The Small Business Owner's Guide To Leveraging Technology

Are you a business owner who’s looking to streamline their company’s operations? Well then chances are you’ve been sifting through the plethora of digital technologies and emerging industry tools that are becoming available to you today. 

But with so many options to choose from, it can be tricky to decide which tech investments to be green lighting for your company. If you’re in the process of finalising your business’ digital transformation strategies, we’re here to help. 

Today, we’ll be sharing our top 7 methods for leveraging digital technologies as a small business owner. Read on to unearth how you can make the right tech investment decisions without being paralysed by the paradox of choice.

• Professional Payroll Services

Virtually all small business owners can expect to spend a fair chunk of their time on managing their payroll and staff salaries, leave, etc. And while this is easy enough with just a handful of employees, as your business steadily grows, it’s safe to say the payroll burden increases accordingly. 

So, if you’re looking to streamline your payroll processes, nothing beats investing in a professional payroll service provider. By outsourcing your payroll management or even using integrated platforms for processing payslips, staff leave, and other entitlements, you can make sure that your staff are paid promptly and with minimal risks of error. 

Not to mention that these innovative tech investments may also help you get more out of your business tax return every year. What’s not to love about that?

2. Automated Accounting Software

Speaking of your business tax return, another crucial component of operating any small business is simply staying on top of its books. But accounting processes don’t come naturally to all small business owners. In fact, for many of us, we have no choice but to learn how to manage our company’s books on the job. 

Again, this can become increasingly complicated as your business expands, which is where automated accounting software comes into play. From invoicing, expense tracking, and financial reporting, accounting software options like Xero or Quickbooks will completely transform your accounting process. Not only will things be simplified and streamlined, but you’ll also be able to ensure accuracy by eliminating manual errors that may arise when using traditional accounting methods.

Not having to deal with the nitty gritty aspects of bookkeeping can also help small business owners maintain a big picture approach to managing their company’s finances. And when you’re able to maintain this valuable perspective, you can also expect to make better informed decisions for the sustainability and growth of your business. Why handle everything yourself when you just don’t need to, and there’s more than enough information to suggest that your business would be better off with your time freed up anyway?

3. POS Systems

For owners of brick and mortar small businesses, a reliable POS system can truly transform how you handle transactions. Modern POS systems are equipped with not just payment processing, but also a myriad of other features for streamlining your business operations. This includes innovative tracking features for sales records, inventory management, and even customer and supplier relationship management. 

These holistic systems are guaranteed to be a fantastic investment for retail store owners who are also looking to harness the power of analytics, as these tools can also be used to identify sales trends over the calendar year (including during seasonal sales periods). Simply put, digital POS systems are a fantastic addition to any small business as they will streamline far more than just payment processes – they will also provide you with valuable data that you can use to make better decisions for your small business. 

4. Social Media Scheduling

With so many responsibilities on your shoulders as a small business owner, we wouldn’t blame you if you don’t have the time to flesh out your company’s social media channels. However, in this day and age, a powerful social media presence can make all the difference in expanding your brand awareness. 

Thankfully, there’s an app for that! Social media scheduling apps and tools swoop in to save the day. Instead of having to craft compelling posts and stories on a daily basis, you’ll be able to schedule posts months in advance to ensure that you’re never missing a beat. These scheduling apps won’t just save you precious time – they will also help to ensure that you’re not lagging behind your competitors when it comes to maintaining your brand engagement and taking advantage of promotional opportunities.

5. Project Management Tools

With more small businesses adopting hybrid work models, or even going as far as hiring remote staff, it’s become more important than ever before for business owners to invest in tools that help them manage off-site workers. Thankfully, project management tools have been developed to provide these much-needed capabilities.

Have you ever heard of project management tools like Asana, Trello, or Monday.com? These valuable resources will truly transform the way your business and staff handle their daily tasks in more ways than you may imagine. With innovative task management and assignment features, business owners can effectively organise and track the progress of various tasks in real-time, fostering effortless communication between teams and staff members – even if they’re working remotely. 

Whether you’re handling small projects, task deadlines or more complex workflows, project management will help to ensure that your small business operates with optimal effectiveness in today’s fast paced world. 

6. Data Analytics

Across all of the tools we’ve explored so far, there is one particular (shared) feature that small business owners can expect to gain exceptional insights from: data analytics technologies. For virtually all business owners, being able to see the results of all your efforts in real-time is key to making informed decisions across all aspects of your business, ranging from product design to staff onboarding. This is where understanding performance metrics with data analytics tools like Google Analytics or Tableau can really make all the difference. 

With performance analytics tools, small business owners can take optimising their website and marketing funnels to the next level. You’d be surprised by how many vital micro-changes you can make to a digital campaign just based on metrics like the total number of people who’ve visited or clicked through to a page. But as we mentioned, data analytics can be used for so much more than just website optimisation. This innovative feature boasted by many emerging and developing digital business technologies also allows business owners the ability to create more detailed customer profiles, understand market reports on a deeper level, and even improve their own profitability by finetuning their sales margins in accordance with consumer data. 

Data analytics makes all of this and more a possibility, namely by paving the way for more informed and strategic decision-making in every facet of your business.

7. Cybersecurity Improvements

Finally, with more companies using digital technologies now than ever before, the need for cybersecurity investments is no longer a luxury but a necessity. Simply put, cybersecurity technologies allow small business owners to manage their growing number of digital assets (i.e. their website and virtually all of the tools we’ve outlined above) with greater confidence that they’re protected from the ever-present threat of cyber attacks.

We’ve seen it happen to some of the biggest businesses in the country, so, don’t wait till disaster strikes. Invest in cybersecurity today to protect your business from threats and ensure a safe and trustworthy environment for your customers.

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And there you have it – 7 ways small business owners can leverage technology to streamline their business operations, and improve the efficacy of their company growth strategies. 

Which of these tech tools are you already leveraging for your business? Which ones are you interested in implementing in the future? Be sure to let us know in the comments below. All the best!