SMEs (small and medium sized businesses) have 0 to 250 employees and in the UK, they account for an incredible 52% of all turnover and 60% of employment. 

Source
BEIS

Yes,
that’s right, all our small businesses contribute more to the economy than all
those large corporations. So, the issues that occupy the Owners and Managers of
SME’s are really important to the UK economy. What are the top concerns for
these businesses and how can they be overcome?

UK SMEs Top Concerns A number of studies in the UK were carried out in 2019 with broadly consistent findings. The chart below nicely illustrates the top concerns occupying the minds of SME business leaders.

Source:
dataconomy.com

The top
concern is pricing (27%) and then cash flow and debt collection (24%) however
technology related concerns appear twice with 21% worried about keeping up with
technology and 16% worried about cyber security. 

Technology

Technology
covers a lot of different areas and issues. It is an area where specialist
skills are required and an added spanner in the works is the high speed with
which the technology landscape changes. So, it is perfectly reasonable for SME
Owners and Managers to be concerned that their knowledge and skill level is not
enough to manage risks and capitalise on opportunities sufficiently. 

Common IT
issues;

1. A lack of integrated IT systems causing inefficiencies and
   reducing a business’ ability to adapt quickly. 
2. Centralised data storage and access rather than using cloud-based
   systems reduces your ability to access information and work remotely. This, in
   turn, reduces efficiency and prevents you offering flexible working to your
   staff. 
3. All this remote working from
   multiple devices increases the risk of a security breach which can be
   catastrophic. 

So, don’t try to manage all this on your own. An SME should be looking to find a high-quality IT company who can provide strategic advice, system implementation and ongoing IT support. This way you always have access to highly qualified experts who have worked with, and learnt from, hundreds of SMEs just like yours. 

Cash
Management

There is
no doubt that managing
finances is an essential business skill but so few of us have any formal
training in how to do it. So, it is not surprising that business leaders worry
about their ability to manage their financial risks properly. The good news is
that these days there are plenty of online training sources and some great
tools that can really help anyone generate robust forecasts and perform some
‘what if’ scenarios. 

First –
online training. There are plenty of courses you can sign up for however if you
have never tried udemy.com give it a go. Courses are about £10 and are online
video based. You can do small segments in your own time and revisit them as
many times as you want. Other uses provide genuine independent reviews. It is
fast, cheap as chips and completely flexible which is perfect for a busy SME
Executive. Search for a generic cash flow management course or for more
specific courses on how to use your software (e.g. QuickBooks) to manage your
cash. Which leads us nicely onto….

Second –
use the right tools. If you have invested in decent accounting software (which you
should have) they will have budgeting and cash flow tolls and reports built in.
If you use your accounting software properly you will be able to do much more
accurate cash flow and budgeting and it will take a fraction of the time. The
issue for most businesses is that they never spend the time training people how
to use the software or spending enough time working out which reports and tools
will be useful. Again udemy.com can come to your rescue. There are tons of
courses on specific pieces of software that give you a fast overview of how
they can be useful. Once you have identified the reports and features that will
help you search for a more specific course on exactly how customise and use
them. 

Perhaps the single most obvious and visible impact that COVID-19 infections are having in the world of nonprofit organisations is related to the first quarter events season. Spring is always a great time to hold fundraisers and various types of events that help increase the overall budget that organisations will have to work with for the remainder of the fiscal year. Unfortunately, many of these events have been canceled or pushed back for months.

Considering that more than a few MPs have stated that people have to remain at home at all times, there’s literally no way for most of these groups to raise money in person. Several organizations have stepped up their fundraising game, however, and are now starting to find alternative ways of doing things.

In many cases, these events won’t raise anywhere near as much money as traditional ones might have. However, they represent a path for smaller charities to weather the storm and survive in an increasingly volatile market.

Virtual Fundraising Events

Fine dining and even more casual cookouts have long been a mainstay of so many fundraising programs. Recently, people have started to put together something called dinner with a twist, where people in black ties deliver meals to local holders who wouldn’t otherwise be able to visit a physical event. This has become particularly popular with those who care for seniors.

While these events won’t ever be quite as popular as traditional ones, those who use an online donation platform like Donorbox are going to be able to collect donations from those who participate even if they can’t do so in person. Creative organisers are starting to put together some pretty amazing remote events using this kind of technology.

Major record labels have started to host concerts from a remote location. They sell tickets online through a donation widget and the proceeds then go to help those who have been impacted by the virus. Since the economic damage caused by taking certain steps to prevent continued infection have begun to hurt people’s financial status, there’s a good chance that many of these events can directly benefit those who have been dealing with challenges as a result of what’s going on.

In fact, some pundits are saying that charity organisers should expect to see increases in the amount of people they see applying for aid.

Increased Demand on Charity Funds

Due to the fact that so many people are out of work across the entire industralised world, many of these individuals have started to turn to charities in order to try and improve their own situation. While this is exactly why these organisations exist in the first place, it’s clearly putting quite a strain on groups that were already beleaguered by other events not directly related to the coronavirus.

For instance, recently unemployed persons have started to ask for an increased amount of financial assistance during these times. Payroll problems from the previous year have impacted the economy as it was, so these groups have had to work harder than normal for a number of months now.

Specialists have invented some interesting ways to deal with the sudden increase in demands. The so-called flash fundraiser is among the most common.

An organisation using this scheme will announce that their normal plans have been cancelled so they have to hold a fast emergency fundraising that will last only one or two days. The most successful ones so far have leveraged a matched gift that’s helped to encourage additional donations even if they run into cash shortages.

Others have turned to virtual auctions. Some people livestream their auctions through social media to give the same experience that those attending a charity gala would have otherwise had. Some have elected to forego the entire experience and merely sell on eBay or another popular online auction site. In either case, this can also help to drastically reduce the amount of money it costs to put on one of these shows. Top online sellers in the past could make up to £17 million annually, so it’s likely that those today could make even more

More recently, nonprofits have been working to develop even more ways of dealing with the fundraising slump related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Creative Ways of Dealing with a Serious Problem

Sharable content is important in any situation, but quite a few groups have refocused their effort on it. Creating content that shows off fundraising highlights can help to increase generosity in givers. As people learn more about what these groups need, it’s likely that they’ll continue to support them in droves.