picture id="4NF23JO_image_crop_76715" crop="16x10" layout="full"] A survey has shown small businesses are losing out on increased profits by not digitising payments.
A large accounting software firm is calling on the government to consider a technology boost for small businesses.
Cloud-based provider MYOB's latest modelling showed SMEs could increase their profits by digitising payments and invoices - yet two thirds were using traditional methods.
MYOB spokesperson Jo Tozer said adopting digital tools reduced the need to pay staff to process payments and freed up time for revenue generating activities.
Their new modelling conducted by Infometrics revealed that further digitisation by local SMEs could deliver a potential gross benefit to the local economy of $8.5 billion.
Tozer said an incentive scheme could encourage more small-to-medium firms to make the switch.
"Officials here have done a brilliant job at leading the digital agenda. There has been a focus on education and training through the likes of the digital boost programme.
"What these insights show is there's an opportunity to build on that with targeted investment to support further adoption of digital tools."
The Australian government has announced a new scheme for businesses to claim tax benefits against the money they spend on digital business tools. Tozer felt their scheme showed further incentives to digitise could work positively on this side of the Tasman.
She said the barriers were often cost, knowledge and freeing up the time to understand how digitisation could help a small business.
"An SME who's not spending as much time on manual admin tasks or trying to recruit team members to do jobs that can be digital and automated frees up both the time and funds to invest in other parts of their business."