About SME Benchmarking Tool

This page provides background information on SME Benchmarking Tool, direction on how you can use it to help you start or grow your business, and links to additional resources that will provide more in-depth information on SME Benchmarking Tool.


What is SME benchmarking tool?

SME Benchmarking Tool provides access to industry averages for income statement and balance sheet items, financial ratios and information on profitability for small and medium-sized businesses.

It features detailed financial data on more than 600 industries across Canada, including more than 30 performance benchmarks to help small businesses determine how they measure up to their competitors.

This tool is based on the Small Business Profiles (SBP), which are created by Statistics Canada using a sample of Revenue Canada tax returns for both incorporated and unincorporated businesses operating in Canada. The most recent version of the Small Business Profiles is for 2010.

The Small Business Profiles are created on an industry basis using the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) for 2007.

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How Can SME benchmarking tool help my business?

SME Benchmarking Tool can help both new and existing businesses to better understand how competing firms operate in their chosen industry.


How SME benchmarking tool can help new businesses ?

When starting a new business, one of the most important activities you can undertake is the preparation of your business plan.

SME Benchmarking Tool can help you to complete the financial component of your business plan by providing an accurate sense of the cost structure of similar businesses in your industry.

By examining the differences in expense categories for businesses within different revenue levels you can get a more accurate reading of expected costs for firms that match your anticipated revenue level. Furthermore, you can project how the cost structure for your business may change as your business grows and revenue levels increase.


How SME benchmarking tool can help existing businesses ?

Business plans are not just for start-ups. Revisiting and updating your business plan frequently can help you to ensure that your business is performing optimally - staying on top changing business conditions, keeping tabs on the competition and injecting fresh ideas into your operations.

Whether you are putting together a formal business plan or seeking to make an operational decision, SME Benchmarking Tool can provide insight on the operations of similar small and medium-sized businesses in your industry - from amounts spent in specific expense categories to the general health of the firms in operation.

SME Benchmarking Tool also offers you the option of entering data from your business - annual revenue and expense data and assets/liabilities - which can be used to benchmark your small or medium sized business against relevant industry averages.

Benchmarking using SME Benchmarking Tool can identify areas in which your business deviates from the relevant industry average, identifying opportunities to make changes to your cost structure that may help you to grow your business.

  • For example, if other businesses in your revenue quartile spend 8% of their revenue on Advertising and promotion and your business spends 4%, you may consider boosting spending for your business in this area.

No matter how you choose to use the data in SME Benchmarking Tool, it can provide you with needed perspective to help you steer your business in the right direction.

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Related resources

Additional resources are available to help you get more detailed information on SME Benchmarking Tool.

Glossary of Terms
Find definitions for income statement and balance sheet terms used in SME Benchmarking Tool reports.

Small Business Profiles - Data Sources and Methods
Get detailed information from Statistics Canada on how the Small Business Profiles are created for SME Benchmarking Tool.

North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 2007
Learn more about NAICS, which is used to classify industries in SME Benchmarking Tool, and browse the entire classification system.