Enterprise Statistics

Definitions for the Enterprise Statistics Program

Enterprise - An enterprise is a business organization consisting of one or more domestic establishments that were specified under common ownership or control. The enterprise and the establishment are the same for single-establishment firms. Each multi-establishment company forms one enterprise - the enterprise employment and annual payroll are summed from the associated establishments.

Establishment - A single physical location where business is conducted or where services or industrial operations are performed.

Annual Payroll - Total annual payroll includes all forms of compensation, such as salaries, wages, commissions, bonuses, vacation allowances, sick-leave pay, and the value of payments inkind (e.g., free meals and lodgings) paid during the year to all employees.

Employment - Paid employment consists of full and part-time employees, including salaried officers and executives of corporations, who were on the payroll in the pay period including March 12. Included are employees on sick leave, holidays, and vacations; not included are proprietors and partners of unincorporated businesses.

Receipts - Receipts (net of taxes) are defined as the revenue for goods produced, distributed, or services provided, including revenue earned from premiums, commissions and fees, rents, interest, dividends, and royalties. Receipts excludes all revenue collected for local, state, and federal taxes. Receipts are acquired from the Economic Census data for establishments in industries that are in-scope to the Economic Census; receipts are acquired from IRS tax data for single-establishment businesses in industries that are out-of-scope to the Economic Census; payroll-to-receipts ratios are used to estimate receipts for multi-establishment businesses in industries that are out-of-scope to the Economic Census. Statistics of U.S. Businesses tabulations provide summed establishment receipts which creates some duplication of receipts for large multi-establishment enterprises. Receipts data are available for years ending in 2 and 7 only.

Enterprise Size - Enterprise size designations are determined by the summed employment of all associated establishments. The enterprise size group `0` includes enterprises for which no associated establishments reported paid employees in the mid-March pay period but paid employees at some time during the year.