Xero released its December 2021 report which looks at particular trends in small business technology adoption. It is an interesting read which covers UK, Australia, and New Zealand small business markets.
To summarise, small business digitalisation has been boosted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although small businesses are slower in adopting emerging technologies than large businesses, the COVID-19 crisis has increased information and communication technology (ICT) expenditure. Compared to pre-pandemic levels, ICT expenditure is up 13 per cent in Australia, 25 per cent in New Zealand, and 20 per cent in the UK following a period of prolonged stability.
Digitally enabled small businesses were significantly more resilient throughout the COVID-19 crisis and outperformed their peers in most performance metrics.
Across all three countries, small businesses that had higher levels of ICT-related expenditure, relative to their total spending on all expenses, experienced greater sales and fewer job losses throughout the pandemic.
App-using small businesses in the UK tend to interact with apps more intensely, with 30 per cent of app-using firms recording over 40 interactions in an average month, compared to 17 per cent in Australia and 11 per cent in New Zealand.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, UK small businesses are also less likely to interact with apps infrequently, with just nine per cent of firms recording one to ten interactions per month, less than half of Australia and New Zealand’s engagement.
Overall, this suggests that relative to their Australian and New Zealand counterparts, small businesses in the UK are:
- more likely to frequently interact with apps (more than 40 times per month)
- less likely to interact with apps infrequently (one to ten times per month)
Apps used to manage bills and expenses were the most popular across all three countries. UK small businesses were also more likely to engage with practice manager apps than their Australian and New Zealand counterparts. Comparatively, UK small businesses tend to engage less with apps that are used to manage invoicing, jobs, and time tracking.
Case Study – Moore Thompson & Racetorx Limited
A full-scale app system was set up by us, at MT Cloud, and the case study provides an insight into the client experience.
For the full report please see this link – special report – our case study is on page 25.
Could this be a benefit to you?
Perhaps you would like to join the other small businesses adopting software in your daily business and processes but are worried about the setup or cost?
Or you would like to digitise your system and link this directly into your bookkeeping or VAT information system.
We have many experts across Moore Thompson that can help, advise, and assist you in making the correct decisions on any apps to help your business grow. Please contact your local office for more information.
