-point increase from the low of 34% reported in October 2023.
Similarly, the number of respondents predicting revenue growth is also up. Back in October 2023, only 44% predicted higher revenue over the next 3 months.
This remains above the long-term average but has dropped slightly since April 2025.
Unchanged since April 2025, the top 2 causes of rising costs reported by respondents are pay increases and domestic supplier costs. Technology costs have surpassed energy costs as the third top cause.
This is a 4-point decrease from 59% reported in April 2025.
The top 3 markets among respondents are China, Canada, and the EU.
Further analysis of the data reveals small businesses that have to wait longer to get paid are more likely to report cash flow problems, greater reliance on credit cards, difficulty hiring skilled workers, and lower digital adoption rates.
The good news is that 45% of respondents are getting paid more quickly.
The most popular payment methods are still cards, checks, and cash.
This has declined since April 2024, when 50% reported cash flow problems.
This reflects broader trends identified in the 2025 Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Index Annual Report, which shows small businesses increasingly rely on credit cards.
Nearly 1 in 4 (22%) report using a fully automated bill payment system, while over 1 in 2 (52%) say their system is somewhat automated.
Nearly 3 in 5 (57%) said they have a consistent process for all bill payments.
According to the respondents, economic uncertainty and/or low demand is the biggest challenge to making payments on time (17%); followed by delayed revenue or sales (16%) and higher costs (13%).
More than 1 in 10 (11%) reported manual processes as the biggest challenge, followed by uncertainty about finances (10%), payment errors (8%), and forgetting to pay (8%).
Over one-third said AI would also be helpful with data entry (34%) and matching bills to correct expenses or payees (31%).
Credit cards remain the number-one source of financing — unchanged since January 2024.
The proportion of expenses being charged to credit cards has trended down since April 2024, according to the respondents.
The number of businesses reporting that they pay their full credit card balance off every month has dropped from 58% in April 2024 to 46% in October 2025.
The number of businesses reporting greater reliance on credit cards has increased from a low of 25% in July 2024.
Nearly two-thirds (65%) do not use multiple credit-card providers.
This is unchanged since April 2025 but 17 points lower than 12 months ago.
Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Insights is an international, quarterly survey of small business health, opinions, and priorities commissioned by Intuit QuickBooks every three months since its launch in September 2021. Each wave has been fielded among small businesses in the US, Canada, and the UK. In April 2024, the survey was expanded to include small businesses in Australia. In the US, Canada, and the UK, a small business is defined as having 0-100 employees. In Australia, a small business is defined as having 0-50 employees. Participants are small business owners and decision-makers from two sources (details below), with a total quarterly sample of around 5,000 respondents. All respondents are anonymous. They are also remunerated. See the demographics and firmographics section (above) for more information about composition of the sample and the types of businesses they own or lead.
For clarity, percentages have been rounded to the nearest whole number so in some of the stacked column charts shown above, survey responses may not add up to 100% but 99% or 101%, for example, instead. Please also note that all responses to multiple choice questions are shown as a percentage of the total number of respondents, not the total number of responses, to better reflect the number of people who chose each answer option. As a result, in the corresponding grouped column charts shown above, the sum of the percentages will always be greater than 100.
This content, report and materials are for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal, accounting, financial, investment, or tax advice, or a substitute for obtaining such advice specific to your business. Additional information and exceptions may apply. Applicable laws may vary by state or locality. No assurance is given that the information is comprehensive in its coverage or that it is suitable in dealing with a customer’s particular situation. Intuit Inc., or its affiliates do not have any responsibility for updating or revising any information presented herein. Accordingly, the information provided should not be relied upon as a substitute for independent research. Intuit Inc., or its affiliates do not warrant that the material contained herein will continue to be accurate nor that it is completely free of errors when published. Readers should verify statements before relying on them.
We provide third-party links as a convenience and for informational purposes only. Intuit Inc. or its affiliates do not endorse or approve these products and services, or the opinions of these corporations or organizations or individuals. Neither Intuit Inc. nor its affiliates assume responsibility for the accuracy, legality, or content on these sites.
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