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An explosion in the number of apps to help small businesses thrive means there is something for everyone – even the most niche businesses.
Xero New Zealand Country Manager Bridget Snelling says: “Some small business owners may feel their line of work isn’t suited to apps and cloud-based tools.
“But there are more than 1000 apps connected to Xero alone, many of which are designed to help specific industries – from accommodation providers, farmers, tradies and cafe owners to shop owners and professional service providers.”
Snelling says technology can help small businesses streamline operations by stripping out time wasted on admin tasks.
“Right now, businesses across Aotearoa are spending a huge amount of time on tasks that can be automated or done more efficiently with the help of an app,” says Snelling.
“We need to ensure every hour spent working is doing something only a human can do, this will unlock huge productivity benefits.”
Digitisation is beneficial for small businesses because happier, healthier employees are more productive and more profitable.
“My advice is for a small business to consider the pain points they are facing and to pick one or two to start off with, and address those using some sort of technology. Your accountant should be able to help with this.”
An example, she says, is the CIN7 inventory management app.
Rather than a retailer undertaking a stocktake at the end of the day or week to manually calculate their stock levels, CIN7 will manage their inventory throughout the day.
“It gives them an update in real time as to how they’re tracking, which means instead of manual stock take, they can then spend more time working on their business or with family and friends,” says Snelling.
“The time factor is massive for small businesses as there’s very little differentiation between life and work and it all blends into one. Often when we talk to small businesses, one of the greatest concerns is just the amount of time they spend doing tasks that aren’t necessarily their passion or why they got into business in the first place.
“Alleviating pain points through digital tools is a really positive step in the right direction.”
Another example of an app to fix paint points is in the form of the digital invoicing product Cashflow Plus, a joint initiative between Waddle, from Xero and Bank of New Zealand. Cashflow Plus enables small businesses to access 80 per cent of the value of an invoice while waiting for it to be paid.
While COVID19 has brought huge challenges for businesses, Snelling says, it has also pushed New Zealand companies to leapfrog ten years ahead in terms of digital adoption. Those remaining small businesses who have held back are likely among the last generation to be able to survive without digitisation.
Research produced by Xero shows three attitudinal barriers held by small business owners hesitant to switch to using digital tools, Snelling says.
“The first category is people who think it’s going to be too expensive or too confusing to adopt technology.
“The second group think what they’re doing right now is good enough.
“And then the third group are just paralysed by choice, there are so many options.”
Setting up digital tools for a small business, however, doesn’t have to be a daunting task, says Snelling.
“Small business owners should be talking to their accountant or bookkeeper to help them on their digital journey and point them in the right direction.”
Snelling has picked seven apps to demonstrate the variety of technological support available to a range of industries.
1. General: Small businesses don’t have to spend time chasing up late payments – with GoCardless, they can automatically collect authorised payments from their customers.
2. Retail: Instead of staying overtime to count stock at the end of the day, tools like CIN7 help small businesses manage inventory throughout the day, giving them more time to spend with their families.
3. Trade: With great apps like Tradify, tradies have everything they need in one place, including invoices, job scheduling and even timesheets.
4. Hospitality: Waiters can spend more time supporting back-of-house with QuickB2B Order Management System, an app enabling customers to order food through their phone.
5. Professional services: Timely empowers small businesses to deliver great client experiences through its ability to manage calendars, clients, staff and reporting.
6. Tourism: For busy accommodation providers, Preno helps to save time on admin and simplifies bookings.
7. Agriculture: Farmers can spend more time on the field and less time in the office with Xero for Farming, which combines Xero and application Figured in an agricultural financial management technology stack for farmers and their team of experts. to help manage product tracking, budgeting and reporting.
To read the previous article in the series click here
a. www.gocardless.com/en-nz
b. www.cin7.com
c. www.tradifyhq.com/nz
d. quickb2b.com
e. www.gettimely.com
f. prenohq.com
g. www.xero.com/nz/campaign/xero-for-farming and www.figured.com/en-nz
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