UK accountants see 60% uplift of SMB owners turning to them for payroll support during pandemic
As small business owners try to navigate the payroll changes brought on by the pandemic, accountants are playing an increasingly significant role in supporting customers
Nearly half of accountants (48%) have spent more than five hours a month reading up on the evolving regulations, to provide well-informed guidance for their clients
62% of accountancy businesses have invested more than £5,000 in payroll services, and around 1 in 4 (26%) have invested more than £10,000 to meet their customers’ needs
29% of accountancy businesses have even had to increase the number of staff on their books to manage evolving payroll requirements.
London, UK - 28 May 2021
As the pandemic continues to place intense pressure on small businesses, new research from QuickBooks reveals that SMB owners are turning to their accountants in growing numbers for payroll support. Accountants have experienced a 60% uplift in small businesses approaching them for payroll expertise and services in the last 12 months.
The increase in enquiries and evolving regulations have meant accountants have had to dedicate significant time to learning about the new payroll changes; 48% of accountants have personally spent more than five hours a month navigating payroll developments in the past year.
Furthermore, nearly two thirds (64%) of accountants overall have had to undergo additional training to provide tailored, up-to-date support to small businesses, with 59% of accountancy decision makers having to undergo additional training too. 29% have even had to increase the number of staff on their books to manage shifting payroll requirements.
The study highlights the range of actions and sacrifices small business owners have taken to keep their businesses afloat and employees in jobs, and one of these is increasingly leaning on their accountant as a key support partner.
On top of the time spent navigating the changes and additional expertise needed, there has been a significant financial investment involved; 62% of accountancy businesses have invested more than £5,000 to provide the right payroll service to cover the needs of SMB clients. Of these, more than one in four accountancy firms (26%) have invested more than £10,000.
Eriona Bajrakurtaj, Managing Director, Major’s Accounts and Co., said:
“Furlough has been a fantastic scheme for businesses but for a family-run accountancy firm like ours, it’s been a huge time investment to keep on top of the ever-changing regulations. Often, we have found out about the new payroll rules and guidelines at the same time as everyone else, so have had to work at pace to digest the information and translate it into guidance for our customers.
We’ve acted as therapists for many of our clients, helping them understand not only the payroll changes and support they can receive from the government but also ways they can adapt and pivot to survive. I was personally working 20 hours a day for the first few months to ensure we were on top of the changes and could provide the support our customers were relying on us for.”
Since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, 67% of small business owners have been forced to make challenging business decisions that they could never have anticipated in order to avoid serious cash flow issues, and the threat of business failure. Over a third (35%) have had to furlough staff, 24% have had to freeze recruitment, and 21% have had to freeze pay for staff in order to stay afloat.
Pauline Green, Head of Product Compliance at QuickBooks, said:
“We can’t underestimate how tough the past year has been for the small business community, so I’m not surprised that SMB owners have been turning to their accountants in droves to source expert guidance and support.
Keeping on top of payroll updates will be vital to small businesses’ survival as we move out of the pandemic. The role accountants are playing to support them with payroll will prove extremely valuable in the road to recovery, and it’s extremely reassuring to see the dedication the accountancy community has to navigating the changes.”
QuickBooks produced this study to highlight the personal impact payroll has had on small business owners over the past year, while highlighting who and where they can access support. Find out more about QuickBooks payroll solutions for accountants here.
Sources
Independent research conducted by Censuswide on behalf of Intuit QuickBooks with a sample of 500 UK 18+ accountants/decision makers at accountancy firms in February 2021.
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