Finding customers is the No. 1 challenge faced by small- and medium-sized businesses in New York State, not taxes, according to a survey released Thursday.

Only 4 percent of companies with fewer than 500 employees ranked taxes as their top challenge in the first half of 2014, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported. Ninety-nine percent of all firms in the state are that size, according to census data.

Of the 656 businesses surveyed last fall by the New York Fed, a quarter said attracting customers was their biggest challenge. Nineteen percent listed uneven cash flow and 15 percent cited credit availability.

The responses were included in a credit survey by four Federal Reserve banks. The survey is conducted twice a year and helps to inform the nation's central bank about business financing.