Top Tips

More than 21m people in the UK are now estimated to regularly use tools and apps powered by artificial intelligence (AI), including many small-business owners. From saving time and cutting costs, to improving efficiency, productivity and turnover, AI is helping many UK SMEs to be more successful. AI describes the ability of machines or software to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence, which includes answering questions, learning from data, recognising patte

Many UK businesses use enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. It can help you to streamline your operations, reduce your costs, boost your productivity and grow your business more effectively. Whether you are managing stock, orders, customer relationships, cash flow or people, ERP software brings together your core business functions in one place, allowing you to make the most of your resources, maximise your efficiency and profits. By offering real-time access to

If you’re not already doing it, selling online could be a game-changer for your business, such are the commercial opportunities it offers. Worth £127bn in 2024 (source: The Federation of Small Businesses), online now makes up more than 25% of UK retail sales, when that figure was only 3.3% in 2007 (source: ONS). About 52m people in the UK (77% of the population) were expected to make a purchase online in 2025, confirming the UK’s place as one of Europe’s most digitally activ

If you want to grow your business, you need to sell more, it really is that simple. And the greater your ambitions, the more sales you need to make, whether to existing customers, new customers or likely both. Marketing is critical to business growth and digital marketing has become the main focus for many UK SMEs. Although offline marketing still has a place, in many cases, digital marketing dominates, now powering the growth of many UK SMEs. It involves using online channe

Small businesses store customer information in different ways. In some cases, valuable knowledge about who customers are, what they want and how they buy exists only in the heads of the business owner and their team. Contact details are usually stored in a mobile phone, address book or basic card index system. Others use computer spreadsheets to record customer details, which makes the information easier to access, share and store securely online. Although better, spreadshee

Accounting software is one of the most widely used digital business tools. About 80% of UK SME employers that use digital tech use accounting software (source: GOV.UK), although the smaller the business, the less likely that is. Only a third of the UK’s solo self-employed use accounting software. Some don’t realise the benefits accounting software can bring or they mistakenly believe it to be expensive and difficult to use. Other business owners won’t be shifted away from ma