2021 Annual Retail Trade Survey

Integrated Business Statistics Program (IBSP)

Reporting Guide

This guide is designed to assist you as you complete the 2021 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 or TTY 1-800-363-7629

Table of contents

Reporting instructions
Business or organization and contact information
Reporting period information
Revenue
Expenses
Industry Characteristics
Sales by type of client
Distribution of operating revenue by method of sale
E-commerce
Appendix 1 - Gasoline service station guide
Appendix 2 - Beer, wine and liquor chains
Notification of intent to extract web data

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 or organization and contact information

This section verifies or requests basic identifying information of the business or organization such as legal name, operating name (if applicable), contact information of the designated contact person, current operational status, and main activity(ies).

1. Legal name and Operating name

Legal Name
The legal name is one recognized by law, thus it is the name liable for pursuit or for debts incurred by the business or organization. In the case of a corporation, it is the legal name as fixed by its charter or the statute by which the corporation was created.

Modifications to the legal name should only be done to correct a spelling error or typo.

To indicate a legal name of another legal entity you should instead indicate it in question 3 by selecting 'Not currently operational' and then choosing the applicable reason and providing the legal name of this other entity along with any other requested information.

Operating Name
The operating name is a name the business or organization is commonly known as if different from its legal name. The operating name is synonymous with trade name.

2. Designated contact person

Verify or provide the requested contact information of the designated business or organization contact person. The designated contact person is the person who should receive this questionnaire. The designated contact person may not always be the one who actually completes the questionnaire. If different than the designated contact person, the contact information of the person completing the questionnaire can be indicated later in the questionnaire.

3. Current operational status

Verify or provide the current operational status of the business or organization identified by the legal and operating name in question 1. If indicating the operational status of the business or organization is 'Not currently operational' then indicate an applicable reason and provide the requested information.

4. Main activity

This question verifies the business or organization's current main activity as classified by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is an industry classification system developed by the statistical agencies of Canada, Mexico and the United States. Created against the background of the North American Free Trade Agreement, it is designed to provide common definitions of the industrial structure of the three countries and a common statistical framework to facilitate the analysis of the three economies. NAICS is based on supply-side or production-oriented principles, to ensure that industrial data, classified to NAICS, are suitable for the analysis of production-related issues such as industrial performance.

The target entity for which NAICS is designed are businesses and other organizations engaged in the production of goods and services. They include farms, incorporated and unincorporated businesses and government business enterprises. They also include government institutions and agencies engaged in the production of marketed and non-marketed services, as well as organizations such as professional associations and unions and charitable or non-profit organizations and the employees of households.

The associated NAICS should reflect those activities conducted by the business or organizational unit(s) targeted by this questionnaire only, as identified in the 'Answering this questionnaire' section and which can be identified by the specified legal and operating name. The main activity is the activity which most defines the targeted business or organization's main purpose or reason for existence. For a business or organization that is for-profit, it is normally the activity that generates the majority of the revenue for the entity.

The NAICS classification contains a limited number of activity classifications; the associated classification might be applicable for this business or organization even if it is not exactly how you would describe this business or organization's main activity.

Please note that any modifications to the main activity through your response to this question might not necessarily be reflected prior to the transmitting of subsequent questionnaires and as a result they may not contain this updated information.

If the current NAICS associated with this business or organizations is not correct, please provide a brief description of the main activity and provide any additional information as requested.

Reporting period information

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

• May 1, 2020 to April 30, 2021
• June 1, 2020 to May 31, 2021
• July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021
• August 1, 2020 to July 31, 2021
• September 1, 2020 to August 31, 2021
• October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021
• November 1, 2020 to October 31, 2021
• December 1, 2020 to November 30, 2021
• January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2022
• February 1, 2021 to January 31, 2022
• March 1, 2021 to February 28, 2022
• April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022

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

• September 18, 2020 to September 15, 2022 (e.g., floating year-end)
• June 1, 2021 to December 31, 2022 (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; Subcontract 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 costs and 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 costs and 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 QST) 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.

Distribution of operating revenue by method of sale

1. In-store sales

Please report total operating revenue of goods and services which are purchased in a fixed point-of-sale location accessible to the public.
Include: sales at pumps for gasoline stations.

2. E-commerce

Please report total operating revenue of goods and services conducted over the Internet with or without online payment.
Include: all revenue where the order is received and the commitment to purchase is made via the Internet, although payment can be made by other means, orders made in web pages, extranet, mobile devices or Electronic Data Interchange (EDI).
Exclude: orders made by telephone calls, facsimile or e-mail.

3. Catalogue and mail-order or telephone

Please report total operating revenue of goods and services generated from customer ordering their goods from catalogues and mail order flyers.
Include: sales purchased via telephone and fax.

4. All other methods

Please report total operating revenue of goods and services generated from all other methods.
Include: sales at trade shows, special events, in-home sales and card lock.

E-commerce

Mobile app

Include: sales through any app, or application, that is downloaded and designed to run on a handheld device such as a smartphone or tablet (for example, places where a user may download these apps include Apple's App Store, Google Play or Blackberry App World).

Company website

Include: sales through a browser-based website where your organization maintains control of the content.

Third-party website

Include: sales through a browser-based website where a third-party maintains the structure of the website and control of the look and feel while your company only provides the product to be sold (for example, Amazon, Expedia, Etsy).

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)

A standard format for exchanging business data. EDI is based on the use of message standards, ensuring that all participants use a common language.

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 QST);
• 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 QST);
• 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 QST);
• 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 QST);
• 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 or TTY 1-800-363-7629 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 centers (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.

Notification of intent to extract web data

Statistics Canada is piloting a web data extraction initiative, also known as web scraping, which uses software to search and compile publicly available data from business websites. As a result, we may visit the website for this business to search for, and compile, additional information. This initiative should allow us to reduce the reporting burden on businesses, as well as produce additional statistical indicators to ensure that our data remain accurate and relevant.

We will do our utmost to ensure the data are collected in a manner that will not affect the functionality of the website. Any data collected will be used by Statistics Canada for statistical and research purposes only, in accordance with the agency's mandate.

For more information regarding Statistics Canada's web scraping initiative, please visit Web scraping.

To learn more about Statistics Canada's transparency and accountability, please visit Transparency and accountability.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Statistics Canada Client Services, toll-free at 1-877-949-9492 (TTY: 1-800-363-7629) or by email at infostats@canada.ca. Additional information about this survey can be found by selecting the following link:

Consult the reporting guide at Integrated Business Statistics Program (IBSP) for further information.