Key takeaways
Each takeaway links to its canonical data row. Reported figures belong to their cited producer; modeled results are labeled as calculations.
- All employer-firm respondents to the financial-challenges question: uneven cash flow (including collecting on receivables): 50% (2025 survey; prior-12-month questions and conditions at the time of survey).Federal Reserve Banks
- All employer-firm respondents to the financial-challenges question: paying operating expenses: 54% (2025 survey; prior-12-month questions and conditions at the time of survey).Federal Reserve Banks
- All employer-firm respondents to the financial-challenges question: increased costs of goods, services, and/or wages: 73% (2025 survey; prior-12-month questions and conditions at the time of survey).Federal Reserve Banks
- Employer firms that experienced financial challenges: used personal funds: 54% (2025 survey; prior-12-month questions and conditions at the time of survey).Federal Reserve Banks
- Employer firms that experienced financial challenges: used cash reserves: 47% (2025 survey; prior-12-month questions and conditions at the time of survey).Federal Reserve Banks
- Employer firms that experienced financial challenges: made a late payment or did not pay: 24% (2025 survey; prior-12-month questions and conditions at the time of survey).Federal Reserve Banks
- All employer-firm respondents to the regular-financing question: credit card: 62% (2025 survey; prior-12-month questions and conditions at the time of survey).Federal Reserve Banks
- Employer firms that applied for financing in the prior 12 months: meet operating expenses: 56% (2025 survey; prior-12-month questions and conditions at the time of survey).Federal Reserve Banks
- Employer firms that applied for financing in the prior 12 months: all: 42% (2025 survey; prior-12-month questions and conditions at the time of survey).Federal Reserve Banks
- Employer firms that applied for financing in the prior 12 months: none: 22% (2025 survey; prior-12-month questions and conditions at the time of survey).Federal Reserve Banks
- Employer-firm respondents to the outstanding-debt question: no outstanding debt: 31% (2025 survey; prior-12-month questions and conditions at the time of survey).Federal Reserve Banks
- Employer firms with outstanding debt: personal guarantee: 59% (2025 survey; prior-12-month questions and conditions at the time of survey).Federal Reserve Banks
What financial challenges do small employers report?
Uneven cash flow affects half of responding small employers on the weighted measure; operating expenses and rising costs are also common challenges.
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| Response | Weighted share | Question sample size | Published 95% interval |
|---|---|---|---|
| Increased costs of goods, services, and/or wages | 73% | 6500 | (70.9%, 74.8%) |
| Paying operating expenses | 54% | 6500 | (52.0%, 55.4%) |
| Uneven cash flow (including collecting on receivables) | 50% | 6500 | (47.6%, 51.6%) |
| Weak sales | 48% | 6500 | (46.0%, 49.8%) |
| Increased costs associated with tariffs | 42% | 6500 | (39.6%, 44.1%) |
| Making payments on debt / interest rates | 33% | 6500 | (30.8%, 35.4%) |
| Credit availability | 29% | 6500 | (27.4%, 30.5%) |
| Other | 1% | 6500 | (00.3%, 00.8%) |
| Did not experience any financial challenges | 6% | 6500 | (04.9%, 06.7%) |
All employer-firm respondents to the financial-challenges question. Multiple selections allowed; do not add these shares. A rounded zero does not prove no firms selected the response.
Primary source: Federal Reserve Banks — March 3, 2026
How do firms respond to financial challenges?
Using personal funds is the most commonly reported response among firms that experienced a financial challenge.
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| Response | Weighted share | Question sample size | Published 95% interval |
|---|---|---|---|
| Used personal funds | 54% | 6183 | (51.7%, 55.4%) |
| Raised prices the business charges | 48% | 6183 | (45.9%, 49.6%) |
| Used cash reserves | 47% | 6183 | (45.1%, 49.8%) |
| Reduced costs | 47% | 6183 | (45.4%, 49.6%) |
| Took out debt | 36% | 6183 | (33.8%, 37.6%) |
| Downsized operations | 31% | 6183 | (29.4%, 32.8%) |
| Made a late payment or did not pay | 24% | 6183 | (22.6%, 26.0%) |
| Other | 3% | 6183 | (02.0%, 03.3%) |
| No action | 5% | 6183 | (04.4%, 06.5%) |
Employer firms that experienced financial challenges. Multiple selections allowed; do not add these shares. A rounded zero does not prove no firms selected the response.
Primary source: Federal Reserve Banks — March 3, 2026
How do small employers rate their financial condition?
Fair is the most common self-assessment in this survey; this is a reported condition, not an independently audited credit rating.
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| Response | Weighted share | Question sample size | Published 95% interval |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poor | 22% | 6523 | (20.6%, 23.2%) |
| Fair | 35% | 6523 | (33.5%, 37.4%) |
| Good | 26% | 6523 | (24.8%, 27.6%) |
| Very good | 12% | 6523 | (10.6%, 12.8%) |
| Excellent | 5% | 6523 | (04.3%, 05.5%) |
Employer-firm respondents to the financial-condition question. Categories may not total exactly 100% because of rounding. A rounded zero does not prove no firms selected the response.
Primary source: Federal Reserve Banks — March 3, 2026
Which financing products do small employers regularly use?
Credit cards are the most widely reported regularly used financing product; the question allows firms to report more than one product.
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| Response | Weighted share | Question sample size | Published 95% interval |
|---|---|---|---|
| Credit card | 62% | 6525 | (59.7%, 63.8%) |
| Loan | 44% | 6525 | (42.1%, 45.6%) |
| Line of credit | 36% | 6525 | (34.3%, 37.5%) |
| Trade credit | 19% | 6525 | (17.4%, 20.5%) |
| Lease | 14% | 6525 | (13.3%, 15.3%) |
| Merchant cash advance | 7% | 6525 | (06.2%, 08.4%) |
| Factoring | 3% | 6525 | (02.2%, 03.3%) |
| Other | 0% | 6525 | (00.0%, 00.1%) |
| Business does not use external financing | 14% | 6525 | (12.5%, 15.5%) |
All employer-firm respondents to the regular-financing question. Multiple selections allowed; do not add these shares. A rounded zero does not prove no firms selected the response.
Primary source: Federal Reserve Banks — March 3, 2026
Why do small employers apply for financing?
Meeting operating expenses is the most common reason reported by financing applicants, ahead of expansion, opportunities or business assets.
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| Response | Weighted share | Question sample size | Published 95% interval |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meet operating expenses | 56% | 3638 | (54.0%, 59.0%) |
| Expand business, pursue new opportunity, or acquire business assets | 46% | 3638 | (43.3%, 49.3%) |
| Have available credit for future use as needed | 42% | 3638 | (39.1%, 45.2%) |
| Refinance or pay down debt | 28% | 3638 | (26.4%, 30.5%) |
| Make repairs or replace capital assets | 26% | 3638 | (23.9%, 29.2%) |
| Other | 0% | 3638 | (00.2%, 00.7%) |
Employer firms that applied for financing in the prior 12 months. Multiple selections allowed; do not add these shares. A rounded zero does not prove no firms selected the response.
Primary source: Federal Reserve Banks — March 3, 2026
How much of the financing sought do applicants receive?
Fewer than half of financing applicants report receiving all the financing they sought; the categories refer to funding amounts, not application counts.
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| Response | Weighted share | Question sample size | Published 95% interval |
|---|---|---|---|
| None | 22% | 3654 | (19.4%, 25.1%) |
| Some (1–50%) | 21% | 3654 | (19.1%, 23.3%) |
| Most (51–99%) | 15% | 3654 | (13.3%, 16.8%) |
| All | 42% | 3654 | (39.3%, 44.5%) |
Employer firms that applied for financing in the prior 12 months. Categories may not total exactly 100% because of rounding. A rounded zero does not prove no firms selected the response.
Primary source: Federal Reserve Banks — March 3, 2026
How much outstanding debt do small employers carry?
No outstanding debt is the largest individual category; debt-bearing firms are divided across the published amount bands.
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| Response | Weighted share | Question sample size | Published 95% interval |
|---|---|---|---|
| No outstanding debt | 31% | 6447 | (28.8%, 32.3%) |
| ≤$25K | 10% | 6447 | (09.0%, 11.3%) |
| $25K–$50K | 10% | 6447 | (08.7%, 11.5%) |
| $50K–$100K | 12% | 6447 | (10.6%, 12.6%) |
| $100K–$250K | 15% | 6447 | (13.7%, 16.3%) |
| $250K–$1M | 15% | 6447 | (13.5%, 16.4%) |
| >$1M | 8% | 6447 | (07.2%, 08.9%) |
Employer-firm respondents to the outstanding-debt question. Categories may not total exactly 100% because of rounding. A rounded zero does not prove no firms selected the response.
Primary source: Federal Reserve Banks — March 3, 2026
What do firms use to secure their debt?
Personal guarantees are the most common form of security reported by firms with outstanding debt; several forms can be used together.
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| Response | Weighted share | Question sample size | Published 95% interval |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal guarantee | 59% | 4651 | (57.3%, 61.1%) |
| Business assets | 51% | 4651 | (48.8%, 53.7%) |
| Personal assets | 38% | 4651 | (35.1%, 40.0%) |
| Portions of future sales | 10% | 4651 | (08.6%, 11.1%) |
| Other collateral or guarantee | 0% | 4651 | Not published |
| No collateral or guarantee | 10% | 4651 | (08.4%, 11.4%) |
Employer firms with outstanding debt. Multiple selections allowed; do not add these shares. A rounded zero does not prove no firms selected the response.
Primary source: Federal Reserve Banks — March 3, 2026
Why do some firms not apply for financing?
Having sufficient financing or no need is the most common primary reason for not applying; nonapplicants must not be treated as rejected applicants.
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| Response | Weighted share | Question sample size | Published 95% interval |
|---|---|---|---|
| Not needed / had sufficient financing | 63% | 2556 | (60.6%, 66.0%) |
| Discouraged | 10% | 2556 | (08.6%, 11.9%) |
| Debt averse | 17% | 2556 | (14.5%, 19.0%) |
| Credit cost was too high | 7% | 2556 | (06.0%, 09.1%) |
| Application process was too difficult or confusing | 2% | 2556 | (01.2%, 02.7%) |
| Other | 1% | 2556 | (00.5%, 01.3%) |
Employer firms that did not apply for financing in the prior 12 months. Categories may not total exactly 100% because of rounding. A rounded zero does not prove no firms selected the response.
Primary source: Federal Reserve Banks — March 3, 2026
Where should a cash-flow review start?
Start with a dated list of expected receipts and obligations. Separate agreed work, invoices issued, invoices due and reconciled payments before deciding which follow-up is needed.
The survey measures reported challenges across firms. It cannot tell you whether a particular client paid or predict your next cash balance. Keep missing payment evidence separate from a confirmed unpaid amount.
Methodology and limitations
- We extracted the Employer firms worksheet of the Federal Reserve Banks’ 2025 Small Business Credit Survey appendix, published March 3, 2026. The original workbook fingerprint and individual cell locators are supplied.
- The survey ran September 3–November 14, 2025 and received 6,525 employer-firm responses. Question sample sizes differ because of routing and nonresponse. The tables preserve each question’s denominator and its published confidence interval.
- The SBCS uses a convenience sample, weighted to improve representation. Its published confidence intervals do not remove possible selection or nonresponse bias. These are not results from a random census of all small businesses.
- Financial-challenge questions changed in 2025. We do not splice these responses into a year-over-year trend or equate financing received with loan approval rates.
- The Federal Reserve report and exact appendix file were rechecked on October 9, 2026. The workbook fingerprint and selected observations are unchanged; the observation period remains the 2025 survey.
What these numbers cannot tell you
- This report excludes nonemployer businesses and does not measure every U.S. freelancer or sole proprietor.
- Cash-flow challenges are self-reported experiences, not measured bank balances, cash runway or a probability of failure.
- Multiple-response shares overlap. Some confidence intervals appear asymmetric because point estimates and interval endpoints are rounded differently.
Freshness and corrections
Maintained by the Workspace369 editorial team. Review annually when the next primary release is available; check source links quarterly. The edition date changes only when the evidence or content is substantively reviewed; it does not change the underlying observation period.
First edition: . Data extraction, source attribution and arithmetic checked for this edition. No independent peer review is claimed.
Found an error or a newer primary release? Send a correction with the source and affected statistic. Confirmed corrections are recorded below before republishing.
Revision history
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Primary sources and provenance
Every reported numeric cell links directly to its producer. The downloads include exact table or workbook locators, observation periods, access dates, formulas and input references.
- Federal Reserve Banks2026 Report on Employer Firms: 2025 SBCS data appendix ↗Published March 3, 2026. Accessed October 9, 2026.Federal Reserve Banks source data. Attribute the Small Business Credit Survey; no endorsement implied.
Source file fingerprint (SHA-256)
ce5b80dcbaad11ce294e7c2c60a29dd48eaac3f74904ed3554c190f7977a3958 - Federal Reserve Banks2026 Report on Employer Firms: report, methods and questionnaire ↗Published March 3, 2026. Accessed October 9, 2026.Federal Reserve Banks publication. Consult original reuse terms; attribution required.
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Workspace369. (2026-10-09). Small Business Cash Flow Statistics 2026. https://workspace369.com/research/small-business-cash-flow-statistics/. Primary sources and observation periods as listed in the report.
Versioned data
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Dataset version: bcda37ac1b6ff14d8e84503b028113fcb1e9299fbf84b1b5fb8c641f0b44f591
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