Research Guides: MBAB 5P23: Entrepreneurship: Financial Resources

Financial Resources

These resources can help you to:

What is the cost structure of similar businesses in your chosen industry? Is the industry capital or labour intensive?
It is possible to benchmark your pro-forma financial statement data by type of business, size of business, and by line of business (e.g. industry or NAICS) using these sources:

IBISWorld Industry Research Database This link opens in a new window - Consult the Key Statistics section of the report for Key Ratios such as: Industry Value Added/Revenue; Revenue/Employee; Wages/Revenue; Employees/Establishment; Wages/Employee. - Industry Financial Ratios (compiled by RMA Annual Statement Studies) are available for US Industries.

First Research Industry Profiles (via Mergent Intellect)
Each First Research industry profile includes financial performance data for over 900 industries.

Statista This link opens in a new window Contains more than 1 million statistics on over 80,000 topics.Contains Statista dossiers and industry reports for 170 industries and 150 countries.Includes market forecasts, as well as market, industry and country outlooks and insights.

How to estimate startup costs (Intuit QuickBooks)
- A beginner's guide to startup costs including how to estimate startup costs for a restaurant.
Bottom-Up Sales Forecasting for Pre-revenue startups (MaRS)
Features a workbook to assist entrepreneurs through the process of creating sales forecasts using the Bottom-Up Sales Forecasting approach.
Building an early-stage B2B sales forecast (MaRS)
Finance - MaRS Startup Toolkit
Accounting for startups—the basics include payroll, financial statements, taxation, bookkeeping, laws and accounting principles. Get versed in this language of business and know when to bring in an accountant. Founders also need to know which revenue model to choose.

Business Benefits Finder (Government of Canada)
An online tool to find programs, services, funding, and grants for entrepreneurs, businesses, and non-profits.
Fundraising - MaRS Startup Toolkit
Find out how to build a great pitch deck for potential investors, and other funding strategies for startups.