Small Business Insights: Quarterly survey of small businesses in the US, Canada, the UK, and Australia

Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Insights is a quarterly survey of approximately 5,000 small to midsize 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, cash flow and payments, financing and investment, and more. The latest data is from the July 2026 wave of the survey.

Dive into each topic using the links below.

Contents

• Section 1: Business health, growth, and challenges
• Section 2: Digital tools and AI
• Section 3: Productivity and employment
• Section 4: Operating costs
• Section 5: Cash flow, payments, and invoices
• Section 6: Financing and credit cards
• Section 7: Demographics and firmographics
• Sample and methodology

Section 1: Business health, growth, and challenges

1 in 2 (50%) report business growth

This is 18 points higher than the January 2024 low of 32%.

Nearly 8 out of 10 (79%) want business growth

With 50% reporting growth but 79% wanting it, this suggests small businesses need more help to achieve their growth goals.

More than 8 out of 10 (86%) report their business is profitable

The long-term trend indicates a small increase in the number of businesses reporting a profit.

Most wished for: a successful marketing or advertising campaign

Respondents say advertising and marketing are where they need the most help over the next 3 months. 2 in 5 (41%) want to boost productivity.

Greatest challenge: rising costs

Inflation has been the No.1 challenge identified by respondents in every wave of the survey since April 2023.

Almost half (49%) say poor financial or resource management is holding them back

Project costing and price estimates are consistently the most common operational challenge: identified by 1 in 5 (19%).

Two-thirds (66%) plan to invest over the next 3 months

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.

Two-thirds (67%) currently have support from a qualified accountant

This is largely unchanged since July 2024, when approximately two-thirds said the same.

Section 2: AI and digital technology

4 out of 5 (80%) now use AI regularly

This is a notable 32 point increase since July 2024, when 48% reported regular use of AI. Daily use has increased by 26 points since July 2024, from 15% to 41%.

Nearly 1 in 5 (18%) businesses using AI say it's core to operations

This has risen slightly since April 2025—when 13% reported extensive use of AI in their business—but remains largely unchanged so far in 2026.

Top 3 tasks for AI: marketing, customer service, data processing

More than 2 in 5 (41%) of respondents using AI say they use it for marketing.

Thanks to AI, respondents are more likely to say workdays are shorter, revenue is up

Nearly 1 in 4 (24%) said their workdays are shorter thanks to AI—compared to 1 in 10 (12%) who said AI has made their workdays longer. Notably, 19% said employment increased due to AI while only 4% said employment decreased.

Nearly half (45%) of those not using AI are considering adopting it

Among the 17% of respondents who said they don't currently use AI, almost half (45%) are considering it. But the majority of these businesses have no specific deadlines.

Concerns about privacy or security have discouraged some from making more use of AI

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 the cost versus benefits of AI.

Over 1 in 2 (53%) use spreadsheets for financial management

Plus, almost a third (31%) report using pen and paper to record and manage their financial transactions and data, indicating many lack a single source of truth.

Most useful digital tool: accounting software

Across all digital tools, accounting systems are the most useful according to the respondents, followed by their own website, HR/payroll software, payment platforms, and social media.

Top 3 benefits of digital tools: more efficiency, less time, fewer errors

Nearly 2 in 3 (64%) agree that the No.1 benefit of the digital tools they use is greater efficiency. Second and third on the list are saving time and reducing errors.

More than a quarter (27%) use 6+ different digital systems for their business

This comprises 20% reported using 6 to 10 digital tools (defined as any software, website platforms, or AI systems that facilitate work, sales, or data storage and analysis) and 7% that use 11 or more.

Top challenge with digital tools: lack of integration between systems

Over 1 in 3 (36%) report challenges with the lack of integration between the different digital tools and systems they use in their business.

Section 3: Productivity and employment

Three-quarters of those using AI say it’s boosting their productivity

This is a notable increase since July 2024, when only about 2 in 5 (46%) said AI was boosting their productivity.

More than 3 in 5 (61%) say they’re more productive than 3 months ago

Productivity was defined as: "higher output for the same or lower input costs." The number of respondents reporting productivity growth has increased from 48% in October 2024.

Over 2 in 5 (44%) plan to expand their workforce over the next 3 months

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.

Nearly half (47%) have contract workers on their team

Over 1 in 10 (12%) said their entire workforce is made up of contract workers.

2 in 3 (65%) say it’s easier to hire skilled workers

Reflecting broader labor market trends, the number of respondents reporting hiring challenges has been on a downward trend since 2022.

Healthcare and paid time off are considered the most effective benefits for employee retention

On average, over 3 in 5 of respondents say both healthcare benefits (61%) and paid time off (61%) are most effective for employee retention. When answering this question, respondents were specifically asked to consider benefits that persuade skilled workers to stay.

Section 4: Operating costs

Over half (56%) predict higher operating costs over the next 3 months

This is a 3-point decrease from last quarter (59%).

Top 3 causes of rising costs: workers' pay, energy costs, and technology costs

The largest contributors are both energy costs (40%) and workers’ pay (40%). Prior to the last wave, pay increases were the leading driver of rising costs for 12 months. Technology costs are the third-largest contributor.

Over 1 in 2 (54%) are concerned about operating costs increasing

This is a 5-point decrease from 59% reported in April 2025.

Section 5: Cash flow, payments, and invoices

Almost half (48%) request immediate payment of their invoices

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.

3 in 5 (59%) report waiting more than 30 days for invoices to be paid

While 3 in 5 is too many, the good news is 41% of respondents are getting paid more quickly.

Over half (56%) report using online payment platforms

The most popular payment methods are still cards, checks, and cash.

More than 2 in 5 (44%) report cash flow problems

This has declined since April 2024, when 50% reported cash flow problems.

No.1 solution for cash flow problems: credit cards

This reflects broader trends identified in the 2025 Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Index Annual Report, which shows small businesses increasingly rely on credit cards.

3 in 4 (73%) pay their bills with automated systems

More than 1 in 5 (23%) report using a fully automated bill payment system, while 1 in 2 (50%) say their system is somewhat automated.

When managing bills, over 3 out of 4 (78%) have a process for approvals and audits

3 in 5 (60%) said they have a consistent process for all bill payments while 18% said "only for bills above a certain threshold."

Top external causes of delayed payments: economic uncertainty and delayed revenue or sales

According to the respondents, economic uncertainty (21%) and delayed revenue or sales (18%) are the biggest challenges to making payments on time followed by higher costs (17%).

Top internal cause of delayed payments: manual processes

More than 1 in 10 (13%) reported manual processes as the biggest challenge, followed by uncertainty about finances (11%), forgetting to pay (9%), matching bills to correct expenses or payees (9%), and payment errors (9%).

Almost 2 in 5 (38%) say AI would be most helpful with reminders for paying bills

A third of respondents said AI would be helpful with data entry (33%) or offering insights into spending patterns (31%).

Section 6: Financing and credit cards

Over three-quarters (77%) report using financing over the past 12 months

Credit cards remain the number-one source of financing—unchanged since January 2024.

Almost 3 in 5 (59%) put more than 25% of their total monthly expenses on credit cards

The proportion of expenses being charged to credit cards has trended up since April 2024, according to the respondents.

3 in 5 (59%) carry a balance on their credit cards

The number of businesses reporting that they pay their full credit card balance off every month has dropped from 58% in April 2024 to 42% in July 2026.

Over 1 in 3 (36%) have become more reliant on credit cards over the past 12 months

The number of businesses reporting greater reliance on credit cards has increased from a low of 25% in July 2024.

More than 1 in 2 (53%) expect to get financing if needed over the next 12 months

This is a 4-point increase from October 2025 (53%).

Section 7: Demographics & firmographics

Sample and methodology

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.

1. Dynata panel: minimum 3,350 survey respondents per wave. Of these, at least 1,500 are from the US, at least 600 are from Canada, at least 750 are from the UK, and at least 500 are from Australia. On average, more than 50% of the respondents are small business owners. The remainder are senior decision-makers within small businesses who have a detailed knowledge of their employer's financial performance, workforce strategy, and business priorities. For each wave of the survey, 50% of the sample are repeat respondents who have previously taken the survey to allow opinions and business health to be tracked more effectively over time. Respondents receive remuneration. All responses are anonymous. In the US, Canada, and the UK, all respondents are from small businesses with 0 to 100 employees. In Australia, all respondents are from small businesses with 0 to 50 employees. Every effort is made to make these samples as representative as possible of small businesses in each country but as with all online surveys, there are limitations. To give the largest possible sample size for each wave of the survey, responses from the Dynata panel are combined with responses from the QuickBooks customer panel, described below, whenever possible.
2. Intuit QuickBooks customer panel: The number of survey participants drawn from the Intuit QuickBooks customer base varies over time but the average is 2,000 respondents per wave. In the April 2024 wave, for example, the total number of QuickBooks customer respondents was 2,300; comprising 1,505 in the US, 405 in Canada, and 405 in the UK. Currently, the survey is not fielded among QuickBooks customers in Australia. Respondents are drawn from a pool of QuickBooks Online subscribers in the US, Canada, and the UK who have been active in their accounts in the past 30 days. As with the Dynata audience panel described above, respondents in the US, Canada, and the UK are typically from small businesses with 0 to 100 employees.

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.

Disclaimer

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.

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