Systems and methods for benchmarking business performance data against aggregated business performance data

• US 20050154769A1
• Filed: 11/30/2004
• Published: 07/14/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 01/13/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: iLumen, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Llumen Incorporated
• Inventors: Eckart, Loren, Woosley, Robert
• Application Number:
  US10/999,101
• Publication Number:
  US 20050154769A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange

Abstract

An automated system for allowing a submitter business to benchmark its business performance information, including operational data against aggregated business performance information of private company industry peers through a business performance information benchmarking data center computer system over the Internet.

Claims

1. A method for performing benchmarking of business performance information comprising the steps of:

generating at least one business performance report based on data associated with a submitter business on a computer system;

uploading the at least one business performance report to a data center computer system via a communications network including uploading at least one classification code for the submitter business;

converting, using an automated process executed by the data center computer system, the at least one business performance report from a first data format to a second data format;

adding data in either the first data format or the second data format to aggregated data for other submitter businesses; and

benchmarking information in the second data format against the aggregated data based on the at least one classification code.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising displaying the results of the benchmarking in a format viewable by an authorized agent of the submitter business via the communications network.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein generating at least one business performance report comprises generating at least one business performance report using an accounting software program and saving the report as at least one electronic file.

4. The method of claim 3, the step of uploading the at least one business performance report comprising logging into an Internet website associated with the data center computer system through a secure connection and uploading the at least one electronic file to the data center computer system.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of generating at least one business performance report comprises generating a report based on data from a business performance period.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of generating at least one business performance report comprises generating a trial balance report.

7. The method of claim 1, the step of converting the at least one business performance report from a first format to a second format comprising converting the at least one business performance report from a submitter-defined format to a standardized format.

8. The method of claim 7, the step of converting the at least one business performance report further comprises analyzing the business performance data in accordance with at least one financial metric.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the at least one financial metric is chosen from the group consisting of generally accepted accounting metrics and operational metrics, including but not limited to revenue growth, gross margins, EBIT and EBITDA margins, cash position, cash flow generation, debt to total capitalization ratio, funded debt to EBITDA ratio, and interest coverage metrics.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein benchmarking comprises generating a business performance report in the second data format listing the at least one financial metric, the at least one financial metric having a value for the submitter business and a value taken from the aggregated business performance data.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the aggregated business performance data comprises data selected from the group consisting of aggregated data from businesses other than the submitter business and aggregated data including data from the submitter business.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein benchmarking further comprises generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard comprises generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard having values for the at least one financial metric and a graph portion.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the values for the at least one financial metric are operable to be plotted in the graph portion.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the graph portion is operable to plot values for the at least one financial metric for a viewer selected time period.

16. The method according to claim 14, wherein a type of graph may be selected from a list of graph types by a viewer of the dashboard.

17. The method according to claim 14, wherein the graph portion is operable to plot values for the at least one financial metric for only the submitter business.

18. The method according to claim 14, wherein the graph portion is operable to plot values for the at least one financial metric for the submitter business and the aggregated data simultaneously.

19. The method according to claim 12, wherein generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard comprises generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard having a time period control for controlling the time period over which business performance information is benchmarked.

20. The method according to claim 12, wherein generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard comprises generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard having a peer group control module.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein the peer group control module is operable to truncate the set of businesses whose information contributes to the aggregate business performance information based on one or more adjustable parameters.

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein the one or more adjustable parameters are selected from the group consisting of geographic location, state, number of employees, amount of assets, amount of net income, amount of revenue, net margin trend, debt/equity ratio trend, current ratio trend, net income trend and other available metrics.

23. The method according to claim 13, the step of benchmarking comprising generating one or more alerts if the difference between the values for the at least one financial metric exceed or fail to exceed a predetermined threshold set by a viewer of the business performance report.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein generating an alert comprises an option selected from the group consisting of sending an email message to the submitter business, generating an alert on the benchmarking dashboard, and combinations thereof.

25. The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one classification code is a code selected from the group consisting of a Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code and a North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code.

26. A method for benchmarking business performance data of a submitter business against other aggregated business performance data of businesses in the same industry comprising:

generating, with a software program executing on a computer system, at least one business performance report comprising business performance data of a submitter business in a first data format;

using a graphical user interface, uploading the at least one report to a data center computer system via the Internet including uploading at least one classification code for the submitter business;

converting, using an automated process executed by the data center computer system, the at least one report from the first data format into a second data format;

adding data in either the first data format or the second data format to aggregated data for other submitter businesses; and

benchmarking information in the second data format against the aggregated data based on the at least one classification code.

27. The method according to claim 26, further comprising displaying the results of the benchmarking to viewers authorized by the submitter business via the Internet.

28. The method according to claim 26, the step of generating at least one business performance report comprising generating a trial balance report.

29. The method according to claim 26, the step of generating at least one business performance report comprising saving the report as an electronic file.

30. The method according to claim 29, the step of uploading the at least one report comprising uploading the electronic file.

31. The method according to claim 26, using a graphical user interface comprising using a web browser software application.

32. The method according to claim 26, the step of converting the at least one report from the first data format into a second data format comprising converting the report from a submitter-defined format to a standardized format.

33. The method according to claim 32, the step of converting the at least one report from the submitter-defined format to a standardized format comprising performing a mapping from the submitter-defined format to the standardized format using a predetermined mapping function associated with the submitter-defined format.

34. The method according to claim 26, the step of converting further comprising analyzing the business performance data in accordance with at least one financial metric.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the at least one financial metric is chosen from the group consisting of generally accepted accounting metrics and operational metrics, including but not limited to revenue growth, gross margins, EBIT and EBITDA margins, cash position and cash flow generation, debt to total capitalization ratio, funded debt to EBITDA ratio, interest coverage metrics, and other generally accepted accounting metrics.

36. The method according to claim 34, wherein benchmarking comprises generating a business performance report in the second data format listing the at least one financial metric, the at least one financial metric having a value for the submitter business and a value taken from the aggregated business performance data.

37. The method according to claim 36, wherein the aggregated business performance data comprises data selected from the group consisting of aggregated data from businesses other than the submitter business and aggregated data including data from the submitter business

38. The method according to claim 36, wherein benchmarking further comprises generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard.

39. The method according to claim 38, wherein generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard comprises generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard having values for the at least one financial metric and a graph portion.

40. The method according to claim 39, wherein the values for the at least one financial metric are operable to be plotted in the graph portion.

41. The method according to claim 39, wherein the graph portion is operable to plot values for the at least one financial metric for a viewer selected time period.

42. The method according to claim 39, wherein a type of graph may be selected from a list of graph types by a viewer of the dashboard.

43. The method according to claim 39, wherein the graph portion is operable to plot values for the at least one financial metric for only the submitter business.

44. The method according to claim 39, wherein the graph portion is operable to plot values for the at least one financial metric for the submitter business and the aggregated data simultaneously

45. The method according to claim 38, wherein generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard comprises generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard having a time period control for controlling the time period over which business performance information is benchmarked.

46. The method according to claim 38, wherein generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard comprises generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard having a peer group control module.

47. The method according to claim 46, wherein the peer group control module is operable to filter the set of businesses whose information contributes to the aggregate business performance information based on one or more adjustable parameters.

48. The method according to claim 47, wherein the one or more parameters are selected from the group consisting of geographic location, state, number of employees, amount of assets, amount of net income, amount of revenue, net margin trend, debt/equity ratio trend, current ratio trend, net income trend, and other available metrics.

49. The method according to claim 38, the step of benchmarking comprising generating one or more alerts if the difference between the values for the at least one financial metric exceed or fail to exceed a predetermined threshold set by a viewer of the business performance report.

50. The method according to claim 49, wherein generating an alert comprises an option selected from the group consisting of sending an email message to the submitter business and/or to the requester business, generating an alert on the benchmarking dashboard, and combinations thereof.

51. The method according to claim 26, wherein the classification code comprises a code selected from the group consisting of an SIC code and an NAICS code.

52. A system for automated benchmarking of a submitter business'"'"'s business performance information comprising:

at least one data center computer system configured to;

operate at least one Internet web site displaying one or more Internet web pages;

receive business performance information associated with a submitter business via data upload of at least one business performance information file from the submitter business over the Internet, the at least one business performance information file formatted in a first data format and including at least one classification code for the submitter business;

using software instructions executing on the data center computer system, convert the at least one business performance report from a first data format into a second data format;

add data in either the first data format or the second data format to aggregated performance data of other businesses;

perform benchmarking of the converted business performance report the based on the at least one classification code; and

display the at least one business performance report including results of the benchmarking in the second data format over the Internet to persons authorized by the submitter business.

53. The system of claim 52, wherein the at least one business performance information file comprises a trial balance report stored as an electronic file.

54. The system of claim 52, wherein the data center computer system is configured to convert the at least one business performance report from a submitter-defined format to a standardized format.

55. The system of claim 54, wherein the data center computer system is configured to convert the at least one business performance report from a submitter-defined format to a standardized format using a predetermined mapping function associated with the submitter-defined format and based on values of the one or more submitter-defined fields.

56. The system of claim 52, wherein the data center computer system is configured to analyze the business performance data in accordance with at least one financial metric.

57. The system of claim 52, wherein the at least one financial metric is chosen from the group consisting of generally accepted accounting metrics and operational metrics, including but not limited to revenue growth, gross margins, EBIT and EBITDA margins, cash position and cash flow generation, debt to total capitalization ratio, funded debt to EBITDA ratio, and interest coverage metrics.

58. The system of claim 56, wherein the data center computer system is configured to perform benchmarking by generating a business performance report in the second data format listing the at least one financial metric, the at least one financial metric having a value for the submitter business and a value taken from the aggregate business performance data based on the at least one classification code.

59. The system of claim 58, wherein the aggregated business performance data comprises data selected from the group consisting of aggregated data from businesses other than the submitter business and aggregated data including data from the submitter business.

60. The system of claim 58, wherein the data center computer system is further configured to generate an interactive benchmarking dashboard.

61. The system of claim 60, wherein the data center computer system is further configured to generate an interactive benchmarking dashboard having values for the at least one financial metric and a graph portion.

62. The system of claim 61, wherein the values for the at least one financial metric are operable to be plotted in the graph portion.

63. The method according to claim 61, wherein the graph portion is operable to plot values for the at least one financial metric for a viewer selected time period.

64. The method according to claim 61, wherein a type of graph may be selected from a list of graph types by a viewer of the dashboard.

65. The method according to claim 61, wherein the graph portion is operable to plot values for the at least one financial metric for only the submitter business.

66. The method according to claim 61, wherein the graph portion is operable to plot values for the at least one financial metric for the submitter business and the aggregated data simultaneously.

67. The system of claim 60, wherein the data center computer system is further configured to generate an interactive benchmarking dashboard having a time period control for controlling the time period over which business performance information is benchmarked.

68. The system of claim 60, wherein the data center computer system is further configured to generate an interactive benchmarking dashboard having a peer group control module.

69. The system of claim 68, wherein the peer group control module includes controls for filtering the set of businesses whose information contributes to the aggregate business performance information based on one or more adjustable parameters.

70. The system of claim 69, wherein the one or more parameters are selected from the group consisting of geographic location, state, number of employees, amount of assets, amount of net income, amount of revenue, net margin trend, debt/equity ratio trend, current ratio trend, net income trend and other available metrics.

71. The system of claim 60, wherein the data center computer system is further configured to generate one or more alerts if the difference between the values for the at least one financial metric exceed or fail to exceed a predetermined threshold set by a viewer of the business performance report.

72. The system of claim 71, generating one or more alerts comprising an option from the group consisting of sending an email message to the submitter business and/or to the requestor business, generating an alert on the benchmarking dashboard, and combinations thereof.

73. The system of claim 52, wherein the classification code is a code selected from the group consisting of a SIC code and an NAICS code.

74. In an environment comprising a plurality of submitter businesses, each submitter business associated with at least one submitter business computer system and each submitter business classified by at least one classification code, and a data center computer system, the at least one submitter business communicating with the data center computer system via a communications network, a system for benchmarking business performance information of a submitter business against aggregated business performance information based on the at least one classification code, the system comprising:

a data center computer system comprising;

means for electronically receiving over a communications network at least one business performance information file associated with a submitter business and at least one classification code for the submitter business, the at least one business performance information file in a first data format;

automated means for converting the at least one business performance information file into a second data format;

automated means for aggregating data from the at least one business performance information file with previously stored aggregated data of other businesses;

automated means for benchmarking data in the second data format against the aggregated data based on the at least one classification code; and

means for selectively displaying information contained in the at least one business performance information file via the communications network based on instructions from the submitter business.

75. The system of claim 74, wherein the means for electronically receiving at least one business performance information file comprises means for presenting an interactive file upload web page in a web browser window on the submitter business'"'"' computer system to facilitate transfer of the at least one business performance information file to the data center computer system.

76. The system of claim 74, wherein the at least one business performance information file comprises a trial balance worksheet saved as an electronic file.

77. The system of claim 74 wherein the automated means for converting the at least one business performance information file into a second data format comprises means for converting the business performance information file from a submitter-defined format to a standardized format.

78. The system of claim 77, wherein the means for converting the report from a submitter-defined format to a standardized format comprises a software-based mapping function for converting the data file from the specific submitter-defined format to the standardized format using a predetermined mapping function associated with the submitter-defined format.

79. The system of claim 74, wherein the means for converting the at least one business performance information file into a second data format comprises software instructions for analyzing the business performance data in accordance with at least one financial metric.

80. The system of claim 79, wherein the at least one financial metric is chosen from the group consisting of generally accepted accounting metrics and operational metrics, including but not limited to revenue growth, gross margins, EBIT and EBITDA margins, cash position and cash flow generation, debt to total capitalization ratio, funded debt to EBITDA ratio, and interest coverage metrics.

81. The system of claim 79, wherein the means for benchmarking comprises means for generating a business performance report in the second data format listing the at least one financial metric, the at least one financial metric having a value for the submitter business and a value taken from the aggregate business performance data based on the at least one classification code.

82. The system of claim 81, wherein the aggregated business performance data comprises data selected from the group consisting of aggregated data from businesses other than the submitter business and aggregated data including data from the submitter business.

83. The system of claim 81, wherein means for benchmarking further comprises means for generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard.

84. The system of claim 83, wherein means for generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard comprises means for generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard having values for the at least one financial metric and a graph portion.

85. The system of claim 84, wherein the values for the at least one financial metric are operable to be plotted in the graph portion.

86. The system of claim 84, wherein the graph portion is operable able to plot values for the at least one financial metric for a viewer selected time period.

87. The system of claim 84, wherein a type of graph may be selected from a list of graph types by a viewer of the dashboard.

88. The system of claim 84, wherein the graph portion is operable to plot values for the at least one financial metric for only the submitter business.

89. The system of claim 84, wherein the graph portion is operable to plot values for the at least one financial metric for the submitter business and the aggregated data simultaneously.

90. The system of claim 83, wherein means for generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard comprises means for generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard having a time period control for controlling the time period over which business performance information is benchmarked.

91. The system of claim 83, wherein means for generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard comprises means for generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard having a peer group control module.

92. The system of claim 91, wherein the peer group control module is operable to truncate the set of businesses whose information contributes to the aggregate business performance information based on one or more adjustable parameters.

93. The system of claim 92, wherein the one or more parameters are selected from the group consisting of geographic location, state, number of employees, amount of assets, amount of net income, amount of revenue, net margin trend, debt/equity ratio trend, current ratio trend, net income trend and other available metrics.

94. The system of claim 83, wherein the means for benchmarking comprising means for generating one or more alerts if the difference between the values for the at least one financial metric exceed or fail to exceed a predetermined threshold set by a viewer of the business performance report.

95. The system of claim 94, means for generating an alert comprising means for performing an option from the group consisting of sending an email message to the submitter business, generating an alert on the benchmarking dashboard and combinations thereof.

96. The system of claim 74, wherein the classification code comprises a code selected from the group consisting of an SIC code and an NAICS code.

97. A method for adding submitter businesses to a business performance information benchmarking network comprising:

sending an electronic message over a communications network to a business inviting the business to participate in the business performance information benchmarking network, the message including an electronic link to a data center computer system;

after selection of the link by a representative of the submitter business, receiving a business performance information file at the data center computer system along with at least one classification code for the submitter business over the communications network;

converting data in the business performance information file from a first data format to a second data format;

adding data in either the first data format or the second data format to the aggregated data from other businesses;

benchmarking the data in the second data format against the aggregated data based on the at least one classification code;

enabling the business performance data in the second data format including the results of the benchmarking to be viewed via the network based on instructions received from the submitter business.

98. The method of claim 97, wherein the step of receiving a business performance information file comprises receiving a business performance information file based on data from a business performance period.

99. The method of claim 97, wherein the step of receiving a business performance information file comprises receiving a trial balance report.

100. The method of claim 97, the step of converting the business performance information file a first data format to a second data format comprises converting the at least one business performance information file from a submitter-defined format to a standardized format.

101. The method of claim 100, the step of converting the at least one business performance information file further comprises analyzing the data in the business performance information file in accordance with at least one financial metric.

102. The method of claim 101, wherein the at least one financial metric is chosen from the group consisting of generally accepted accounting metrics and operational metrics, including but not limited to revenue growth, gross margins, EBIT and EBITDA margins, cash position and cash flow generation, debt to total capitalization ratio, funded debt to EBITDA ratio, and interest coverage metrics.

103. The method of claim 101, wherein benchmarking comprises generating a business performance report in the second data format listing the at least one financial metric, the at least one financial metric having a value for the submitter business and a value taken from the aggregate business performance information of the other businesses having the same classification code.

104. The method of claim 103, wherein the aggregated business performance data comprises data selected from the group consisting of aggregated data from businesses other than the submitter business and aggregated data including data from the submitter business.

105. The method of claim 103, wherein benchmarking further comprises generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard.

106. The method of claim 105, wherein generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard comprises generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard having values for the at least one financial metric and a graph portion.

107. The method of claim 106, wherein the values for the at least one financial metric are operable to be plotted in the graph portion.

108. The method according to claim 106, wherein the graph portion is operable to plot values for the at least one financial metric for a viewer selected time period.

109. The method according to claim 106, wherein a type of graph may be selected from a list of graph types by a viewer of the dashboard.

110. The method according to claim 106, wherein the graph portion is operable to plot values for the at least one financial metric for only the submitter business.

111. The method according to claim 106, wherein the graph portion is operable to plot values for the at least one financial metric for the submitter business and the benchmarked data simultaneously.

112. The method of claim 105, wherein generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard comprises generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard having a time period control for controlling the time period over which business performance information is benchmarked.

113. The method of claim 105, wherein generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard comprises generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard having a peer group control module.

114. The method of claim 113, wherein the peer group control module is operable to filter the set of businesses whose information contributes to the aggregate business performance information based on one or more adjustable parameters.

115. The method of claim 114, wherein the one or more parameters are selected from the group consisting of geographic location, state, number of employees, amount of assets, amount of net income, amount of revenue, net margin trend, debt/equity ratio trend, current ratio trend, net income trend, and other available metrics.

116. The method of claim 105, the step of benchmarking comprising generating one or more alerts if the difference between the values for the at least one financial metric exceed of fail to exceed a predetermined threshold set by a viewer of the business performance report.

117. The method of claim 106, generating an alert comprising an action selected from the group consisting of sending an email message to the submitter business and/or to the requestor business, setting an alert on the benchmarking dashboard and combinations thereof.

118. The method of claim 97, wherein the at least one classification code comprises a code selected from the group consisting of an SIC code and an NAICS code.

119. In a data center computer system, a computer readable storage medium containing computer readable instructions executable by a processor, the instructions configured to enable a submitter business to benchmark business performance information against aggregated business performance information for other business in the same industry as the submitter business comprising:

instructions for receiving a data upload comprising a file containing business performance data corresponding to a submitter business in the form of a business performance information file in a first data format including at least one classification code for the submitter business;

instructions for converting the business performance data in the business performance information file into a second data format;

instructions for adding the business performance data to aggregated business performance data for other businesses;

instructions for benchmarking the business performance data in the second data format against the aggregated business performance data based on the at least one classification code;

instructions for generating a business performance report including the business performance data in the second data format and the results of the benchmarking; and

instructions for displaying the business performance report to the submitter business.

120. The computer readable storage medium of claim 119, the instructions for converting the business performance data in the business performance information file into a second data format comprising instructions for converting a trial balance report from a submitter-defined format to a standardized format.

121. The computer readable storage medium of claim 120, the instructions for converting the trial balance report from a submitter-defined format to a standardized format comprising instructions for performing a mapping function from the specific submitter-defined format to the standardized format using a predetermined mapping function associated with the submitter-defined format.

122. The computer readable storage medium of claim 119, the instructions for converting the business performance data in the business performance information file into a second data format comprising instructions for analyzing the business performance data in accordance with at least one financial metric.

123. The computer readable storage medium of claim 122, wherein the at least one financial metric is chosen from the group consisting of generally accepted accounting metrics and operational metrics, including but not limited to revenue growth, gross margins, EBIT and EBITDA margins, cash position and cash flow generation, debt to total capitalization ratio, funded debt to EBITDA ratio, and interest coverage metrics.

124. The computer readable storage medium of claim 122, wherein the instructions for generating a business performance report comprise instructions for generating a business performance report having the at least one financial metric, the at least one financial metric having a value for the submitter business and a value taken from the aggregate business performance data based on the at least one classification code.

125. The computer readable storage medium of claim 124, wherein the aggregated business performance data comprises data selected from the group consisting of aggregated data from businesses other than the submitter business and aggregated data including data from the submitter business.

126. The computer readable storage medium of claim 124, wherein instructions for benchmarking further comprise instructions for generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard.

127. The computer readable storage medium of claim 126, wherein instructions for generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard comprise instructions for generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard having values for the at least one financial metric and a graph portion.

128. The computer readable storage medium of claim 124, wherein the values for the at least one financial metric are operable to be plotted in the graph portion.

129. The computer readable storage medium of claim 127, wherein instructions for generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard having values for the at least one financial metric and a graph portion comprise instructions for enabling a viewer to select a time period for which values are plotted.

130. The computer readable storage medium of claim 127, wherein instructions for generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard having values for the at least one financial metric and a graph portion comprise instructions for enabling a viewer of the dashboard to select a type of graph from a list of available graph types.

131. The computer readable storage medium of claim 127, wherein instructions for generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard having values for the at least one financial metric and a graph portion comprise instructions for plotting values for the at least one financial metric for only the submitter business.

132. The computer readable storage medium of claim 127, wherein instructions for generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard having values for the at least one financial metric and a graph portion comprise instructions for plotting values for the at least one financial metric for the submitter business and the aggregated data.

133. The computer readable storage medium of claim 126, wherein instructions for generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard comprise instructions for generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard having a time period control for controlling the time period over which business performance information is benchmarked.

134. The computer readable storage medium of claim 126, wherein instructions for generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard comprise instructions for generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard having a peer group control module.

135. The computer readable storage medium of claim 134, wherein the peer group control module is operable to filter the set of businesses whose information contributes to the aggregate business performance information based on one or more adjustable parameters.

136. The computer readable storage medium of claim 135, wherein the one or more parameters are selected from the group consisting of geographic location, state, number of employees, amount of assets, amount of net income, amount of revenue, net margin trend, debt/equity ratio trend, current ratio trend, net income trend, and other available parameters.

137. The computer readable storage medium of claim 126, instructions for benchmarking comprising instructions for generating one or more alerts if the difference between the values for the at least one financial metric exceed or fail to exceed a predetermined threshold set by a viewer of the business performance report.

138. The computer readable storage medium of claim 137, instructions for generating an alert comprising instructions for performing an action selected from the group consisting of sending an email message to the submitter business and/or to the requestor business, generating an alert on the benchmarking dashboard and combinations thereof.

139. The computer readable storage medium of claim 119, wherein the at least one classification code comprises a code selected from the group consisting of an SIC code and an NAICS code.

140. In a data center computer system, a computer readable storage medium containing computer readable instructions executable by a processor, the instructions configured to enable a submitter business to benchmark business performance information against aggregated business performance information for other comprising:

instructions for receiving a request to perform benchmarking of a company'"'"'s business performance data accessible by the data center computer system;

instructions for benchmarking the business performance data against aggregated business performance accessible by the data center computer system based on at least one classification code associated with the company;

instructions for generating a business performance report including results of the benchmarking; and

instructions for displaying the business performance report to the interested party.

141. The computer readable storage medium of claim 140, the instructions for benchmarking further comprising for instructions for analyzing the business performance data in accordance with at least one financial metric.

142. The computer readable storage medium of claim 141, wherein the at least one financial metric is chosen from the group consisting of generally accepted accounting metrics and operational metrics, including but not limited to revenue growth, gross margins, EBIT and EBITDA margins, cash position and cash flow generation, debt to total capitalization ratio, funded debt to EBITDA ratio, and interest coverage metrics.

143. The computer readable storage medium of claim 142, wherein the instructions for generating a business performance report comprise instructions for generating a business performance report having the at least one financial metric, the at least one financial metric having a value for the company and a value taken from the aggregated business performance data based on the at least one classification code.

144. The computer readable storage medium of claim 143, wherein the aggregated business performance data comprises data selected from the group consisting of aggregated data from businesses other than the company and aggregated data including data from the company.

145. The computer readable storage medium of claim 143, wherein instructions for benchmarking further comprise instructions for generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard.

146. The computer readable storage medium of claim 145, wherein instructions for generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard comprise instructions for generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard having values for the at least one financial metric and a graph portion.

147. The computer readable storage medium of claim 146, wherein the values for the at least one financial metric are operable to be plotted in the graph portion.

148. The computer readable storage medium of claim 146, wherein instructions for generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard having values for the at least one financial metric and a graph portion comprise instructions for enabling a viewer to select a time period for which values are plotted.

149. The computer readable storage medium of claim 146, wherein instructions for generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard having values for the at least one financial metric and a graph portion comprise instructions for enabling a viewer of the dashboard to select a type of graph from a list of available graph types.

150. The computer readable storage medium of claim 146, wherein instructions for generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard having values for the at least one financial metric and a graph portion comprise instructions for plotting values for the at least one financial metric for only the submitter business.

151. The computer readable storage medium of claim 146, wherein instructions for generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard having values for the at least one financial metric and a graph portion comprise instructions for plotting values for the at least one financial metric for the submitter business and the aggregated data.

152. The computer readable storage medium of claim 145, wherein instructions for generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard comprise instructions for generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard having a time period control for controlling the time period over which business performance information is benchmarked.

153. The computer readable storage medium of claim 145, wherein instructions for generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard comprise instructions for generating an interactive benchmarking dashboard having a peer group control module.

154. The computer readable storage medium of claim 153, wherein the peer group control module is operable to filter the set of businesses whose information contributes to the aggregate business performance information based on one or more adjustable parameters.

155. The computer readable storage medium of claim 154, wherein the one or more parameters are selected from the group consisting of geographic location, state, number of employees, amount of assets, amount of net income, amount of revenue, net margin trend, debt/equity ratio trend, current ratio trend, net income trend, and other available parameters.

156. The computer readable storage medium of claim 145, instructions for benchmarking comprising instructions for generating one or more alerts if the difference between the values for the at least one financial metric exceed or fail to exceed a predetermined threshold set by a viewer of the business performance report.

157. The computer readable storage medium of claim 156, instructions for generating an alert comprising instructions for performing an action selected from the group consisting of sending an email message to the submitter business and/or to the requester business, generating an alert on the benchmarking dashboard and combinations thereof.

158. The computer readable storage medium of claim 140, wherein the at least one classification code comprises a code selected from the group consisting of an SIC code and an NAICS code.

159. In an environment comprising a data center computer system and a database containing aggregated business performance information on a plurality of companies that is accessible by the computer system, a system for generating at least one business performance report based on the aggregated business performance information comprising:

means for providing a graphical user interface;

means for accepting a request for a business performance report through the graphical user interface;

means for searching the database for aggregate business performance information based on the request; and

means for displaying the results of the search as at least one business performance report in the graphical user interface.

160. The system of claim 159, wherein the means for searching the database comprises means for searching the database for aggregated business performance information based on at least one financial metric.

161. The system of claim 160, wherein the at least one financial metric is chosen from the group consisting of generally accepted accounting metrics and operational metrics, including but not limited to revenue growth, gross margins, EBIT and EBITDA margins, cash position and cash flow generation, debt to total capitalization ratio, funded debt to EBITDA ratio, and interest coverage metrics.

162. The system of claim 160, wherein the means for providing a graphical user interface comprises means for generating an interactive dashboard, and means for displaying the results of the search comprises means for displaying the results through the interactive dashboard.

163. The system of claim 162, wherein the means for displaying the results through the interactive dashboard comprises means for displaying a value for at least one financial metric and a graph portion.

164. The system of claim 163, wherein the value for the at least one financial metric is operable to be plotted in the graph portion.

165. The system of claim 163, wherein the graph portion is operable able to plot values for the at least one financial metric for a viewer selectable time period.

166. The system of claim 163, wherein a type of graph may be selected by a viewer from a list of graph types by a viewer of the dashboard.

167. The system of claim 162, wherein means for generating an interactive dashboard comprises means for generating an interactive dashboard having an aggregate business performance information control module.

168. The system of claim 167, wherein the aggregate business performance information control module is operable to truncate the set of businesses whose information contributes to the aggregate business performance information of the displayed results based on one or more adjustable parameters.

169. The system of claim 168, wherein the one or more parameters are selected from the group consisting of classification code, geographic location, state, number of employees, amount of assets, amount of net income, amount of revenue, net margin trend, debt/equity ratio trend, current ratio trend, net income trend and other available metrics.

170. The system of claim 169, wherein the classification code comprises at least one code selected from the group consisting of an SIC code and an NAICS code.

171. The system of claim 162, wherein the means for generating an interactive dashboard comprising means for automatically generating one or more alerts if the difference between the values for the at least one financial metric exceed or fail to exceed a predetermined threshold set by a viewer of the business performance report.

172. The system of claim 171, wherein the means for generating an alert comprising means for performing an option from the group consisting of sending an email message to a user of the system, generating an alert on the benchmarking dashboard and combinations thereof.