GOING DIGITAL CAN CREATE PROFIT BOOST

Small businesses could be missing out on £35,000 worth of revenue each month, research reveals.

Two in five businesses still don’t have an online presence, while one in three that do have a website are not fully digital.

A study by website platform Wix looked at productivity, efficiency and general sentiment of UK small business. Nine out of 10 of those that don’t have a website said they don’t see the benefit of digitalising their business.

However, nine in 10 businesses that are completely digital – using tools for tasks such as invoicing and payments, customer service, chat and other automations – revealed their revenue had increased by an average of £35,000 a month.

For ventures with one to 49 members of staff the figure was an average of £23,000. Small firms surveyed told Wix this extra income was predominantly down to saving time and resources.

Tasks which small businesses are most likely to pursue with traditional methods are service, administration, bookkeeping, payments, invoices and marketing.

The survey found they were shelling out an average of £28 an hour for administration skills, £29 an hour for payments and invoicing, £29 an hour on bookkeeping and £27 an hour for social media management.

Matt Rosenberg, director at Wix, said: “The results of the survey are not surprising. For a small business owner, moving business online for marketing and management is good for exposure, productivity and efficiency, and the results will be evident on the business’s bottom line.”

The biggest issues small businesses currently face are the fear of and continued uncertainty around Brexit, along with managing cashflow and struggling with time management.

One in five smaller firms said they struggle to keep up with technology and innovations in their market.

Fear over Brexit is leading almost a third to try and improve efficiency and reduce their costs.

More than a quarter were reviewing and making cutbacks with their suppliers, a quarter have chopped their overheads, and two fifths have encouraged staff to work from home.

Some had even closed their premises to reduce overheads.