UK SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS SPENDING A THIRD OF THEIR WEEK ON ADMIN

Small business owners are spending over 15 hours a week on admin, time which could be used to grow their businesses

UK small business owners are spending over a third of their working week carrying out simple admin tasks, according to new research.

The research into behaviour patterns of SMEs, conducted by cloud services provider BCSG, revealed that Britain’s 4.9 million small business owners are spending on average over 15 hours each week on admin tasks, at a weekly cost of £1,442 to each small business, based on their own valuation of an hour of their time.

With 4.9 million SMEs across the UK, the combined cost of admin each week soon multiplies to the tune of several billion pounds each week.

Over a third (38%) of the working week is dedicated to admin, and this is compounded by the fact that up to 57% of small business owners do not have a software solutions in place that would help with specific admin tasks, which would save them time.

Small businesses owners were found to cherish their time during the working day, valuing one hour of their time at £93, but are unable to finish their work during regular working hours due to an admin overload.

In addition to the time spent on admin during the week, nearly a quarter of small business owners (23%) are carrying out these tasks outside of working hours, emphasising the extra time required to complete these jobs.

John Davis, Managing Director of BCSG, believes that the weekly admin cost to SMBs must be reduced and that cloud technology is an appropriate way to help small business owners become more efficient with their admin tasks.

He said: “Time is so important for small business owners, particularly when most, if not all, responsibilities rest on their shoulders. The research shows that far too much time is being spent on admin tasks that could otherwise go towards other jobs. SMEs make up 48.1% of private sector turnover in the UK and are therefore an extremely important part of our economy.

“Using cloud-based apps allows small business owners to spend less time on mundane administrative tasks and more time on expanding and developing other areas of the business, whilst generally simplifying and streamlining everyday activities.”