Research Guides: ENTR 2P91: Entrepreneurship: Financial Feasibility

Financial Feasibility Analysis

These resources can help you to:

Understand industry cost structures and levels of capital intensity
Compare the financial performance of similar businesses in your chosen industry
Estimate your startup costs and forecast sales
Find sources of startup funding

Industry Financial Statement Data Sources

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:

Financial Performance Data (Industry Canada)
This SME benchmarking tool is based on Canadian tax return data. It includes industry-specific averages (by 6 digit NAICS code) for all of Canada, or by province, for income statement & balance sheet items, financial ratios, & profitability information. It covers both incorporated and unincorporated small businesses ranging in revenue from $30,000 to $5,000,000.
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It includes information from T1 General Returns and T2 Corporation Income Tax Returns. Note that non-profit organizations may have to file a T2 return if they are incorporated.
Canadian Industry Statistics (Industry Canada)
"Canadian Industry Statistics presents and analyses industry data on a number of economic indicators using the latest annual data sources from Statistics Canada. " Available data includes: number of establishments, GDP, labour productivity, capital investment. Also links to SME benchmarking data and company directories.

IBISWorld Industry Research Database This link opens in a new window
IBISWorld's US Industry Report collection include industry financial ratios (measuring Liquidity, Profitability, Leverage and Efficiency) that can be used to benchmark company performance.

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.

Estimate Startup Costs & Forecast Sales

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.

Find Sources of Startup Funding

Funding and Financing Hub (QuickBooks Canada Small Business Centre)
QuickBooks blog with articles related to the basics of bookkeeping for business startups.
Business Benefits Finder (Government of Canada)
This tool helps identify grants, loans, private and public sector financing and other options available for businesses.
Fundraising for Startups (MaRS)
Resources for entrepreneurs related to debt financing, funding strategies, investor communication, and finding venture capital investors.