The Business Expenses Supplement (BES) produced detailed operating expenses estimates for wholesale businesses located in the United States.

The supplement was conducted every five years. Specifically, it occurred in years ending in "2" and "7," just like the Economic Census.

The estimates included data only for merchant wholesale businesses, and excluded manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, with paid employees (that were located in the United States).

All businesses that received the BES were asked to provide data on their total and detailed operating expenses for the year being collected. In particular, businesses had to submit data related to their annual payroll before deductions, fringe benefits, expensed equipment, material, parts and supplies, etc. The BES questions were added to the Annual Wholesale Trade Survey (AWTS) questionnaires in years ending in “2” and “7.”

Estimates were released approximately 12 months after the reference year had concluded and were published at an industry level. The industries used in the BES data products stemmed from the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). Select the “Data” option from the menu on the left to view all of the AWTS data products, including BES (Detailed Operating Expenses) data.

Many individuals and organizations used the data produced from the Business Expenses Supplement for a variety of reasons. For example:

• The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) used the data for its gross domestic product (GDP) estimates and in developing its input-output tables.
• Market researchers, economic analysts, academics, business owners, and other government agencies relied on the data to develop a complete picture of economic activity in the United States.