36.2M
small businesses operate in the United States
They make up 99.9% of all U.S. businesses, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2025 profile.
01U.S. Small Business Administration, 2025 Small Business Profile, 2025Reference page
Small business bookkeeping statistics for clearer financial decisions.
A current collection of small business facts on owner-run firms, financial pressure, and the numbers behind everyday bookkeeping decisions. Each statistic links to its original source.
Last updated September 23, 2026
At a glance
Small businesses are varied, but financial visibility remains a shared need.
From self-employed owners to growing employer firms, small businesses make decisions against changing costs, uneven timing, and limited room for surprises. The figures below provide useful context for those conversations without pretending every business faces the same situation.
62.3M
people work for small businesses
Small businesses account for 45.9% of U.S. employees, making reliable financial information consequential well beyond the owner’s desk.
02U.S. Small Business Administration, 2025 Small Business Profile, 202529.8M
businesses have no paid employees
The Census Bureau’s latest demographic release describes these as nonemployer businesses, which are often self-employed owners and independent operators.
03U.S. Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics by Demographics, 2022 data, released 2025$1.7T
in receipts came from nonemployer businesses
Those owner-run businesses represented about 6.8% of the U.S. economy in the Census Bureau’s 2022 Nonemployer Statistics.
04U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Nonemployer Statistics, 2022 data, released 202577%
reported rising costs, tariff-related costs, or both as a financial challenge
The Federal Reserve reported this share among small employer firms in its 2025 Small Business Credit Survey.
05Federal Reserve Banks, 2026 Report on Employer Firms, 2025 survey, published 202648%
source at least some inputs from outside the United States
For these firms, changes in supplier pricing can move through purchasing, margins, and cash planning quickly.
06Federal Reserve Banks, 2026 Report on Employer Firms, 2025 survey, published 202676%
passed at least some higher foreign-input costs to customers
This figure applies to firms with foreign inputs that reported those input prices increased from 2024 to 2025.
07Federal Reserve Banks, 2026 Report on Employer Firms, 2025 survey, published 202660%
absorbed at least some higher foreign-input costs
The same Federal Reserve survey shows that many firms are balancing pricing decisions against pressure on their margins.
08Federal Reserve Banks, 2026 Report on Employer Firms, 2025 survey, published 2026What these figures suggest
Clean books make changing conditions easier to see.
For an owner-run business, bookkeeping often has to compete with client work, sales, operations, and everything else that needs attention. That is exactly why the routine needs to reveal what changed: an expense that is climbing, a cash commitment that is due, a margin that is narrowing, or a transaction that needs an answer before it becomes harder to trace.
Reliable records do not solve rising costs or create demand. They do make the business easier to steer when those pressures show up. A complete view of income, expenses, outstanding payments, and account balances gives an owner a stronger starting point for the next decision.
Explore bookkeeping support →Methodology and sources
How to use this page.
Each fact is drawn from a named public source and linked directly to the original publication. The page combines national business counts from the U.S. Small Business Administration and U.S. Census Bureau with recent survey findings from the Federal Reserve Banks.
Counts, receipts, and survey results describe different populations and reporting periods. Read the linked source before using a figure in a report, article, or client presentation, especially when the audience needs the source’s full definition or methodology.
This page is reviewed regularly. Statistics are retained only while their source remains available and relevant.
Cite this page
Small Business Bookkeeping Statistics, Correct Counts LLC, updated September 23, 2026.
Suggested citation: Correct Counts LLC. “Small Business Bookkeeping Statistics.” Updated September 23, 2026. Accessed at https://correct-counts.com/bookkeeping-statistics.