"It's really hard to find benchmarks from privately-held companies but FINTEL made it much easier."

"With FINTEL, I get industry information that I was not able to find anywhere else."

"We always need comparables for our projects and thus far had to use public companies' information. Now we are using FINTEL in addition and our analysis has just so much more substance."

"The Fintel analyses and reports have been instrumental in getting our last three clients to come on board and have brought a level of credibility to our own JumpStart Business Development Business Plan that has astonished us and the people of influence that we have shared it with."

"FINTEL's unique dataset is the missing link in benchmarking."

"I have looked at many long and expensive industry reports that at the end did not give me what I needed. Using FINTEL is the opposite; it's less expensive, concise and gives me exactly the numbers that I have missed in other reports."

"A networking partner of mine is a CPA and one of his clients is a Title company. We used the Title company as a "test" subject so the CPA could get a better sense of how Fintel worked and what was possible and as it turned out, the Fintel report was able to put numbers to an issue that the CPA had been trying to work out with his client for a while and ultimately convinced the client to take action because of the report."

"When working on a new investment project, I need industry research and for the financial part of it I always get a FINTEL report. Have not found anything better yet."

"I was looking for reliable financial data from various industries. With FINTEL, I got exactly what I needed."

"When meeting a potential new client, I always prepare myself with a FINTEL report. The prospects are usually amazed by my understanding of their industry, something they usually do not find in other consultants."

How old is the data being used?

The data within our products is aggregated based on the financial statements collected over the past year. If you are looking for older data, please contact us directly.

How often is the data being updated?

Datasets are updated annually.

Can I obtain data from prior years?

Yes, industry data is available for past years. Please contact us with specific interests.

Can I obtain benchmarking data for more detailed accounts of financial statements?

We believe that we offer a comprehensive set of financial statement accounts that is relevant to all of the industries covered in our products, while making this set more detailed may potentially reduce its reliability and relevance. However, users of the Enterprise edition of Business Analyzer have an option of having the set of benchmarking accounts customized to make it more specific to their industry group(s). To learn more of this option, please contact us.

Can I obtain information for a specific company or companies in the sample?

No, this type of data is not available in accordance with the proprietary nature of the data set.

What is meant by "Median Company Statements" shown in the second tab of FIM reports?

"Median Company" referres to a fictional company that in all of the presented characteristics would display median performance in relation to its industry.

How are the industry size segments (small, medium-sized and large) determined?

We break industry groups down into industry specific size segments, rather than applying fixed thresholds across all industries. The companies found within the upper 25% of an industry, based on sales, are considered large, those within the lower 25% are small and the rest are assumed to be medium-size.

What happens if a particular industry group has a very small number of companies?

The smallest industry groups for which we present data contain 7 companies. However, this size is potentially less reliable and if you consider this comparison base to be too small, we suggest that you obtain a report for a less specific group within the same major industry group. This may mean switching from a 4-digit SIC code to the corresponding 3-digit SIC code. In fact, this is what we do automatically in our products when presenting large and small industry segments for an industry that contains fewer than 28 companies.

I think that my company belongs to a more specialized group than presented by your most specific industry aggregation level (either 4-digit SIC or 6-digit NAICS). Can I obtain the information pertaining to my group?

While both 4-digit SIC and 6-digit NAICS codes are the most specific groups within their respective industry classification systems, our database allows for more specific segmentation analysis in some cases. If you are interested in us performing such an analysis, please contact us.

How can I learn about the calculation and meaning of the ratios presented in the Fintel Industry Metrics reports?

We offer three ways to obtain this information: 1) by clicking on the name of the ratio of your interest when viewing the ratio tab of the FIM report, 2) by reviewing the help section of the Online Library in the Business Analyzer application (login required) and 3) by reviewing the Glossary section of the support website.

What are the bases for the common size comparison?

Common size comparisons for all income statement accounts are based on net sales; for balance sheet accounts they are based on total assets.

Do you need access to a larger number of reports? We have several subscription options available with which you can significantly reduce the price for individual reports.

Bulk subscription:

Based on an up-front payment, you will be able to download a limited number of reports (10/20/50).

Bulk subscriptions are usually valid for one year upon the date of purchase. Please contact us with your request.

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Based on an up-front payment, you will be able to download an unlimited number of reports at a reduced price. Please contact us with your request.

Unlimited subscription:

Based on an up-front payment, you will be able to download an unlimited number of reports at no additional cost. Please contact us with your request.

Academic and non-for-profit subscription and discounts:

Discounted licenses are available for academic and non-for-profit use. Please contact us with your specific needs.