ATLANTA, GA--(Marketwire - May 25, 2010) - Sage North America announced today the findings of their most recent Business Minds survey of approximately 1,500 US-based small businesses, administered to determine the impact of recent economic conditions on small businesses. Sage North America regularly surveys small and midsized companies and organizations for their opinions on business issues. This Sage-conducted survey was taken just after the Obama administration's March announcement of a series of proposals aimed specifically at stimulating the small business market, and serves as a follow up to a similar survey conducted in summer 2009(i).
The Business Minds survey revealed that while general attitudes around the economy have improved slightly since 2009, most small businesses remain conservative in their spending. When asked how long they think it will be before the economy improves, 62 percent of respondents expressed the belief that the economy will improve by middle 2011. When asked about actions taken in the last six months as a result of economic conditions, those focused on cost-cutting were most popular among respondents. Three-fifths (60 percent) of respondents indicated they are watching finances more closely, 40 percent stated that they are reducing capital expenditures, and 35 percent stated that they have reduced their number of employees.
"Our Sage Business Minds survey findings reflect a trend of cautious optimism among small business owners," said Connie Certusi, Senior VP and GM, Small Business Accounting Solutions for Sage North America. "While they believe the end of the economic recession is near, small business owners are still looking to protect their business' future by monitoring finances more closely than ever. Sage is dedicated to helping small businesses rebound from the recession stronger than they were before the downturn. To support this we offer a portfolio of tools such as software solutions, services, and resource centers, such as SageSpark.com, that help business owners optimize their companies for growth."
To provide continued support to small businesses, Sage today launched the Small Business Forum on SageSpark.com. The Small Business Forum serves as a place for business owners to connect and discuss current legislation and other issues; share tips and advice; and access helpful resources from Sage. In addition, Sage is offering a promotion of $100 off Sage Peachtree Complete Accounting 2011 or ACT! by Sage 2010, running now through June 30, 2010. For more information, visit http://www.sagespark.com/SageBusinessMinds.
About Sage North America
Sage North America is part of The Sage Group plc, a leading global supplier of business management software and services. Sage North America employs 4,000 people and supports 3.1 million small and midsized business customers. The Sage Group plc, formed in 1981, was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1989 and now employs 13,100 people and supports 6.2 million customers worldwide. For more information, please visit the website at www.sagenorthamerica.com.
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(i) Survey methodology: This report is based on a survey of 1,481 Sage customers in March 2010 and 1,570 Sage customers in May 2009. Results were weighted by product group to assure proportional representation to Sage's customer base as a whole. The margin of error on the overall sample is plus or minus 2 percentage points (greater for sub-samples).
Contact Information:
Press contact:
John Schoutsen
905-267-2873
John.schoutsen@sage.com
Kara McClain
404-995-4531
kara.mcclain@porternovelli.com