Guest Blog: Georgi Rollings at Starfish Accounting shares why accountants must sit at the heart of the SME tech adoption debate
techUK’s recent report Small Enterprises, Big Impact makes a strong case on why the UK Government needs to focus its efforts on supporting and incentivising small businesses on their paths to digital adoption. It outlines the well-known benefits to small businesses like productivity and UK GDP, and how it aligns with the new Government’s ambitions for growth.
When I spoke at the report launch, I was honoured to share more about what this actually means ‘on the ground’ and why accountants and bookkeepers are such an important part of driving this change. Surveys regularly show accountants to be the most trusted adviser for business owners, and at Starfish Accounting we support our clients with everything from cash flow and accessing funding, to planning for growth.
And as accountants we’re often the ones advising small businesses on the positive impact of digitalisation. An example I shared at the report launch was one of our clients - a tree surgeon - who used to have hand-written invoice books which he’d physically drop off every year when we first started working with him. It wasn’t an efficient or sustainable way of working.You could see how challenging it was for him, so we encouraged him to start digitalising his finances using Xero. There was initial reluctance - we have this with a lot of our clients who do not have the confidence in tech - and it took a while to make the case to him. But taking him on that journey really paid off, we were able to support him to invoice electronically at his jobs, and set up ways to be paid almost immediately.
Getting greater access to the cash he was owed even enabled him to have the confidence to grow beyond the VAT threshold and therefore invest in new equipment. He even moved into his own yard recently. If that’s not a good example of how tech can support growth and productivity, I don't know what it is.
It’s definitely not a unique example. We’re really passionate about helping our clients to improve the way they do things, and there are thousands of other accountants and bookkeepers across the UK doing the same thing. Small businesses just need the right advice, support and guidance to understand how tech can help fulfill their growth ambitions.
Running a small business can be isolating, and accountants often are the first people they turn to. So when policy makers are focusing on techUK’s new recommendations on small business digitalisation and driving adoption my plea is threefold:
- Focus on the smallest of small businesses - they are the ones who are time poor and most risk averse - and involve them in the policy making process.
- Publish the plan and stick to it! We - and small businesses - need certainty to plan for the future. For example, the report mentions Making Tax Digital as an example of changing goalposts.
- Remember the partnering role that accountants and bookkeepers can play. They are often small business owners themselves and they are the key advisors who can help support small businesses to take the first step on their digitalisation journey.
This is clearly a moment in time when the UK Government can use the momentum of change and really focus on supporting small businesses to digitalise, be more productive and take advantage of emerging tech such as AI. We’ve seen the benefits first-hand and stand ready to help co-create and deliver the solutions that this country - and our wonderful small businesses - so desperately need.
Georgi Rollings - Founder, Starfish Accounting Ltd
Georgi started as a chartered accountant at Deloitte & Touche in London in 1996, transferring to their San Jose office in California in 2000 where she worked with Silicon Valley start-ups. This gave Georgi both valuable ‘large practice’ experience but also, particularly in Silicon Valley, an appreciation of technology.
Georgi has become something of a past master at learning and the introduction of innovative software and technology to make life easier for business owners.
