PayCycle Survey Finds 34% of Small Business Owners Want a Stimulus Package as "First" Action
58% Are Canceling Year-End Bonuses
Palo Alto, Calif (PRWEB) December 2, 2008
PayCycle, Inc., America's #1 online payroll service, today released results of a proprietary survey that showed 34% of small business owners want President-elect Barack Obama to pass an economic stimulus package as his first step when taking office in January. 24% of respondents identified "fixing health care" as the issue they would advise Obama to tackle first, 9% suggesting fixing Social Security and only 3% wanted to see more bail-out packages.
"These survey results underscore the passion small business owners are showing for the macro-economic issues confronting them. The variety and depth of responses show how involved and concerned small business owners are, not only about their individual businesses and their local situations, but also about the national economy as a whole," said Jim Heeger, president and CEO of PayCycle Inc.
Impact on Year-End Bonuses, Holiday Parties:
The survey found that almost 53% of small business owners pay some kind of year-end bonus, either to themselves, to their employees or to both. Of this group that do pay bonuses, over half (58%) of the respondents are either canceling bonuses altogether (26%) or canceling their own personal bonus (32%) so they can still pay employees.
When it comes to the annual holiday party, almost half (43%) of traditional party sponsors are either canceling the party or toning it down.
Small Businesses Name Numerous Causes for Economic Woes:
When asked which national issue had the most direct impact on their business in 2008, 32% of respondents indicated the slowdown in consumer spending was the biggest problem area. But many people also mentioned the credit crisis and problems in the housing industry (21%), the decline in the stock market (15%) and the summer spike in gasoline prices (18%). Clearly, for small business owners, there is not just one problem to blame for the current economic conditions.
The remaining 14% of respondents gave a variety of answers ranging from "lack of healthcare reform" to the rise in unemployment. A handful of respondents commented that their businesses had been "spared" from any negative fall-out from the economic crisis.
The survey, conducted between November 19 and November 26, 2008, compiled responses from 321 small businesses randomly selected from PayCycle's broad, national base of over 75,000 small business customers.
About PayCycle:
PayCycle is America's #1 online payroll service, serving more than 75,000 small businesses. PayCycle provides an easy-to-use, innovative, efficient service for small businesses, backed by outstanding customer support. PayCycle also powers payroll services for leading financial institutions including Capital One and PNC Bank, and provides client payroll services through many of the nation's accounting professionals. The PayCycle® service integrates with leading accounting programs such as QuickBooks®, Quicken®, Peachtree® and Microsoft® Money. PayCycle's unique "Do-It-With-YouSM" (DIWYSM) technology platform guides customers through the entire payroll process from paycheck to W-2 forms. PayCycle also holds PC Magazine's highest editorial honor for small business payroll, the PC Magazine Editors' Choice Award. Visit www. paycycle. com for a free trial of the service.
PayCycle is a registered trademark, and "Do-It-With-You" and "DIWY" are service marks of PayCycle, Inc. All other product names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
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