1. Is the survey legitimate?

Yes, the Business Trends and Outlook Survey is a legitimate U.S. Census Bureau survey sent via email and mail. BTOS is conducted to capture key economic data as well as expectations about future business conditions. The survey contains the OMB number, 0607-1022, authorizing the collection of the data and is signed by the U.S. Census Bureau Associate Director of Economic Programs.

The official Census Bureau webpage for Business Trends and Outlook Survey is https://respond.census.gov/btos. If survey assistance is required, please email us at [email protected].

2. Where is my Login ID?

Your unique 12-character Login ID is included in the email or letter invitation that you received. To provide enhanced security, we give each respondent a new Login ID for each reporting period.

The Login IDs provided in earlier reporting periods will not permit access to the survey instrument during the current reporting period.

3. What do I do if my Login ID is not working?

Please note that your unique 12-character Login ID is case-sensitive. If you copy and paste, make sure you do not capture any blank spaces.  If issues persist, please email us at [email protected].

4. Can I share my Login ID?

No, each Login ID is unique and assigned to your business and cannot be transferred or shared.

5. What data are collected in the Business Trends and Outlook Survey?

The Business Trends and Outlook Survey collects data on a bi-weekly basis covering topics such as performance, operating status, employment and revenue changes, prices and demand. The BTOS includes forward looking measures (6 months), allowing businesses to report expectations about future conditions. This combination of current and future-oriented data makes the BTOS a key resource for understanding emerging trends in the U.S. economy. Please see the Business Trends and Outlook Survey questionnaire for full list of concepts.

6. Whom should I include as “paid employees”?

Include all employees who receive salaries or wages from this business and are eligible to receive a W-2 form. Do not include contractors (those receiving a Form 1099), volunteers, or owners who are not on the payroll.

7. How does BTOS define Artificial Intelligence (AI)?

Artificial Intelligence is computer systems and software that are able to perform tasks normally requiring human intelligence, such as decision-making, visual perception, speech recognition, and language processing.

Types or applications of AI include machine learning, natural language processing, virtual agents, predictive analytics, machine vision, voice recognition, decision making systems, data analytics, text analytics, image processing, etc.

8. I already completed the survey. Why did I receive it again?

Thank you for responding to the earlier version of the survey. You may be asked to report up to five times per year.

9. Why did I receive multiple emails or letters?

For this survey, businesses were selected to participate based on their EIN. You may have received multiple emails or letters if the email address or mailing address for the business is associated with more than one EIN in our records. Please respond for the business listed in each email or letter.

10. How do I respond?

If you received an email or letter from the U.S. Census Bureau with a unique Login ID, go to https://respond.census.gov/btos to complete the survey. All responses are confidential and we only report summary information based on the responses we receive.

11. How can I print my response?

The option to print a PDF is available at the end of the survey before you click submit. Please make sure that you click “submit” to make sure that your responses are captured.

12. What should I do if the EIN is incorrect?

The last five digits of the EIN will be displayed for review in the first question on the survey instrument. You will have the ability to update or correct the EIN if needed.

13. What should I do if the company name is incorrect?

Your response is linked to the EIN and the company name is only listed for reference. If the company name associated with the EIN does not match, please email us at [email protected] to update it. 

14. I am not sure how to answer for a given date range. What am I comparing?

Many of the BTOS questions ask about how economic activity at your business changed between two dates. Think about how things have changed overall or on net during the date range given and then how this compares to the time prior to that date range. For example, consider the question “Between July 04 and July 17, how did this business’s number of paid employees change?” If the number of paid employees is overall higher during this period than the two weeks leading up to July 4, answer “Increased.”

15. What do I do if my business is permanently closed or has been sold?

Please email us at [email protected] with your login ID and let us know the month and year your business closed.

16. Is the survey mandatory?

Business Trends and Outlook Survey data may be used by elected officials, government program officials, policy makers, industry leaders, economic and social analysts, business entrepreneurs, business and economic news organizations, and domestic and foreign researchers in academia, business, and government. While we highly encourage your response, the survey is voluntary.

17. Whom can I contact for help with this survey?

Please email us at [email protected].

18. How does the Census Bureau protect my responses?

Federal law requires the U.S. Census Bureau to keep your information confidential and use your responses only to produce official statistics. Census has strict measures in place to protect your privacy as well as the identity of your business, organization, or institution.

19. Can I see a list of the companies that respond?

No, the U.S. Census Bureau is barred from releasing any information that could identify an individual, business, organization, or institution – and tightly safeguards confidentiality using tough, ever-improving cybersecurity measures.

20. When did the Census Bureau begin releasing BTOS survey data?

Data tabulations and visualizations from the Business Trends and Outlook Survey were released beginning in October 2022.

21. What do I do if I get a GEBK error when logging in?

This error tends to occur when your IP address, a label that identifies your computer/internet network, is identified as one coming from outside the United States. The two top reasons for this happening is due to:

• You are physically located outside of the United States at the time of submitting the survey.
• You are using a virtual private network (VPN) as a means to provide additional security by masking your IP address.

In order to avoid this issue, and you would still like to continue with the survey:

• If you are physically located outside the U.S., use or activate a VPN and set it to use a U.S. IP address.
• If you are in the U.S., confirm that your VPN or any other IP masking software is deactivated at the time of submission.

If after attempting these solutions, the error still occurs, email us at [email protected].