NEW YORK, Dec. 14, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A new study published by Biz2Credit that analyzed 2020-2021 industry trends among small businesses, finds that Information Technology (IT) firms received the most funding of any industry in terms of volume, the highest average amount of funding, and had the highest average revenue. Additionally, the owners of IT businesses had the highest average credit score. The Accommodation and Food Services industry finished second in terms of total funding volume. Food Services businesses also had the highest approval rate for financing.
The Biz2Credit 2021 Top Small Business Industries Report analyzed the financial performance of over 200,000 companies that used the company’s online funding platform to apply for funding, including forgivable loans through the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), in 2020-21.
The analysis examined the following metrics: Annual Revenue, Operating Expenses, Loan Approval Rates, Total Funded Amounts, Business Owners’ Credit Scores, and Age of Business.
Key Findings of the study include:
- The sector with the highest total volume of funding in 2020 was the Information Technology (IT) industry, which secured 18% of all funding issued. The next highest funded industries across the country were Accommodation and Food Services (15.3% of funding volume) and Health Care and Social Assistance (8.2% of funding volume)
- IT business owners had the highest average credit score (636), followed by Real Estate (633), Finance and Insurance (624), Professional and Technical (623), and Health Care (619).
- Businesses in the IT sector had the highest average revenue ($1,518,640). Next were Wholesale Trade ($1.3 million), Manufacturing ($1.1 million), Retail Trade ($750K), Accommodation and Food Services ($626K), and Health Care and Social Assistance ($612K).
- Accommodation and Food Services had the highest approval rate for financing applications at 57%. Close behind were Retail Trade (55%) and Health Care (54%).
- Transportation and Warehousing was the industry with the youngest businesses, which corresponds to the highest number of recent startups. Health Care and Social Assistance had the oldest businesses with an average age of 91 months (7.6 years).
“Demand for IT services increased during the pandemic, leading to improved financial performance,” said Rohit Arora, CEO of Biz2Credit and one of the nation’s leading experts in small business finance.
“Accommodation and Food businesses saw the highest average approval rates for financing requests. This accounted for the second largest percentage of the funding given to small businesses,” Arora added. “These businesses suffered greatly during the pandemic and were able to take advantage of funding programs like the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) that were set up to help them.”
CPA firms proved valuable for small business owners during pandemic
The report also analyzed how frequently businesses in different industries worked with a Certified Professional Accountant (CPA) for financing applications. It examined the data of more than 40,000 small businesses that partnered with CPA firms to process and fund more than $1 billion in PPP loans through the CPA Business Funding Portal. The cloud-based financing platform was developed by Biz2Credit and CPA.com specifically for accounting firms and recently added a term loan option to support CPA firms’ expanding role in business advisory services.
Data from the platform was analyzed as part of the Biz2Credit report. The top five industries working with CPA firms are Accommodation and Food Services (17.8%), Construction (13.6%), Health Care (13.3%), Professional Services (12.0%) and Other Services (9.5%), which includes beauty salons, repair shops, laundry services and a range of other services.
“We know from our experience with small business relief efforts during the pandemic that CPAs provide a critical bridge in securing funding for many business owners,” said Erik Asgeirsson, president and CEO of CPA.com. “Getting CPA firms streamlined access to financing for their clients will have beneficial effects going forward, but particularly so for industries faring less well as the recovery gains strength.”
Methodology
Biz2Credit, a leading online funding provider to small businesses, analyzed the financial performance of over 200,000 companies that submitted funding requests through the company’s online funding platform. The objective of the study is to identify the top industries for small businesses during the preceding year and to measure the performance of businesses based on their industry affiliation. All companies included in the survey have less than 250 employees and less than $10 million in annual revenues. The report covered small businesses across the country, from start-ups to established companies. Biz2Credit also analyzed lending data from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) from the SBA’s database.
The report covers industries based on the NAICS classification system, including the following:
- Accommodation and Food Service: Restaurants and bars, caterers, hotels, motels, and others.
- Business and Professional Services: Accounting and tax preparation, bookkeeping, payroll services, as well as legal, marketing, and design services.
- Healthcare: General medical services, doctor’s offices, dentist’s offices, visiting nurse services, residential care facilities, physical therapist offices, mental health clinics.
- IT: Software developers, software consultants, high technology staffing firms.
- Manufacturing: Companies involved in the manufacture of both durable and non-durable goods.
- Personal Services: Salons, gyms, dance and yoga studios, laundry and dry cleaning, landscaping, cleaning services, and others.
- Retail Trade: Brick-and-mortar stores, ecommerce companies, clothing and fashion, florists, grocery stores, pharmacies, home furnishings, and others.
- Wholesale Trade: Food distributors, wholesale grocers, distributors of various durable goods.
About Biz2Credit
Founded in 2007, Biz2Credit has arranged more than $7 billion in small business financing. The company is expanding its industry-leading technology in custom digital platform solutions for banks and other financial institutions, investors, and service providers. Visit www.biz2credit.com or Twitter @Biz2Credit, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Contact: John Mooney, Over The Moon PR, (908) 663-2121, john@overthemoonpr.com
