2014 Annual Retail Trade Survey

Integrated Business Statistics Program (IBSP)

Reporting Guide

This guide is designed to assist you as you complete the 2014 Annual Retail Trade Survey. If you need more information, please call the Statistics Canada Help Line at the number below.

Help Line: 1-800-858-7921

Table of contents

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General information
Reporting instructions
Business activity
Reporting period information
Revenue
Expenses
Industry characteristics
Sales by type of client
Appendix 1 - Gasoline service station guide
Appendix 2 - Beer, wine and liquor chains

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General information

Survey purpose

Statistics Canada uses your survey responses to compile operating and financial statistics for the retail sector by province/territory and Canada as a whole. By accurately reporting your business units activity, you contribute to measuring provincial/territorial and Canadian economic output - the gross domestic product (GDP), as well as provide an accurate portrait of the store retailing sector in Canada.

Retailers also make significant use of the data from these surveys to:

• track their performance against industry averages;
• evaluate expansion plans;
• prepare business plans for investors;
• determine payments with respect to performance based contracts;
• plan marketing strategies.

Your answers are confidential.

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any information it collects which could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent or as permitted by the Statistics Act.

Statistics Canada will use information from this survey for statistical purposes.

Data-sharing agreements

To reduce respondent burden, Statistics Canada has entered into data-sharing agreements with provincial and territorial statistical agencies and other government organizations, which have agreed to keep the data confidential and use them only for statistical purposes. Statistics Canada will only share data from this survey with those organizations that have demonstrated a requirement to use the data.

Section 11 of the Statistics Act provides for the sharing of information with provincial and territorial statistical agencies that meet certain conditions. These agencies must have the legislative authority to collect the same information, on a mandatory basis, and the legislation must provide substantially the same provisions for confidentiality and penalties for disclosure of confidential information as the Statistics Act. Because these agencies have the legal authority to compel businesses to provide the same information, consent is not requested and businesses may not object to the sharing of the data.

For this survey, there are Section 11 agreements with the provincial and territorial statistical agencies of Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, and the Yukon.

The shared data will be limited to business establishments located within the jurisdiction of the respective province or territory.

Section 12 of the Statistics Act provides for the sharing of information with federal, provincial or territorial government organizations. Under Section 12, you may refuse to share your information with any of these organizations by writing a letter of objection to the Chief Statistician and returning it with the completed questionnaire. Please specify the organizations with which you do not want to share your data.

For this survey, there are Section 12 agreements with the statistical agencies of Prince Edward Island, Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

For agreements with provincial and territorial government organizations, the shared data will be limited to business establishments located within the jurisdiction of the respective province or territory.

Security of emails and faxes

Statistics Canada advises you that there could be a risk of disclosure during facsimile or other electronic transmission. However, upon receipt, Statistics Canada will provide the guaranteed level of protection afforded all information collected under the authority of the Statistics Act. Note: Our online questionnaires are secure; there is no risk of data interception when responding to Statistics Canada’s online surveys.

Record linkages

To enhance the data from this survey and to minimize the reporting burden, Statistics Canada may combine it with information from other surveys or from administrative sources.

Reporting instructions

1. Please report all dollar amounts in thousands of Canadian dollars ('000 CAN$).

2. Do not include sales tax.

3. Percentages should be rounded to whole numbers

4. When precise figures are not available, please provide your best estimates.

Business activity

The description on file for this business comes from the North American Industrial Classifications System (NAICS). This database contains a limited number of activity classifications. The classifications on file might be applicable for this business, even if it is not exactly how you would describe this business’s main activity.

By selecting "Yes, this is the main activity.", you indicate that the description is applicable, and it describes the main economic activity which typically generates the most revenue for this business.

By selecting "No, this is not the main activity.", you indicate that this description is not applicable as a main activity of this business. You will be given a chance to describe this business’s main activity.

If you answer “no”, indicating that your business unit is not a store retailer as defined above, then please call 1-800-858-7921 for further instructions.

Reporting period information

Here are twelve common fiscal periods that fall within the targeted dates:

• May 1, 2013 to April 30, 2014
• June 1, 2013 to May 31, 2014
• July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014
• August 1, 2013 to July 31, 2014
• September 1, 2013 to August 31, 2014
• October 1, 2013 to September 30, 2014
• November 1, 2013 to October 31, 2014
• December 1, 2013 to November 30, 2014
• January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014
• February 1, 2014 to January 31, 2015
• March 1, 2014 to February 28, 2015
• April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2015

Here are other examples of fiscal periods that fall within the required dates:

• September 18, 2013 to September 15, 2014 (e.g., floating year-end)
• June 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014 (e.g., a newly opened business)

Revenue

1. Sales of goods and services (e.g., fees, admissions, services revenue)

Sales of products and services are defined as amounts derived from the sale of products and services (cash or credit), falling within a business’s ordinary activities. Sales should be reported net of trade discount, value added tax and other taxes based on sales.

Include: Sales from Canadian locations (domestic and export sales); Transfers to other business units or a head office of your firm.
Exclude: Transfers into inventory and consignment sales; Federal, provincial and territorial sales taxes and excise duties and taxes; intracompany sales in consolidated financial statements.

2. Rental and leasing

Include: Rental or leasing of apartments, commercial buildings, land, office space, residential housing, investments in co-tenancies and co-ownerships, hotel or motel rooms, long and short term vehicle leasing, machinery or equipment, storage lockers, etc.

3. Commissions

Include: Commissions earned on the sale of products or services by businesses such as advertising agencies, brokers, insurance agents, lottery ticket sales, sales representatives, and travel agencies – (Compensation could also be reported under this item (for example, compensation for collecting sales tax)).

4. Subsidies (including grants, donations and fundraising)

Include: Non-repayable grants, contributions and subsidies from all levels of government; Revenue from private sector (corporate and individual) sponsorships, donations and fundraising.

5. Royalties, rights, licensing and franchise fees

A royalty is defined as a payment received by the holder of a copyright, trademark or patent.

Include: Revenue received from the sale or use of all intellectual property rights of copyrighted materials such as musical, literary, artistic or dramatic works, sound recordings or the broadcasting of communication signals.

6. Dividends

Include: Dividend income; Dividends from Canadian sources; Dividends from foreign sources; Patronage dividends.
Exclude: Equity income from investments in subsidiaries or affiliates.

7. Interest

Include: Investment revenue; Interest from foreign sources; Interest from Canadian bonds and debentures; Interest from Canadian mortgage loans; Interest from other Canadian sources.
Exclude: Equity income from investments in subsidiaries or affiliates.

8. Other revenue (please specify)

Include: Amounts not included in questions (1) to (7)

9. Total revenue

The sum of questions (1) to (8).

Expenses

1. Cost of goods sold

Many business units distinguish their costs of materials from their other business expenses (selling, general and administrative). This item is included to allow you to easily record your costs/expenses according to your normal accounting practices.

Include: Cost of raw materials and/or goods purchased for re-sale – net of discounts earned on purchases; Freight in and duty.

2. Employment costs and expenses

1. Salaries, wages and commissions

Please report all salaries and wages (including taxable allowances and employment commissions as defined on the T4 – Statement of Remuneration Paid) before deductions for this reporting period.

Include: Vacation pay; Bonuses (including profit sharing); Employee commissions; Taxable allowances (e.g., room and board, vehicle allowances, gifts such as airline tickets for holidays); Severance pay.
Exclude: All payments and expenses associated with casual labour and outside contract workers (report these amounts at question 3 - Subcontracts).

2. Employee benefits

Include contributions to: Health plans; Insurance plans; Employment insurance; Pension plans; Workers’ compensation; Association dues; Contributions to any other employee benefits such as child care and supplementary unemployment benefit (SUB) plans; Contributions to provincial and territorial health and education payroll taxes.

3. Subcontracts

Subcontract expense refers to the purchasing of services from outside of the company rather than providing them in-house.

Include: Hired casual labour and outside contract workers; Custom work and contract work; Sub-contract and outside labour; Hired labour.

4. Research and development fees

Expenses from activities conducted with the intention of making a discovery that could either lead to the development of new products or procedures, or to the improvement of existing products or procedures.

5. Professional and business fees

Include: Legal services; Accounting and auditing fees; Consulting fees; Education and training fees; Appraisal fees; Management and administration fees; Property management fees; Information technology (IT) consulting and service fees (purchased); Architectural fees; Engineering fees; Scientific and technical service fees; Other consulting fees (management, technical and scientific); Veterinary fees; Fees for human health services; Payroll preparation fees; All other professional and business service fees.
Exclude: Service fees paid to Head Office (report at question 21 - All other expenses).

6. Utilities

Utility expenses related to operating your business unit such as water, electricity, gas, heating and hydro.

Include: Diesel, wood, natural gas, oil and propane; Sewage.
Exclude: Energy expenses covered in your rental and leasing contracts; Telephone, Internet and other telecommunications (report this amount at question 8 - Telephone, Internet and other telecommunication expenses); Vehicle fuel (report at question 21 - All other expenses).

7. Office and computer related expenses

Include: Office stationery and supplies, paper and other supplies for photocopiers, printers and fax machines; Postage and courier (used in the day to day office business activity); Diskettes and computer upgrade expenses; Data processing.
Exclude: Telephone, Internet and other telecommunication expenses (report this amount at question 8 - Telephone, Internet and other telecommunication expenses).

8. Telephone, Internet and other telecommunications

Include: Internet; Telephone and telecommunications; Cellular telephone; Fax machine; Pager.

9. Business taxes, licenses and permits

Include: Property taxes paid directly and property transfer taxes; Vehicle license fees; Beverage taxes and business taxes; Trade license fees; Membership fees and professional license fees; Provincial capital tax.

10. Royalties, franchise fees and memberships

Include: Amounts paid to holders of patents, copyrights, performing rights and trademarks; Gross overriding royalty expenses and direct royalty costs; Resident and non-resident royalty expenses; Franchise fees.
Exclude: Crown royalties

11. Crown charges

Federal or Provincial royalty, tax, lease or rental payments made in relation to the acquisition, development or ownership of Canadian resource properties.

Include: Crown royalties; Crown leases and rentals; Oil sand leases; Stumpage fees.

12. Rental and leasing

Include: Lease rental expenses, real estate rental expenses, condominium fees and equipment rental expenses; Motor vehicle rental and leasing expenses; Studio lighting and scaffolding; Machinery and equipment rental expenses; Storage expenses; Road and construction equipment rental; Fuel and other utility costs covered in your rental and leasing contracts.

13. Repair and maintenance

Include: Buildings and structures; Machinery and equipment; Security equipment; Vehicles; Costs related to materials, parts and external labour associated with these expenses; Janitorial and cleaning services and garbage removal.

14. Amortization and depreciation

Include: Direct cost depreciation of tangible assets and amortization of leasehold improvements; Amortization of intangible assets (e.g., amortization of goodwill, patents, franchises, copyrights, trademarks, deferred charges, organizational costs).

15. Insurance

Insurance recovery income should be deducted from insurance expenses.

Include: Professional and other liability insurance; Motor vehicle and property insurance; Executive life insurance; Bonding, business interruption insurance and fire insurance.

16. Advertising, marketing, promotion, meals and entertainment

Include: Newspaper advertising and media expenses; Catalogues, presentations and displays; Tickets for theatre, concerts and sporting events for business promotion; Fundraising expenses; Meals, entertainment and hospitality purchases for clients.

17. Travel, meetings and conventions

Include: Travel expenses; Meeting and convention expenses, seminars; Passenger transportation (e.g., airfare, bus, train, etc.); Accommodations; Travel allowance and meals while travelling; Other travel expenses.

18. Financial services

Include: Explicit service charges for financial services; Credit and debit card commissions and charges; Collection expenses and transfer fees; Registrar and transfer agent fees; Security and exchange commission fees; Other financial service fees.
Exclude: Interest expenses (report at question 19 - Interest expense).

19. Interest expense

Report the cost of servicing your company’s debt.

Include: Interest; Bank charges; Finance charges; Interest payments on capital leases; Amortization of bond discounts; Interest on short-term and long-term debt, mortgages, bonds and debentures.

20. Other non-production-related costs and expenses

Include: Charitable donations and political contributions; Bad Debt expense; Loan losses; Provisions for loan losses (minus Bad debt recoveries); Inventory adjustments

21. All other costs and expenses (including intracompany expenses)

Include:
Production costs; Pipeline operations, drilling, site restoration; Gross overriding royalty; Other producing property rentals; Well operating, fuel and equipment; Other lease rentals; Other direct costs; Equipment hire and operation; Log yard expense, forestry costs, logging road costs; Freight in and duty; Overhead expenses allocated to costs of sales; Other expenses; Cash over/short (negative expense); Reimbursement of parent company expense; Warranty expense; Recruiting expenses; General and administrative expenses; Interdivisional expenses; Interfund transfer (minus expense recoveries); Exploration and Development (including prospect/geological, well abandonment & dry holes, exploration expenses, development expenses); Amounts not included in questions 1 to 20 above.

22. Total expenses

The sum of lines 1 to 21

Industry Characteristics

All revenue reported should exclude sales taxes (GST/HST, PST and TVQ) and be net of returns, discounts, sales allowances, and charges for outward transportation by common or contract carriers. Do not deduct the value of trade-ins.

1. Sales of all goods purchased for resale, net of returns and discounts

Include:

• Excise taxes (such as those on gasoline, liquor, and tobacco) and other taxes that are levied on the manufacturer/importer and included in the cost of products purchased by this business unit;
• Sales of all goods purchased for resale; please report gross sales of new and used goods less returns and discounts;
• Parts used in generating repair and maintenance revenue; report the labour portion of repair and maintenance at question 3.

Do not deduct the value of trade-ins.

Exclude:

• Taxes collected directly from customers and paid directly by this operating unit to provincial and federal tax agencies;
• Sales and revenue from concessions.

2. Sales of goods manufactured as a secondary activity by this retailing business unit

Report revenue from sales of goods of own manufacture.

3. Labour revenue from repair and maintenance

Include:

• Labour revenue from installations, warranty and repair work;
• Parts used in generating installation, repair and maintenance revenue are to be included at question 1.

4. Revenue from rental and leasing of goods and equipment

Include:

• Video/computer game rental;
• Rug shampoo equipment rental;
• Tool rental.

5. Revenue from rental of real estate

Include:

• Revenue received from renting out or leasing property owned by this business unit.

Sales by type of client

This section is designed to measure which sector of the economy purchases your services.
Please provide a percentage breakdown of your sales by type of client.
Please ensure that the sum of percentages reported in this section equals 100%.

1. Clients in Canada

a. Individuals and households
Please report the percentage of sales to individuals and households who do not represent the business or government sector.

b. Businesses
Percentage of sales sold to the business sector should be reported here.
Include:
• Sales to Crown corporations.

c. Governments, not-for-profit organizations and public institutions (e.g., hospitals, schools)
Percentage of sales to federal, provincial, territorial and municipal governments should be reported here.
Include:
• Sales to hospitals, schools, universities and public utilities.

2. Clients outside Canada

Please report the percentage of total sales to customers or clients located outside Canada including foreign businesses, foreign individuals, foreign institutions and/or governments.
Include:
• Sales to foreign subsidiaries and affiliates.

APPENDIX 1 - GASOLINE SERVICE STATION GUIDE

I - Independent retail dealer

An independent retail dealer purchases gasoline for resale from a supplier (e.g., an oil refinery or wholesaler), i.e., owns the inventories.

An independent dealership is a typical retail operation and should report all data as requested on the questionnaire.

A franchisee is usually an independent retail dealer.

Reporting instructions:

Section - Revenue

Exclude:

• provincial sales taxes (PST and TVQ);
• goods and services tax (GST) or harmonized sales tax (HST).

Include:

• excise taxes;
• revenue from repairs, rentals, car washes and other services.

II - Retail commissioned agent

A retail commissioned agent sells petroleum products on consignment and does not own the inventory of gasoline; may also purchase and carry inventories of other merchandise for resale.

A retail commissioned agent also receives a commission or flat fee from supplier of products sold on consignment.

Reporting instructions:

Section - Revenue

Please report only the commissions or fees received for consignment sales, plus excise taxes, and total sales of other merchandise not on consignment, as well as revenue from repairs, rentals, car washes and other services.

Exclude:

• provincial sales taxes (PST and TVQ);
• goods and services tax (GST), or harmonized sales tax (HST).

Section - Expenses, questions 1 a), b), c) and d) (Cost of goods sold)

Exclude:

• inventories and purchases of goods held on consignment.

Include:

• all other merchandise, preferably valued at cost price.

Section - Expenses, questions 2 a) and b) (Employment costs and expenses)

Report as requested on questionnaire.

III - Lessee

For purposes of the survey, a lessee can be either an independent dealer or a retail commissioned agent.

If a lessee purchases gasoline for resale, i.e., he owns the inventories, he should report as an independent dealer.

If a lessee sells gasoline on consignment, i.e., he does not own the inventories, he should report as a retail commissioned agent.

IV - Oil refinery or other wholesale supplier

An oil-producing company, refinery or other wholesale supplier involved in gasoline retailing through:

a) company owned-and-operated gasoline service stations;
or
b) retail commissioned agents or lessees who sell company-owned gasoline on consignment.

Reporting instructions:

Report for each location, depending upon its type, i.e.:

a) company-owned;
or
b) retail commissioned agent or lessee.

Section - Revenue

a) Company owned-and-operated stations

Include:

• total retail sales of petroleum products;
• sales of all other merchandise;
• receipts from repairs, rentals, car washes and other services;
• excise taxes.

Exclude:

• provincial sales taxes (PST and TVQ);
• goods and services tax (GST) or harmonized sales tax (HST).

b) Retail commissioned agents or lessees who sell on consignment

Include:

• only the value of retail sales of petroleum products sold on consignment, including excise taxes.

Exclude:

• commissions or fees paid to agents or lessees;
• provincial sales taxes (PST and TVQ);
• goods and services tax (GST) or harmonized sales tax (HST).

Section - Expenses, questions 1 a), b), c) and d) (Cost of goods sold)

Report total inventories of petroleum products held at retail locations (both company owned-and-operated and retail commissioned agents or lessees), as well as at any other locations where the inventories are segregated pending sale on consignment or through company owned-and-operated outlets.

Inventories should be reported at transfer or wholesale value.

For company owned-and-operated stations, inventories of other merchandise held for resale (e.g., food, auto parts, etc.) should also be reported.

Section - Expenses, question 1 b) (Purchases)

Report the transfer or wholesale value of all petroleum products sold on consignment or through company owned-and-operated stations.

Purchases of other merchandise sold through company owned-and-operated outlets should also be included, at cost of goods sold.

Section - Expenses, questions 2 a) and b) (Employment costs and expenses)

Report for all employees of company owned-and-operated stations, plus a portion of the administrative salaries (overhead) applicable to both the company owned-and-operated outlets as well as to the stations operated by retail commissioned agent or lessees who sell on consignment.

Important

If none of the above categories applies to your service station business, please enclose a note with your questionnaire.

APPENDIX 2 - BEER, WINE AND LIQUOR CHAINS

The information in this appendix applies, if and only if, your company is requested to complete the Monthly Survey on Sales and Inventory of Alcoholic Beverages.

If you are not sure whether your company receives the Monthly Survey on Sales and Inventory of Alcoholic Beverages, please call us at 1 800 858 7921 for clarification.

If you are primarily a retailer of beer, wine and/or liquor and your company also receives the Monthly Survey on Sales and Inventory of Alcoholic Beverages, you are requested to complete the entire questionnaire for both your retail and wholesale trade operations.

The definition of store retailers is included in ‘Business activity’ section. Your retail stores should be reported in the section ‘Details on this business’s locations’ of the questionnaire with NAICS code 445310 - Beer, Wine and Liquor Stores.

Your wholesale distribution centres (i.e., distribution outlets that are not retail stores and that sell directly to commercial accounts) should be reported in the section ‘Details on this business’s locations’ of the questionnaire with NAICS code 413220 - Alcoholic Beverage Wholesaler-Distributors.

It is expected that the total operating revenue that you report on this questionnaire will be similar to the total sales, excluding taxes, that have been reported for the relevant months on the Survey on Sales and Inventory of Alcoholic Beverages. If there is a substantial difference and you have not provided an explanation in the Comments section, it is likely that Statistics Canada will telephone you in an attempt to understand the reasons for the differences.