About ABS Business Reporting

ABS Business Reporting offers a new way for small businesses to report financial data to the ABS.

We know it can be difficult and time consuming to complete ABS survey forms. This is why we are working to make it easier for small businesses to provide information to us.

ABS Business Reporting is a web app where businesses can securely connect to their accounting software to prepare a report to submit to the ABS. Once they authorise a connection, businesses will see information from their accounts to help complete and submit a report more easily.

The first time a business uses ABS Business Reporting, they will select which accounts they want to include for each question. These selections will be saved in the app and will be available to re-use. This will make it even simpler to report in future quarters.

ABS Business Reporting has been codesigned with accountants, bookkeepers and businesses to make it easier and quicker to report. People who have used the app to report have found it is intuitive, easy to use, and streamlines the process of reporting.

What you report to the ABS for a small business will feed into major economic indicators, such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and contribute to statistics in Australian National Accounts: National Income, Expenditure and Product and Business Indicators, Australia.

These statistics are used by industry, government and individual businesses to understand Australia’s economy and make informed decisions.

Information reported to the ABS by small businesses ensures our statistics tell the whole story. Small businesses play a critical role in the economy and are essential for local communities. They have specific characteristics and can be impacted by events in different ways to larger businesses.

Visit the ABS homepage to see more about what statistics ABS produce.

We have developed ABS Business Reporting to make it quicker and easier for small businesses to report.

Here is what our users say:

“ABS Business Reporting is a game changer. I used to have to calculate my data and enter into the web form. This app streamlines the whole process.”

“So easy to report now that I can sync data from Xero."

“It was pretty quick to set up the first time I used the app, but this quarter was even easier. So convenient."

We take the security of the information you provide to us seriously.

ABS Business Reporting uses a number of tools to protect your information including website security, encryption and firewalls. The system is secured and approved in compliance with standards provided by the Australian Cyber Security Centre and Commonwealth Government guidelines for interacting securely online.

Your completed report and personal information will remain strictly confidential to the ABS. Your information is used to calculate statistics, and these are only released as aggregated data, which groups together information from a number of businesses. Information is collected through ABS Business Reporting under the authority of the Census and Statistics Act 1905. Under the Act, ABS staff have a legal obligation to maintain the confidentiality of information provided.

We comply with the Privacy Act 1988 and Australian Privacy Principles. We have conducted a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) to consider potential privacy impacts on the privacy of individuals whose personal information is collected through ABS Business Reporting. The Privacy Impact Assessment includes a statement of compliance against each of the Australian Privacy Principles.

If you believe we have breached these principles, please see the information on how to lodge a complaint about privacy matters, contained within our privacy policy.

For more information on how the ABS handles the information you provide to us through ABS Business Reporting, visit our Data Usage page.

Currently, only eligible small businesses selected for the Quarterly Business Indicators Survey can submit a report through ABS Business Reporting. These businesses will receive an invitation to use the app if they use Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks accounting software.

We are working to expand the app to other surveys, and to other accounting software in the future.

If you haven't received an invitation to use the app and would like to know when your business may be eligible, please email business.reporting@abs.gov.au.

ABS Business Reporting is the quickest and easiest way for small businesses to report to the ABS. If you would like to hear about other reporting options, please call us on 1800 735 060 (+61 2 6252 8814 overseas) to discuss.

If you have received an email request to report, log in to ABS Business Reporting to get started.

The ABS Business Reporting Troubleshooting page provides information on how to use ABS Business Reporting, including help with technical difficulties. 

We are committed to providing access to ABS Business Reporting to the widest possible audience. 

We are working to comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 to Level AA, which describe how to make web content more usable and accessible for everyone. We want to provide our information for everyone, including people with a disability. 

If there's information you need that you can’t get, please contact us on 1800 735 060 (+61 2 6252 8814 overseas).