The Federal Law of 2015 and the amendments made to it establish that small and medium-sized businesses are any economic company registered in the register, partnership, production or consumer cooperative, individual or farming peasant economy. In order to attribute any of these types to a business entity, certain conditions must be met.

According to the Constitution

The constitutional principle underlying the sphere of the economy is the freedom of economic activity, where small and medium-sized businesses are the right of every citizen, if this economic activity is not prohibited.

It must be independent and is usually aimed at making a profit from the sale of goods, the use of property, the provision of services or the performance of work. Small and medium-sized businesses are an active factor in the competition of the market, where the main principle is the search for a need and its satisfaction.

Amount of workers

The criterion for classifying a certain enterprise as small or medium is the number of staff, both full-time and contracted. So, small businesses include commercial enterprises in which the share of participation of charitable or other foundations, religious and public organizations, constituent entities of the Russian Federation and the Russian Federation as a whole does not exceed a quarter, that is, twenty-five percent, in the authorized capital, and also in which the number of employees is precisely determined.

So, in transport, in construction and in industry, small and medium-sized businesses are the number of employees not exceeding one hundred people, in the scientific and technical field and in agriculture - no more than sixty, in wholesale trade - fifty, in retail - up to thirty. person, as well as in household services. In other industries, the number of employees should not exceed fifty people. Small and medium-sized businesses are individuals who most often engage in entrepreneurial activities without forming a legal entity.

taxes

If the company employs less than fifteen people, many benefits apply to it. Small and medium-sized businesses are taxed under a simplified system of taxation, reporting and accounting. For this, there are no criteria for the type of activity carried out, in any case, this enterprise will be considered small.

But the amount of income greatly affects the possibility of classifying this type of business as small or medium. Attribution to this type can be provided that the proceeds from the work performed, the sale of goods or services in the past reporting year (four quarters) did not exceed the amount of a thousand-fold minimum wage.

Support

The development of small and medium-sized businesses is stimulated by a variety of tax incentives, the provision of equipment for leasing, and concessional lending. In the Russian Federation, there are several areas of such support.

1. An infrastructure is being formed, as well as a register of small and medium-sized businesses, which is the same for everyone.

2. Preferential conditions are created for the use by such entities of state material and technical, financial, information resources, technologies and scientific developments.

3. A simplified procedure for registration in the register of small and medium-sized businesses for start-up businessmen is being established.

4. Support for foreign economic activity is organized, including the development of their scientific, technical, trade, information, industrial relations with foreign states.

5. Professional development, training, retraining of personnel for medium and small businesses is organized.

6. State and municipal support programs for entrepreneurs are being developed and applied, and these programs are implemented annually on budgetary funds - both from the local budget and from the budgets of the Russian Federation and its subjects.

From the history

The existence of small business in the country began in 1988, and it also included small state-owned enterprises, where the number of permanently employed workers did not exceed one hundred people.

In 1990, the Council of Ministers of the USSR decided that small enterprises should be considered those that have a staff of no more than: retail trade - fifteen people, non-production sphere - twenty-five people, non-industrial production sphere - fifty people, scientific and technical services - one hundred people , industry - two hundred people.

The volume of economic turnover was also taken into account, although its value did not have time to establish itself. And today, the assignment of enterprises to the type of business in terms of the number of employees has been preserved (FZ "On small and medium-sized businesses").

Law

In 2007, Federal Law No. 209 was issued, where it was determined which entities belong to these types of business. A state unified register of small and medium-sized businesses was created. This included all commercial organizations and consumer cooperatives, except for municipal and state enterprises, legal entities and individuals who are individual entrepreneurs, as well as farming peasant enterprises.

The conditions were as follows: legal entities had to have a total share of participation of the Russian Federation and its subjects, foreign citizens and legal entities of other states, public organizations, municipalities, charitable or other funds in the joint authorized capital or share fund of not more than twenty-five percent, that is quarters of the total capital. This did not apply to the assets of investment joint-stock funds, as well as mutual closed-end investment funds. In this case, the enterprise had the right to be included in the unified register of small and medium-sized businesses.

Other conditions

Changes also appeared in the number of employees of enterprises. During the reporting period (calendar year), the average number of employees should not go beyond the limit values ​​in each of the categories: for medium-sized enterprises - from one hundred to two hundred and fifty people inclusive; and for small enterprises - up to a hundred people, in micro-enterprises - up to fifteen people.

For proceeds from the sale of services, works or goods, excluding value added tax, that is, the balance sheet (residual) value of tangible assets and fixed assets for the same period should not exceed the limits established by the Government of the Russian Federation, respectively, categories. The limit values ​​are set once every five years, taking into account the data of constant observations of the activities of enterprises from the side of statistics (FZ "On the development of small and medium-sized businesses"). Significant amendments and changes were made to this law in 2016 (222-FZ).

Categories

All subjects are categorized according to the values ​​of the conditions that are set out above. New enterprises or organizations, newly registered individual entrepreneurs or private farms are classified as small or medium-sized businesses, if the indicators in the period from the date of registration of the enterprise do not exceed the limit values.

At a small or micro-enterprise, the average number of employees per calendar year is calculated, taking into account those who work under a contract or part-time, as well as workers in branches, representative offices or other separate divisions of this enterprise. Revenue after the sale of services, works or goods is determined for the calendar year in the manner that complies with the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. The balance sheet value of assets (residual - fixed assets and intangible assets) is determined in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation on accounting. The Federal Tax Service (Federal Tax Service) keeps records of the Unified Register of Small and Medium Businesses.

Documentation

Information about individual entrepreneurs and legal entities is entered in the Unified Register if they meet the above conditions, and also excluded from this register if circumstances have changed during the control period and the conditions of the enterprise do not correspond to this category. The following documents are required for entering or deleting an enterprise from the register.

1. Information already in the Unified State Register.

2. Information provided in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation on taxes and fees, on the number on the average list for the previous calendar year, information on income received after carrying out activities for the same period, information on the application of certain tax regimes.

3. Information about suppliers (clause 2, article 6 No. 408-FZ of 2015).

4. Information on entering into the Unified Register of Small and Medium Business Entities.

Timing

Filling in the Unified Register is carried out in order to provide relevant information to suppliers for the Federal Tax Service. This information is provided within a certain period strictly before the fifth of July annually and reflects the state for the reporting period until the first of July of the current year. These documents must be submitted in electronic form, signed with a qualified enhanced electronic signature, with the obligatory use of the website of the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation, officially operating on the Internet. There is a special electronic service for the transfer of information by suppliers.

The entire list of joint-stock companies, formed in a certain order, which is established by the government of the Russian Federation, is provided by stock exchanges if the shares are traded on the securities market, and also if they belong to the shares of the innovative high-tech sector of the economy.

Support programs

Since 2005, the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation has been implementing a special program to provide subsidies to provide state support to medium and small businesses in the regions. Funding comes from the federal budget. In 2014, a corresponding resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation regarding this program was adopted, and orders of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation are issued annually in this regard. Farms are also covered by this program.

Further, in the regions, the received targeted funds are distributed through a competition for the implementation of those activities that are provided for by regional programs. The condition is that the regions will definitely finance these projects. This approach attracts financial resources and encourages a more active policy of supporting the activities of small and medium-sized businesses.

Participation

Absolutely all regions of the country participate in this program. Various measures are envisaged to support the development of small and medium-sized businesses. This is especially true for start-up businessmen and youth entrepreneurship.

The infrastructure of advisory and information support for enterprises engaged in the production of services, works, goods is being developed, special attention is also paid to industrial production, the development and implementation of innovations. The field of folk art craft, handicraft, ecological and rural tourism does not stand aside.

Which entered into force on June 30, the share of participation of foreign legal entities, as well as enterprises that are not small and medium-sized, in the authorized capital of small and medium-sized businesses has been increased from 25 to 49 percent. The same law establishes that the category of a small or medium-sized business (SME) changes only if the values ​​of revenue and the number of employees are above or below the limit values ​​for three (and not two, as before) calendar years.

Recall that the criteria for small and medium-sized businesses are given in Article 4 of the Federal Law of July 24, 2007 No. 209-FZ (hereinafter - Law No. 209-FZ). Such entities include consumer cooperatives, commercial organizations (with the exception of SUEs and MUPs), individual entrepreneurs and farms, for which the following conditions are met.

The first condition is the average number of employees

For the previous calendar year, the average number of employees of an organization or an individual entrepreneur should not exceed the number limits for each category of an SME subject:

• from one hundred one to two hundred and fifty people inclusive for medium-sized enterprises;
• up to one hundred people inclusive for small enterprises (micro-enterprises stand out among small enterprises - up to fifteen people).

The second condition is the proceeds from the sale of goods (works, services)

The proceeds of an organization or individual entrepreneur from sales, excluding VAT, for the last calendar year should not exceed 60 million rubles for micro-enterprises, 400 million rubles for small enterprises and 1 billion rubles for medium-sized enterprises.

Limit values ​​of revenue are approved by the Government of the Russian Federation. At the same time, the previous version of Article 4 of Law No. 209-FZ obliged such values ​​to be reviewed every five years. The law excludes the requirement for such periodicity.

An important point: earlier, in order for an organization or individual entrepreneur to receive or lose the status of an SME, both conditions (indicators of average headcount and revenue) must be met or not met for two calendar years in a row. And under the new rules, effective from June 30, the category of an SME will change only if the values ​​of revenue and the number of employees are above or below the limit values ​​for three consecutive calendar years. That is, if, for example, revenue for 2013-2015. will exceed 400 million rubles, then the organization will cease to be recognized as a small business entity only in 2016.

The third condition (only for organizations) - the share of participation in the authorized capital

Until June 30, small and medium-sized businesses, in general, included organizations in the authorized capital of which:

• the total share of participation of the state, constituent entities of the Russian Federation, municipalities, foreign organizations, public and religious organizations, as well as charitable and other foundations did not exceed 25 percent.
• the share of participation of one or more enterprises that are not small and medium did not exceed 25 percent.

Since June 30, the share requirements for some organizations have changed. Now, small and medium-sized businesses, in the general case, include organizations in the authorized capital of which:

• the share of participation of the state, subjects of the Russian Federation, municipalities, charitable and other foundations, public and religious organizations in the authorized capital of the organization does not exceed 25 percent;
• the total share of participation of foreign legal entities does not exceed 49 percent;
• the total share of participation of one or more enterprises that are not small and medium does not exceed 49 percent.

Recall that organizations and entrepreneurs belonging to small businesses can significantly simplify their accounting and reporting. In addition, they have a simplified procedure for cash discipline.

The activities of small and medium-sized businesses in Russia are regulated by Federal Law 209-FZ “On the Development of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses in the Russian Federation” adopted on July 24, 2007, which specifies the criteria for classifying an enterprise as a small business.

Small and medium-sized businesses include consumer cooperatives and commercial organizations entered in the unified state register of legal entities (with the exception of state and municipal unitary enterprises), as well as individuals entered in the unified state register of individual entrepreneurs and carrying out entrepreneurial activities without forming a legal entity ( hereinafter referred to as individual entrepreneurs), peasant (farm) households that meet the conditions listed below.

Status restriction

For legal entities - the total share of participation of the Russian Federation, constituent entities of the Russian Federation, municipalities, foreign legal entities, foreign citizens, public and religious organizations (associations), charitable and other funds in the authorized (share) capital (share fund) of these legal entities does not must exceed twenty-five percent (except for the assets of joint-stock investment funds and closed-end mutual funds), the share of participation owned by one or more legal entities that are not small and medium-sized businesses must not exceed 49% (this restriction does not apply to business entities whose activity consists in the practical application (implementation) of the results of intellectual activity (programs for electronic computers, databases, inventions, utility models, industrial designs, breeding achievements, topologies of integrated circuits, production secrets (know-how)), exclusive rights to which belong to the founders (participants) of such economic companies - budgetary scientific institutions or scientific institutions established by state academies of sciences or budgetary educational institutions of higher professional education or educational institutions of higher professional education created by state academies of sciences).

(clause 1 part 1 article 4 209-FZ "On the development of small and medium-sized businesses in the Russian Federation").

Restriction on the number of employees

Depending on the average number of employees per calendar year, enterprises are divided into:

• micro-enterprises - up to 15 employees;
• small businesses - up to 100 employees inclusive;
• medium enterprises - from 101 to 250 employees inclusive.

Revenue limit

From April 4, 2016, in accordance with Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of April 4, 2016 N 265 "On the marginal values ​​of income received from entrepreneurial activities for each category of small and medium-sized businesses", the marginal values ​​​​of income received from entrepreneurial activities for the previous calendar year, determined in the manner prescribed by the legislation of the Russian Federation on taxes and fees, summarized for all types of activities carried out and applied for all tax regimes, for the following categories of small and medium-sized businesses:

• micro-enterprises - 120 million rubles;
• small enterprises - 800 million rubles;
• medium-sized enterprises - 2 billion rubles.

Small business lending

The largest banks in the lending market for small and medium-sized businesses in the Russian Federation in 2009 (the rating is current as of April 7, 2010), thousand rubles:

• Sberbank 191 732 686.87
• Bank Uralsib 217 346 252.27
• Rosselkhozbank 200 140 044.30

2019

Types of small business activities in Russia

Among the most likely risks, 72% named a decrease in demand for products and services, 70% - tax increases, 64% - unpredictable changes in legislation, 41% - the emergence of problems with the security forces, 25% - the likelihood of a raider takeover. 52% of respondents are afraid for their own security against the background of the imperfection of the judicial system and a low percentage of acquittals. Business is least of all afraid of a default and destabilization of the economy (20%) and changes in the political situation (22%).

10% of respondents named the next three years as the best business plan - to wind down the business and close the company. 33% of businessmen plan to maintain their business at the achieved level, 26% consider it right to develop a business with a focus on quick returns, 23% prefer to invest in long-term development.

More than half of the respondents (51%) are skeptical about the future, and in the five-year perspective they expect the conditions for doing business to worsen. Only 23% of Russian businessmen are planning to implement long-term strategies. In the next three years, every third entrepreneur plans to maintain his business at the achieved level, about the same number (26%) are aimed at developing with a return in the short term. Another 10% are thinking about closing their own business, 6% would like to sell it.

Representatives of large, medium and small businesses of the Russian Federation took part in the survey. 500 respondents were interviewed. The maximum size of the error with a probability of 95 percent does not exceed 4.5 percent, the VTsIOM specified.

Sberbank: Where do the main centenarians of small and medium-sized businesses work in Russia

• 64% of SMEs that were active in January 2016 are still active today.
• On average, 56 thousand new active businesses appear in Russia every month, and 28 thousand stop operations.
• The likelihood that the enterprise will continue to work is especially high after the first year of existence.
• SMEs registered in the Far East live longer than others.
• The main "long-livers" in small and medium-sized businesses are in the medical sector and the mining industry.
• The most "active" businessman in Russia has 167 companies currently operating.

Less stable on the horizon of 36 months was the land transport business. During the first half of the year of activity, 8.7% of companies close down, only 58.4% survive to the age of three years, which is 12 percentage points below the average for all OKVED groups.

In the construction sector, 11.5% of registered companies cease their activities within six months. A similar situation is noted in the non-banking financial sector, advertising, and certain areas of retail trade.

However, after the closure of a legal entity, Russians most often continue to do business. Almost 20% of our fellow citizens who have ever opened their own business have registered more than one legal entity. 16% of active entrepreneurs are shareholders of more than one enterprise, 1% own five or more companies. According to SberData, the record was the participation of one person in 167 legal entities at once, all of which are still working today.

Rosstat for the first time disclosed the share of small and medium-sized businesses in the economy

The share of small and medium-sized businesses in the Russian economy is 21.9%. The relevant data was first published by Rosstat on its website. This is an estimate for 2017, the results of 2018 have not yet been summed up.

The share of small and medium-sized businesses is calculated as the ratio of the total volume of gross value added created by medium and small enterprises (including micro-enterprises) and individual entrepreneurs to the gross value added in basic prices of all business entities, follows from the methodology approved by Rosstat at the end of December 2018. In money terms, this is more than 20 trillion rubles. for 2017.

The contribution of small and medium-sized businesses to GDP was published by Rosstat for the first time. Earlier, Rosstat and the Ministry of Economic Development conducted their analysis of the share of SMEs in gross value added, but did not publish its results, the report of the Accounts Chamber said. According to these data, the contribution of small and medium-sized businesses to the economy in 2014 was 19%, in 2015 - 19.9%, in 2016 - 21.6%.

The share of small and medium-sized businesses in the GDP of developed countries is 50-60%. So, this is 51%, in Germany - 53%, in Finland - 60%, in the Netherlands - 63% (data from the Institute for Growth Economics).

Siluanov: the share of small and medium-sized businesses in the economy will be 23%

The share of small and medium-sized businesses in the Russian economy in 2019 will be 23%. This was stated by First Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Anton Siluanov at a meeting of President Vladimir Putin with members of the government, RBC reports in January. Last year, the share of small business in GDP reached 20%.

The authorities want to increase the number of employees of small companies this year to 19.6 million people. By 2024, the government plans to increase the share of small and medium-sized businesses in the economy to 32%, the minister added.

2018

Research by Tinkoff and Inc.

Business growth and profit

Almost half of the respondents noted an increase in profits last year (47%), a fifth of those who answered questions from Tinkoff and Inc. Russia in 2018 there were no changes (20.4%). Less than a third of entrepreneurs (28.7%) said that profits had fallen. Almost 3.9% more could not give a specific answer, since they have been working on the market for the first year.

As for scaling, here, as it turned out, the business mostly remained at the same level (about 40%) or grew (37%). Only one in five companies (19.7%) had to optimize processes to keep their business afloat. Another 3.7% of respondents noted that they had to close their business.

Relations with government agencies

Almost 86% of the interviewed entrepreneurs said that in 2018 they did not encounter any facts of corruption in their activities. Only about 12% reported similar cases in their practice involving officials. In addition, some entrepreneurs noted that they generally try not to deal with government orders in order to avoid corruption risks in principle. Several survey participants spoke about relevant hints from representatives of government agencies, but in their case, the matter did not come down to specific facts of corruption.

Fiscal authorities, judging by the results of the survey, cause the most criticism from Russian business. Almost every third company (about 30%) faced problems in one way or another related to the activities of the Federal Tax Service. Entrepreneurs criticize the tax authorities for unfair, in their opinion, fines, mistakes and confusion with documents, bureaucracy, as well as incomprehensible and sometimes absurd requests. But at the same time, two-thirds of the respondents (67%) did not experience any particular problems in communicating with the tax service in 2018.

Sanctions

More than half (57.6%) of the entrepreneurs who participated in the survey said that the sanctions had no effect on their business. About 37% of the respondents answered that it became more difficult for them to earn money. At the same time, every tenth participant in the survey noted the sanctions as an indirect reason for the fall in profits - customers have less money, the average check has decreased. Other negative consequences of the sanctions are difficulties in importing raw materials and equipment, problems due to fluctuations in exchange rates, and the inability to attract foreign investment.

Entrepreneurs, who, on the contrary, made money on the current situation, called import substitution the main benefit of sanctions - in some markets, foreign companies have been replaced by domestic producers. True, there were few winners - only 5.3% of business owners who participated in the survey noted the positive effect of sanctions.

Results

The main conclusion that can be drawn from the results of the survey is that two-thirds of Russian small and medium-sized companies do not reduce turnover or increase profits. The main impediments to development are insufficiently coherent actions and demands on the part of the tax authorities and other officials. The problems of entrepreneurs, as it turned out, are largely related not so much to corruption, but to bureaucracy, insufficiently tuned tax administration and the consequences of sanctions.

The small business sentiment index in November 2018 was minus 32 points. Entrepreneurs were more pessimistic only in November 2015 (minus 38). With a moderately negative assessment of the current economic situation, entrepreneurs sharply worsened their forecasts for the next six months - the index of business expectations reached minus 54 points. This is the lowest mark during the measurements.

Main trends:

• The predominance of negative expectations regarding the prospects for the economic situation and the purchasing power of the population in the next 6 months. The increase in VAT from 18% to 20%, the sharp decline in oil prices in November, the weakening of the ruble and the acceleration of inflation affect.
• Since 2015, the share of companies whose activities are related to imports has decreased from 36% to 22%. However, small businesses – especially in wholesale, retail and manufacturing – remain dependent on imports and, for the most part, are reluctant to change.
• Compared to the first half of the year, there are more companies that report an increase in sales, average check and, as a result, an increase in profits and revenues.
• High taxes and lack of financial resources for business development are the most pressing problems in all industries. At the same time, IT companies suffer from a lack of qualified personnel. Entrepreneurs see the key tasks for themselves as expanding the client base and increasing the profitability of the business in the face of a growing tax burden.

• Entrepreneurs reacted sensitively to the slowdown in the growth of the Russian economy (according to the Ministry of Economic Development, GDP growth rates in the III quarter amounted to 1.3% against 1.8% in the II quarter) and a sharp drop in oil prices in November 2018 and gave more negative assessments of the situation in economy than six months ago.
• 85% of respondents believe that the current economic situation in the country slows down business development and will worsen in the next 6 months (63%). Since the beginning of the year, the purchasing power of the population in the country has deteriorated (78% of respondents), and will continue to decline (68%).
• The representatives of wholesale and retail trade, which are under pressure from inflationary expectations, are the most negative in their assessments of the future.
• Describing the situation in their own company, 47% of respondents noted a decrease in profits, 28% - a decrease in the average bill, 30% - a decrease in the number of customers.
• At the same time, over the past six months, the number of companies that managed to increase profits (18% of respondents), the number of customers (28%) and the average check (24%) has grown.
• Every fourth company plans to expand its staff, 12% of entrepreneurs have announced their intention to raise salaries.
• 21% of entrepreneurs consider their business to be successful – this share practically does not change.
• Russian entrepreneurs understand success as "high income", "opportunity to expand business" and "creation of products or services of the highest quality". These are the three main signs of success, which are most often mentioned by our respondents.
• However, in November 2018, in the context of a slowdown in economic growth, small businesses began to talk less about creating high-quality products as a criterion for success and more often about stability and maintaining current business volumes.
• Over the past year, the share of companies that are ready to continue operating in order to achieve success has significantly decreased from 41% to 35%.
• 17% are ready to close or sell the business if they do not achieve success in the foreseeable future (1-5 years). 31% and 24%, respectively, are ready to change the business model or type of activity.
• Entrepreneurs cite high taxes (49%), lack of funds for development (38%) and reduced demand (37%) as the main problems.

2017

Markswebb: Which banks open a checking account for a small business quickly and easily?

The time of opening a current account in Russian banks varies from several hours to several weeks. In some, it is enough to fill in several fields online, upload a couple of scans and certify the documents that the bank will prepare and bring the client manager. In others, in order to open a current account, you will have to fill out piles of documents yourself (sometimes by hand), go to the branch 2-4 times and wait days and weeks for the bank to consider the application.

Which bank should an entrepreneur who wants to open a current account as quickly, remotely and simply as possible apply? According to the results of the study Business Bank Account Opening 2017 by Markswebb, these are Modulbank, Alfa-Bank, Tochka Bank, Tinkoff Bank and Promsvyazbank.

The best results in terms of a combination of factors were shown by Modulbank, Tochka, Alfa-Bank and Tinkoff Bank. All four banks offer the opportunity to open an account without visiting the bank's offices, but otherwise, despite similar ratings, they differ greatly in the organization of the account opening process and in certain key metrics.

At Tochka, the process of opening an account is the easiest for the client, which consists of 12 “conditional actions”:

• 6 actions at the stage of filling out an application on the site: the client enters his phone number, e-mail and TIN, uploads a scan of his passport, SNILS and income statement;
• 3 actions during the next contact: the client answers the manager on the phone to 3 questions: type of company's activity, taxation system, turnover (actual or expected);
• 3 actions during a meeting with a client manager: 1 signature, confirmation of access to the Internet bank with a code from sms, email confirmation.

The closest in terms of simplicity of the process, Vesta Bank opens a current account after 23 “conditional actions”, and Modulbank after 28. client manager, who could not be appointed earlier than 2 days after filling out the application.

Alfa-Bank showed the shortest total time for contacts with the bank in the process of opening an account - 31 minutes, including a meeting with a client manager. Tinkoff Bank showed the shortest waiting time for a bank response among banks that open accounts with a client manager on site - just under 26 hours.

The process of opening a current account in outsider banks is dramatically different from the organization in leading banks. First of all, this is expressed in the number of visits to bank offices for the full opening of a current account: it can vary from 1 to 4. Taking into account the time costs (on average 1 hour 10 minutes for a round trip), the need to go to the bank office increases the time spent by the client to open an account for 5 or more hours.

In the banks that took the last places in the rating, the client needs much more effort and time to open a current account for small businesses. One of the key factors that significantly increase the complexity of the process is the completion of long paper or electronic questionnaires. For example, in the Asia-Pacific Bank, you need to fill out 11 different documents in electronic form (about 150 fields in total). At VTB24, when submitting an application at the bank office, you must fill out an application for opening an account and a questionnaire for an individual entrepreneur in two copies (fill in more than 30 fields by hand, including PSRNIP and TIN).

An important difference between the rating leaders and outsiders is that the process of opening a current account is organized centrally, and the influence of the human factor is reduced to zero. Tochka, Modulbank and Tinkoff Bank process each application according to the same scheme and automate most of the processes.

When an application is tied to a specific bank office and a specific person is responsible for the client, there is a high probability that something will go wrong. For example, the time declared by the bank for processing the application turns out to be significantly longer: Uralsib Bank promised to check the documents in 5 days, and in fact announced the decision 15 working days after the client's independent call to the bank.

Alfa Bank: Small Business Sentiment Index

The small business sentiment index, calculated by Alfa-Bank experts together with the MARC International Research Center using their own methodology, turned out to be the highest in two years of the study in June 2017 and amounted to minus 21 points (the index value can vary from minus 100 to 100).

Assessing business expectations by country and industry compared to November 2016 also became more positive. This is largely due to the fact that the consequences of a cold summer will affect the price growth only in 2018 - due to the weather conditions this summer, the harvest of fruits and vegetables may be partially lost, and fewer stocks will be transferred next year.

Freight companies gave a more negative outlook on the economic situation than six months ago. Construction, manufacturing and wholesale trade are expected to see some recovery in the next 6 months. With regard to regional specifics, the expectations of entrepreneurs in the Central and Ural regions have significantly improved.

situation in your business companies evaluate more positively compared to November 2016, but the expectations of entrepreneurs six months ago turned out to be better than the real situation. This is largely due to the fact that a third of companies report stagnation. At the same time, representatives of small businesses are less likely to talk about the negative impact of sanctions, despite the extension of EU sanctions against Russia and the expansion of the sanctions list from outside.

In November 2016, entrepreneurs were more restrained in assessments of the situation for the next six months, then the index value reached 9, in June of this year the index of expectations was 20. Entrepreneurs are optimistic about the future: more and more players are aimed at increasing profits, revenues, frequency of purchases and customer base. First of all, this is due to the expected improvement in the purchasing power of the population (including in connection with the increase in the minimum wage).

2016: Alfa-bank: Index of sentiments of small business

The assessment of the current economic situation, both by country and by industry, has become more positive compared to November 2015. At the same time, companies are more restrained in their assessment of purchasing power. Traditionally, the assessment of the current situation in the country is more negative than the assessment of the situation in the industry. This may be the result of both a general negative information background and a deeper knowledge of entrepreneurs in their particular industry.

The negative impact of sanctions was noted by representatives of all companies, except for IT and cargo transportation

The small business sentiment index, calculated by Alfa-Bank experts together with the MARC International Research Center using their own methodology, at the end of 2016 slightly decreased compared to June of this year - (-27) and (-24), respectively (the index value may vary from - 100 to 100) .

The final index is formed by four intermediate indices that characterize an assessment of the current situation in the economy and in one's own business, as well as expectations for the next six months in the country and in one's own company:

• Index of the current economic situation (-67), in June (-68);
• Business Expectations Index (-35), in June (-27);
• Index of the current situation for the company (-15), in June (-16);
• Index of expectations for the company (9), in June (17).

Industry Sentiment Index

Over the past two years, companies in the areas of marketing, business services and IT have been feeling more confident (-17) and (-19), respectively. Cargo transportation companies are doing noticeably better (-24) – the highest figure in two years in June 2016 (-32). This is due to imports, which are regaining their positions, while hindering the development of production (-26), this summer (-19). Against the backdrop of falling real incomes of the population, wholesale (-28), retail (-33) and construction (-31) companies expect the situation to worsen.

The assessment of the current economic situation both in the country and by industry, in comparison with June 2016, practically did not change - (-67). At the same time, the optimistic mood regarding the growth of purchasing power, which entrepreneurs had 6 months ago, did not materialize: only 2% noted an improvement, which is 5 times lower than expected.

The assessment of business expectations for the country and industries decreased in all indicators - (-35). Manufacturing (-40), construction (-37) and wholesale (-33) companies are less optimistic. In the field of cargo transportation, expectations for the next six months are more optimistic - (-27).

Entrepreneurs estimate the situation in their business at about the same level (-15) as in June 2016, while the real situation at the end of 2016 turned out to be worse than they expected in summer. The negative impact of the sanctions was noted by representatives of all companies, except for IT and cargo transportation.

In November 2016, entrepreneurs were more reserved in assessing the situation for the next six months (9) than in June this year. However, positive expectations prevail over negative ones in all business indicators, except for profit and revenue, primarily due to the expected growth in business expenses in 2017 (to comply with the requirements of No. 54-FZ (as amended by No. 290-FZ), entrepreneurs will have to replace the fleet of cash registers) and the tax burden.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are organizations and individual entrepreneurs that, in accordance with certain conditions, belong to small and medium-sized enterprises and information about which is indicated in the unified register of such entities (clause 1, article 3 of the Federal Law of July 24, 2007 No. 209-FZ). It is convenient to be an SME and especially a small business, because small businesses, for example, can generally keep simplified accounting and compile simplified financial statements. Small businesses may not approve the cash balance limit (clause 2 of the Directive of the Central Bank of March 11, 2014 No. 3210-U). Many small businesses cannot conduct scheduled inspections in 2020 (but we are not talking about inspections by the Federal Tax Service or the FSS) (part 3.1, article 1, article 26.2 of the Federal Law of December 26, 2008 No. 294-FZ).

Medium and small enterprises: criteria 2020

The criteria for small businesses in 2020 are established by Art. 4 of the Federal Law of July 24, 2007 No. 209-FZ.

For small and medium-sized businesses, we will group the 2020 criteria in tables.

At the same time, we will divide such criteria into 3 groups: legal criteria, criteria for the number and criteria for income. If a business entity or business partnership meets at least one of the legal criteria, it is necessary to verify their compliance with the headcount criterion (more precisely, the average number of employees for the previous calendar year) and the income criterion. But for production, consumer cooperatives, peasant (farmer) households and individual entrepreneurs, only the criteria of number and income are important. Other conditions for them are not taken into account.

Legal Criteria

For business entities and partnerships, the legal criteria for classifying an enterprise as a small business are as follows.

Small and medium enterprises: 2020 criteria by number

Small and Medium Businesses: Income Criteria

Please note that the SMP category is determined in accordance with the most significant condition (part 3 of article 4 of the Federal Law of July 24, 2007 No. 209-FZ). If, for example, in terms of size, an LLC that meets the legal criteria can be considered a micro-enterprise, but its revenue for the past year is in the range of more than 800 million rubles to 2 billion rubles inclusive, such an LLC will be considered a medium-sized enterprise.

Small and Medium Businesses: Registry

You can find out if your organization belongs to a small or medium business using