Sage Weather Survey Confirms What Has Been Assumed: Deep Freeze Adversely Affected Bottom Line of More Than One-Third of U.S. Businesses This Winter

IRVINE, CA--(Marketwired - Mar 18, 2014) - Sage North America today announced the findings of a survey that focuses on the impact that recent severe weather had on U.S. small businesses. The Sage U.S. Small Business Weather Survey was conducted in February 2014 among 741 businesses and has a confidence level of 95 percent with an error rate of +/- 3 percent.

The survey's key findings include:

• Thirty-four percent of U.S. small businesses said the winter weather has negatively affected their business.
  • Businesses in the Northeast, South Atlantic, and Midwest have been affected the most.
• In the U.S., the most common response to the adverse weather have been to reduce employee hours and work from home.
• Thirty-two percent in the U.S. said this winter's weather has been worse than recent years.
  • Businesses in the Northeast, South Atlantic, and Midwest were most likely to say this winter's weather has been worse.
• The biggest problems resulting from this year's winter weather are lower revenue, lower productivity, and lower profit.
• Only 32 percent of U.S. businesses had a bad-weather plan in place this winter.
  • The most common type of bad-weather plan is an employee communication plan (75% among those who have a plan).

Careful planning is key to successfully navigating severe winter conditions and business emergencies in general. Here are a few helpful ideas from Sage for weatherproofing your business: Ten Tips to Prepare Your Business for a Weather Emergency.

About The Sage Group plc
We provide small and medium-sized organizations with a range of easy-to-use, secure, and efficient business management software and services -- from accounting and payroll to enterprise resource planning, customer relationship management, and payments. Our customers receive continuous advice and support through our global network of local experts to help them solve their business problems, giving them the confidence to achieve their business ambitions. Formed in 1981, Sage was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1989 and entered the FTSE 100 in 1999. Sage has over 6 million customers and more than 12,700 employees in 24 countries covering the UK & Ireland, mainland Europe, North America, South Africa, Australia, Asia, and Brazil.

For more information about Sage in North America, please visit the company website at Sage.com. Follow Sage North America on Facebook, Facebook.com/Sage, and Twitter, Twitter.com/SageNAmerica

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