April small business survey

The Commission’s latest Small Business Survey shows that NSW small businesses confidence has improved again as we come out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Small business confidence rose between March and April 2022, after rising between February and March. The number of small businesses indicating they are confident about their prospects is now 42 per cent higher than August 2021.  The percentage of small businesses concerned about the impact of COVID-19 fell by 26 per cent over the same period.

While concerns about COVID-19 have fallen, the survey also showed that other concerns are now front of mind for small businesses. Increased cost of business inputs was the number one concern for small businesses in April, with 68 per cent expressing concern. The next highest concerns were cashflow and the level of customer demand with 58 and 56 per cent expressing concern about these issues respectively.

Small businesses are adapting their strategies as they look to mitigate rising costs and manage cashflow. Many small businesses will also face the challenge of meeting the cost of deferred rent. The top strategy for small businesses in April was reducing costs, followed by passing on costs to consumers and delaying or reducing capital expenditure. There is a range of ways that small businesses can lessen the impact of increasing cost pressures. See our article on ways to ease the squeeze. 

The NSW Government’s small business fees and charges rebate allows businesses to offset the costs of eligible NSW and local government fees and charges up to the value of $3,000. The rebate offer is scheduled to end 30 June 2022. More details are available on the Service NSW website.

The online survey was completed between 7 and 21 April, with more than 2,000 small and medium businesses across NSW responding.