A new study published by Biz2Credit that analyzed 2021 industry trends among small businesses found that information technology (IT) firms had the highest average revenue ($955,793) and the best average credit score (658) and received the highest average amount of financing ($131,743) when they sought credit.

According to the study, the retail industry had the largest percentage (27.7%) of all funding issued to small businesses included in the study, while the most startups were in the transportation and warehousing industry (lowest amount of time in business on average).

Biz2Credit, an online funding provider to small businesses, analyzed the financial performance of more than 30,000 applications submitted through its online funding platform from January 2021 to December 2021 for the report. The analysis examined the following metrics: annual revenue, loan approval rates, funded amounts, business owners’ credit scores and age of business.

Key Findings

• The sector with the highest average funding amount was IT ($131,743), followed by wholesale trade ($107,576); agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ($94,333); manufacturing ($83,700); and administrative support, waste management and remediation services ($67,801).
• IT business owners had the highest average credit score (658), followed by real estate and rental leasing (648); manufacturing (645); professional, scientific and technical services (633); and wholesale trade (629). Credit scores generally declined as the savings rate began to fall following the end of most government-backed stimulus programs in mid-2021.
• Businesses in the IT sector had the highest average revenue ($955,793), followed by manufacturing ($947,662), wholesale trade ($886,834), retail trade ($808,598) and accommodation/food services ($725,243).
• The retail industry had the largest percentage (27.7%) of all funding issued to small businesses, followed by healthcare and social assistance (10.7%), services except public administration (10.4%), accommodation and food services (10.4%) and construction (7.2%).
• Transportation and warehousing was the industry with the youngest businesses on average (3.9 years), followed by public administration (4.6 years); arts, entertainment and recreation (4.8 years); services except public administration (4.8 years); and retail trade (5.1 years). The longest tenured businesses on average were information technology (7.4 years); manufacturing (7.1 years); agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (6.8 years); healthcare and social assistance (6.5 years); and professional, scientific and technical services (6.5 years).

“Demand for IT services continues to boom as more and more companies arrange for remote working in the aftermath of the pandemic,” Rohit Arora, CEO of Biz2Credit, said. “IT companies saw the highest average approval rates for financing requests. Although these companies did well overall, their clients are often larger firms that take longer to pay outside vendors. Thus, they wind up borrowing money to manage their available cash month to month.”