The Sage Business Heartbeat survey is a regular study of the ‘health’ of the British small and medium sized business environment and represents the views of UK business owners and heads of business.
 
There are so many different issues that affect businesses today, from regulatory requirements to impact of technology through to innovative working practices which are driven by social change.

Every day Sage takes thousands of support calls from its customers on a wide range of issues. The Sage Business Heartbeat Survey is part of an ongoing initiative to understand and gain a broader insight into the issues affecting businesses and how they impact the health and wealth of UK business.

Having grown from being a small start-up business to a FTSE 100 company dedicated to helping businesses run more efficiently, Sage understands from first hand experience what some of the biggest obstacles facing growth, development and business confidence are.

2005 Heartbeat Survey
It is a well documented fact that so-called 'Red Tape' is one of the biggest bug bears for British Businesses. Of all the areas of businesses affected by Red Tape, the area that causes most anxiety and frustration is Red Tape associated with employment law - 82 per cent of businesses cite Employment Red Tape as the area of greatest concern (IoD; July 2004).

Given that Red Tape was estimated to have cost British Business £30 billion last year (BCC 2004 survey), the cost of complying with employment legislation represents a significant proportion of this cost.

In the latest Heartbeat Survey, Sage has investigated the impact of Employment Legislation on UK business, and continues to monitor key performance metrics of UK business.

Survey Key Findings

Businesses feel the squeeze as price competition intensifies

Red tape crushing entrepreneurial drive

Small firms fear hiring new staff

Women bear brunt of family-friendly employment policies

Regions Key Findings

Businesses in different parts of the UK really do face different business issues and look to different sources of help to address them.