Tag: Xero

I have spent my career watching South African Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) owners achieve extraordinary results with limited resources. Their resilience is well known. However, this does not remove the difficult path that entrepreneurship often entails. According to our recent Emotional Tax Return report, 95% of South African SME owners make personal sacrifices to sustain their businesses.

Amid Global Entrepreneurship Week, running from 17 to 23 November, new insights from small business communities offer practical lessons for South African entrepreneurs. These insights show how digital skills, innovation and proven global strategies can fast-track growth. As the week unfolds, global SME insights highlight opportunities for transformation.

As new and emerging technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), continue to reshape the business world, change is inevitable. We are calling on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to look beyond the hype. They should focus on harnessing AI as a genuine catalyst for operational improvement and enhanced customer engagement.

It is no secret that South African small businesses demonstrate remarkable resilience and optimism despite ongoing challenges. At the forefront of this resilience is digitisation. It is proving to be a vital catalyst for continued growth. In fact, digitisation delivers better business outcomes every day.

Despite ongoing challenges such as inconsistent power supply and economic instability, an impressive 83% of small businesses have grown their revenue in the past year, and 90% are optimistic about their future growth. These findings from our 2025 State of Small Business Report may be surprising to most, but they prompt the question: What is driving this optimism? The answer lies in SMEs' bold embrace of technology.

It is incredible to witness the passion and optimism currently fuelling growth in the accounting profession. The 2025 State of Small Business and State of Accounting reports show promising trends. A majority of firms (85%) have increased revenue in the past 12 months. Even more (88%) expect further growth in the year ahead.

Running a business is no easy feat, and for self-made entrepreneurs, every decision counts. Managing finances effectively can be the difference between thriving and just getting by. That’s where Xero steps in—offering cloud-based accounting software that provides business owners with the tools they need to manage their finances smarter.

The country’s SMBs have had a tough 18 months, and unfortunately it seems that challenges are set to continue. The first quarter of 2021 saw one of the highest jobless rates since records began – 32.6 percent – and the latest projections show that South Africa’s economy is only expected to recover to pre-pandemic levels in 2025.

According to QuickBooks, there are already more than 700 apps that are assisting accountants to automate processes and reduce their workload. Gone are the days where accountants can be mere number crunchers, who collate and check data and allocate it to the correct cost centre. The future accountant will have transformed her/himself into a financial advisor, adding value to businesses by offering strategic advice, consulting and financial planning.