Post sponsored by BILL

By Rieva Lesonsky

In the fast-paced world of small businesses, staying ahead of the curve is crucial for success. Today, innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and automation are revolutionizing how small and midsize businesses (SMBs) manage their financial operations. A forward-looking report recently released by BILL, a leading financial operations platform for SMBs, reveals that SMBs can greatly benefit from embracing these technologies’ transformative potential.

Emerging trends in financial management

The BILL 2024 State of Financial Automation Report, conducted by SMB Group, highlights the key emerging trends in SMB financial management and operations and shows that:

• SMBs are eager to use AI to improve financial operations. They view AI as a beneficial tool for both strategic planning and everyday operations.

• They expect technologies such as automation and AI to help them get the most from their workforce. For instance, adopting AI allows them to reassign employees from routine responsibilities to more strategic tasks that can foster innovation, generate revenue, and speed growth.

• Automation is already a vital component in many of their business operations, helping them become more efficient and productive and attract and retain employees.

• 84% of those surveyed believe automated financial operations help them analyze data and provide the insights they need to improve decision-making.

• Automation is already a success factor in their financial operations. Most SMBs say integrated financial management solutions offered by new technologies provide “high value” to their financial operations.

As Ken Moss, chief technology officer at BILL, says, “Advances in AI present new opportunities for SMBs. AI can help them make better decisions and bring powerful efficiency and productivity outcomes to improve their businesses.”

SMBs that have already embraced the power of automation are using it to make their business operations more efficient and their financial operations more accurate. For example, it is critical that business owners know the state of their cash flow at all times. Automation gives SMBs greater visibility into their cash flow, enabling them to better manage it and ensure the company stays on top of payables and receivables.

Concerns about remote work

Many businesses, especially SMBs, have implemented permanent remote or hybrid working environments post-Covid-19 pandemic. While there are many advantages to working virtually, remote and hybrid work can be challenging for some business owners.

According to the BILL 2024 State of Financial Automation Report, on average, just over half of SMB employees work exclusively on-site, and nearly two-thirds of the SMBs surveyed say remote work continues to test them. Their top concerns include keeping track and accessing documents, measuring employee productivity, and establishing effective performance evaluation standards.

The report notes that this suggests that many SMBs have yet to implement digital solutions specifically designed to facilitate remote work. Integrating AI and automation solutions into your operations can help solve this problem.

The potential of AI

According to the report, SMBs are enthusiastic about AI’s potential, with 85% saying they’re interested in integrating it into their business operations. They already understand that AI is a valuable tool for strategic planning and is particularly useful in helping them analyze data, enabling them to make more intelligent and informed decisions.

SMBs have already identified numerous benefits AI brings to their businesses. Decision-making and analytics benefits are the primary advantages they identified. Other benefits include boosting employee productivity, detecting irregularities, summarizing data, and streamlining routine daily activities.

Courtesy: BILL

Automation improves business efficiency

Most (90%) of the business owners surveyed believe automation is essential to their success and key to improving business efficiency. Specifically, 55% say automation will enhance business efficiency and decision-making and help them attract and retain employees.

Finding and keeping skilled financial workers is a significant challenge that 75% of the SMBs surveyed say they struggle with. In addition, nearly two-thirds have had problems retaining their financial staff, often due to overwork and burnout.

That’s where automation shines, freeing up valuable staff time and resources and allowing SMBs to focus on their businesses’ more strategic and revenue-generating aspects. Specifically, automation helps SMBs better manage their:

• Accounts payable—You can close your books faster
• Accounts receivable—Improve customer relationships
• Spend and expense management—Easier to set up and manage employee expenses
• Financial planning solutions—Easier to create regular and ad hoc reports

Of course, as BILL’s Moss explains, when integrating AI and automation into your business, it’s essential to choose the right technology partner—one that provides accessible, trusted, and valuable solutions that can truly transform your SMB operations.

While SMBs are eager to embrace AI and incorporate it into their existing financial applications, they want integrated, seamless solutions that don’t make their tech stack even more complex. SMBs need solutions, such as the BILL Financial Operations Platform, that provide real-time insights and operational efficiency, give them greater visibility into their cash flow, and simplify financial processes.

Tens of millions of transactions flow through BILL’s network each year. This creates a valuable data asset, which, when applied to BILL’s AI engine, enables BILL to develop better customer experiences, such as auto-matching businesses and suppliers, auto-populating invoices, preventing payment fraud, and providing payment or funding choices for customers and network members.

The technology is already positively impacting SMBs. Sarah Sanders, VP of accounting at Repurpose, says, “AI capabilities from BILL have saved our finance team two days out of every work week. BILL’s AI pulls all the information for you and makes it so much easier. You just review. It’s easier to cross-reference than to actually key everything in.”

As the BILL 2024 State of Financial Automation Report shows, AI and automation have the potential to transform the operations of SMBs. As businesses navigate their futures in this increasingly competitive and complex business environment, robust financial processes and timely, actionable insights are not just beneficial—they’re crucial for driving efficiency, productivity, and growth. With the right technology partner and a commitment to innovation, SMBs can unlock new opportunities and thrive in the digital age.

About the Author

Rieva Lesonsky is CEO of GrowBiz Media and SmallBusinessCurrents.com and has been covering small businesses and entrepreneurship for over 30 years. Get more insights about business trends by signing up for her free Currents newsletter.