Few small business owners go into business thinking, “I can’t wait to handle all my own accounting!” Rather, it’s a job built on passion, where day-to-day operations are a constant work in progress with a steep learning curve.
But despite the fact operations often take business owners outside their wheelhouse, surprisingly few rely on technology to simplify their task lists. As a result, many business owners admit to spending too much time figuring out less exciting—albeit necessary—operations activities like bookkeeping and inventory.
In an effort to better understand what resources small business owners are employing to accomplish these tasks and what role technology plays in operations, QuickBooks surveyed 400 small business owners with 20 employees or fewer. Survey respondents were asked about everything from their level of automation to what role employees play in running business operations. Check out our summary below to see what they said.
Small Business Operations Survey 2018
Only 30% of business owners see their business as ‘highly automated’
Despite feeling they spend too much time on the operations side of the business, few small business owners have taken the leap to automation. Perhaps, as a result, respondents are spending too much time on accounting, administrative tasks, bookkeeping, inventory, and chasing payments. Inversely, small business owners say they don’t spend enough time on marketing, HR/recruitment, and IT.
How much time do you spend on the following?