Every figure names its source

U.S. Census Bureau · 2023

What it gives

Number of establishments, employment and annual payroll by NAICS code and county.

How your plan uses it

The competitive picture in your Market Analysis, and the average size of an operator in your county.

What it does not tell you

Census suppresses any cell small enough to identify an individual business. Where that happens the plan says the figure is not published rather than estimating one.

U.S. Census Bureau · 2024

What it gives

County population as of 1 July.

How your plan uses it

Market sizing and the establishments-per-10,000-residents comparison against your state.

What it does not tell you

Estimates between decennial censuses; revised annually.

U.S. Census Bureau · 2023

What it gives

Median household income by county.

How your plan uses it

Customer purchasing power in your Market Analysis.

What it does not tell you

Model-based estimates with confidence intervals; a county-level median hides a lot of local variation.

U.S. Small Business Administration · Fiscal years 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026, as published 2026-06-30

What it gives

Every approved 7(a) and 504 loan: lender, borrower state, NAICS code, gross approval, term, initial rate.

How your plan uses it

The lenders section — how many lenders funded your industry in your state, how many loans, the median and quartile approval amounts, and the most active lenders by name.

What it does not tell you

Approvals, not disbursements or approval rates: the data records loans that were approved, and says nothing about applications that were declined. The current fiscal year is incomplete until 30 September — plans quote the latest COMPLETE year, FY2025.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Most recent published quarter

What it gives

Average weekly wage and employment by industry and county.

How your plan uses it

Pricing your staffing plan at the real local wage rather than a national average, in Organization and Management.

What it does not tell you

Published roughly five to seven months in arrears. Where a county figure is unavailable the plan falls back to state then national, and says which level it used.

Google · Live, cached 30 days

What it gives

Named businesses near your location matching your industry.

How your plan uses it

The named-competitor paragraph in Market Analysis, when available.

What it does not tell you

The only paid source we use, and the only optional one. If it is unavailable the competitive section relies on Census counts alone — the plan never invents a competitor.

Derived from IRS Statistics of Income and Census CBP/SUSB · Latest published aggregates

What it gives

Plausible ranges for gross margin, payroll share, occupancy cost, marketing spend, net margin, revenue per employee and working-capital days, by industry.

How your plan uses it

Bounding every assumption before it reaches the model. An 85% gross margin on a restaurant is refused and corrected, and the correction is printed in the plan.

What it does not tell you

These are wide bands meant to refuse the absurd, not a substitute for RMA Annual Statement Studies, which is a paid subscription we do not resell.