BEA Survey Questions | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)

How should I interpret the terms "sales" and “purchases?” Many organizations and transactions types are really not related to sales or the organization is not involved in sales.

Read more about How should I interpret the terms "sales" and “purchases?” Many organizations and transactions types are really not related to sales or the organization is not involved in sales.

"Sales" and "receipts" should be understood as interchangeable. Likewise, "Purchases" and "payments" should be understood as interchangeable. Intercompany receipts or payments should still be reported on an accrual basis.

Should I report profit sharing on the BE-180 between U.S. parents and their foreign subsidiaries & with U.S. subsidiaries and their foreign parents?

Read more about Should I report profit sharing on the BE-180 between U.S. parents and their foreign subsidiaries & with U.S. subsidiaries and their foreign parents?

You should report profit sharing transactions between your U.S. operations and foreign entities. You should not report any transactions between your foreign parent and other foreign entities or between foreign affiliates and other foreign entities.

At what level should data reported on the BE-180 be consolidated?

Read more about At what level should data reported on the BE-180 be consolidated?

Data reported on the BE-180 should be consolidated and reported at the top U.S. reporter's level. A consolidated BE-180 will cover all of your domestic U.S. operations' transactions with unaffiliated foreign persons, and it will also cover your U.S. domestic operations' transactions with your foreign affiliates, foreign parents, and members of your foreign parent group for financial services. The BE-180 DOES NOT cover transactions by your foreign affiliates with other foreign persons.

We provide financial services to our foreign parent or a foreign affiliate of our foreign parent. Should we report them on the BE-180?

Read more about We provide financial services to our foreign parent or a foreign affiliate of our foreign parent. Should we report them on the BE-180?

Yes. Your transaction is with your foreign parent and is considered a transaction with a foreign person and therefore should be reported on the BE-180 under the column marked “Foreign Parent Group”.

We provide financial services to one of our foreign affiliates. Should we report them on the BE-180?

Read more about We provide financial services to one of our foreign affiliates. Should we report them on the BE-180?

Yes. Your transaction is with one of your foreign affiliates and is considered a transaction with a foreign person and therefore should be reported on the BE-180 under the column marked “Foreign Affiliates”.

Should I report all services not otherwise listed on the BE-180 under service code 10, other financial services?

Read more about Should I report all services not otherwise listed on the BE-180 under service code 10, other financial services?

Other selected services include all services transactions that are not separately listed and are not specifically excluded.

This category excludes:

When reporting data by country on the BE-180, can regions be used instead?

Read more about When reporting data by country on the BE-180, can regions be used instead?

No. We collect data by country, not by region. Please send an email to be-180help@bea.gov or call us at 301-278-9303 if you have questions regarding the use of a particular country.

Are the purchases or sales of goods reported on the BE-180?

Read more about Are the purchases or sales of goods reported on the BE-180?

No. Goods are not reportable on the BE-180 survey.

We provide financial services to a U.S. affiliate of a foreign company. Is this transaction applicable to the BE-180?

Read more about We provide financial services to a U.S. affiliate of a foreign company. Is this transaction applicable to the BE-180?

No. Your transaction is with a U.S. affiliate of that foreign company. This would be considered a domestic transaction and therefore not reported on the BE-180.

We purchased financial services from a company in Country A, but we sent the payments to a bank or different entity in Country B. How should we report this transaction on the BE-180?

Read more about We purchased financial services from a company in Country A, but we sent the payments to a bank or different entity in Country B. How should we report this transaction on the BE-180?

Because the services you performed were for a company in Country A, you should report this as a transaction with Country A. Where the money is transmitted does not affect the geographic attribution of the transaction.