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Would small business owners in Ohio pay $50 a month for an AI bookkeeping assistant?

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Self-employed adults in Ohio, 571,000 people · 571 profiles askedFirst 100 free · Need more?
32%chose “Probably would not pay”
0%95% interval 28% to 36%100%

Summary

32% of self-employed adults in Ohio said they probably would not pay $50 per month for an AI bookkeeping assistant, against 30% who said they probably would pay. The intervals overlap, so the sample cannot put those two answers in order.

  1. 1Widest gap · employment: 18 pts — employed adults are higher than adults not in the labor force on probably would not pay, and the gap is clear.
  2. 2The lead: 2 pts — the two leading answers are inside the margin, so the sample cannot rank them.
  3. 3How it settled: 3 pts — the leading estimate moved less than its own margin over the last 281 profiles, so the sample had settled.

These are synthetic profiles rather than real people; on 46 multiple-choice questions checked against the 2024 General Social Survey, simulated answers sat a median 24 points from real people’s within demographic groups and 16 points nationally.

What people answered

The share choosing each option. The dot is the estimate; the band is the 95% interval.

0%25%50%75%100%
Probably would not pay
32% 28%–36%
Probably would pay
30% 26%–34%
Definitely would not pay
29% 25%–32%
Definitely would pay
8% 6%–10%
Not sure
2% 1%–3%
estimate 95% interval

How the estimate settled

Each answer's share after every ten profiles; the band is the 95% interval of the leading answer, and it narrows as more people are asked.

10 profiles: 30% (11% to 60%)20 profiles: 35% (18% to 57%)30 profiles: 37% (22% to 54%)40 profiles: 40% (26% to 55%)50 profiles: 38% (26% to 52%)60 profiles: 37% (26% to 49%)70 profiles: 34% (24% to 46%)80 profiles: 34% (24% to 45%)90 profiles: 33% (24% to 44%)100 profiles: 32% (24% to 42%)110 profiles: 31% (23% to 40%)120 profiles: 31% (23% to 40%)130 profiles: 32% (25% to 41%)140 profiles: 33% (26% to 41%)150 profiles: 35% (28% to 43%)160 profiles: 34% (27% to 42%)170 profiles: 35% (28% to 42%)180 profiles: 34% (27% to 41%)190 profiles: 34% (28% to 41%)200 profiles: 34% (28% to 41%)210 profiles: 35% (29% to 41%)220 profiles: 35% (29% to 41%)230 profiles: 34% (29% to 41%)240 profiles: 35% (29% to 41%)250 profiles: 34% (29% to 40%)260 profiles: 34% (29% to 40%)270 profiles: 34% (29% to 40%)280 profiles: 35% (29% to 40%)290 profiles: 35% (30% to 41%)300 profiles: 35% (30% to 41%)310 profiles: 34% (29% to 40%)320 profiles: 34% (29% to 40%)330 profiles: 35% (30% to 40%)340 profiles: 34% (30% to 40%)350 profiles: 34% (30% to 39%)360 profiles: 34% (29% to 39%)370 profiles: 34% (29% to 38%)380 profiles: 33% (28% to 38%)390 profiles: 33% (29% to 38%)400 profiles: 34% (29% to 39%)410 profiles: 33% (29% to 38%)420 profiles: 34% (29% to 38%)430 profiles: 33% (29% to 38%)440 profiles: 33% (29% to 38%)450 profiles: 33% (29% to 37%)460 profiles: 33% (29% to 37%)470 profiles: 33% (28% to 37%)480 profiles: 33% (28% to 37%)490 profiles: 32% (28% to 37%)500 profiles: 32% (28% to 36%)510 profiles: 32% (28% to 36%)520 profiles: 32% (28% to 36%)530 profiles: 32% (28% to 36%)540 profiles: 32% (28% to 36%)550 profiles: 32% (28% to 36%)560 profiles: 32% (28% to 36%)570 profiles: 32% (28% to 36%)571 profiles: 32% (28% to 36%)
0%37%74%14328642857132%
Probably would not pay32%
Probably would pay30%
Definitely would not pay29%
Definitely would pay8%
95% interval of “Probably would not pay”

Who was asked

The make-up of the sample, drawn to match the population asked.

Sex571 profiles
men 61%women 39%
Employment571 profiles
employed 79%not in the labor force 20%unemployed 1%
Education571 profiles
high school diploma 29%bachelor's degree 20%some college 19%graduate degree 12%associate degree 9%other 11%
Age537 profiles
55-59 11%60-64 11%45-49 11%65-69 10%30-34 10%other 46%

Why they answered this way

People who would pay see the assistant as a way to save time, catch mistakes, and avoid doing bookkeeping themselves. Those who would not pay focus on the recurring cost, tight budgets, and not seeing enough value from another subscription.

Fifty dollars every month feels like too much for something I might only use now and then.
Man, 60, OhioProbably would not pay
I’d rather keep doing the books myself than add another subscription to our household bills.
Woman, 63, OhioProbably would not pay
My business is small, and I don't see enough work being saved to make the fee worthwhile.
Man, 47, OhioProbably would not pay
Paying for it would make sense if it keeps me from spending evenings sorting receipts and fixing entries.
Woman, 53, OhioProbably would pay
I use online tools for most things already, so I’d pay if it takes bookkeeping off my plate.
Man, 26, OhioProbably would pay
The monthly cost is reasonable if it catches mistakes and saves me time I can use on customers.
Man, 35, OhioProbably would pay
Not in my budget.
Man, 39, OhioDefinitely would not pay
My household runs on a very tight budget, so a bookkeeping app isn't something I can justify.
Woman, 58, Ohio · not workingDefinitely would not pay
No personal income means I can't take on another monthly charge, especially for a business tool.
Man, 38, Ohio · not workingDefinitely would not pay

Who answered what

Share answering “Probably would not pay”, by the attributes of the people asked, against everyone (the vertical line). Groups with few profiles have wide intervals.

Biggest gaps

On each attribute, the group that answered lowest and the one that answered highest, and the gap between them. Groups of at least ten profiles.

  1. Employment18 pts
    not in the labor force 18%employed 36%
  2. Age27 pts · within the margin
    20-24 17%70-74 44%
  3. Education17 pts · within the margin
    graduate degree 22%high school diploma 39%
  4. Sex2 pts · within the margin
    women 31%men 33%

Sex

0%25%50%75%100%
men
33% 28%–38%
women
31% 25%–37%
estimate 95% interval everyone

Employment

0%25%50%75%100%
employed
36% 31%–40%
not in the labor force
18% 12%–26%
unemployed
33% 10%–70%
estimate 95% interval everyone

Education

0%25%50%75%100%
high school diploma
39% 32%–46%
bachelor's degree
32% 24%–41%
some college
31% 23%–40%
graduate degree
22% 14%–33%
associate degree
28% 17%–42%
less than 9th grade
26% 15%–43%
some high school
35% 21%–53%
estimate 95% interval everyone

Age

0%25%50%75%100%
15-19
33% 6%–79%
20-24
17% 7%–36%
25-29
37% 25%–51%
30-34
33% 22%–47%
35-39
30% 19%–45%
40-44
36% 24%–49%
45-49
33% 22%–46%
50-54
35% 23%–48%
55-59
25% 16%–37%
60-64
37% 26%–50%
65-69
32% 21%–45%
70-74
44% 27%–63%
estimate 95% interval everyone

Every breakdown

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The answer by all ninety attributes, ranked by how much they separate people, with an interval on each.

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State by state

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The answer in every state, mapped, with the sample behind each.

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In the full report

This page is the free preview: the answer, why, and four breakdowns. A full run adds the rest. See what the report holds on this sample, or read a finished report.

The kinds of people in this answer

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Four or five groups of reasons, each with its share and its number: who anchors on today’s bill, who shares a login, who pays for the kids.

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Every reason, exportable

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All the people asked, in their own words, with their attributes, as a table to filter and download.

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The whole population

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Thousands of profiles instead of a hundred: intervals a fifth as wide, and rare groups large enough to read.

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The next questions

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Would you take ads for five dollars less? Which service would you drop first? Asked of the same people.

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A one-page summary

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How this was computed

Populationself-employed adults in Ohio, 571,000 peopleQuestion as asked“Would you pay $50 per month for an AI bookkeeping assistant for your business?”
Options: Definitely would pay · Probably would pay · Probably would not pay · Definitely would not pay · Not sureSample571 profiles drawn in a fixed representative order from the population; asking more extends the same sample rather than starting overMethodEach profile answers in character from its own attributes. Answers outside the format are discarded before counting.AccuracyThe interval reflects sampling variation in the simulated sample. On 46 multiple-choice questions checked against the 2024 General Social Survey, simulated answers from this population sat a median 24 points from real people's within demographic groups and 16 points nationally. Every checkAssumptionsThe available population attributes do not distinguish small businesses from other businesses; business_owner=true is used as the closest available filter.

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