63% of entrepreneurs ‘waste’ one day a month on financial admin

63% of early-stage business owners are “wasting” at least one day every month completing administrative financial tasks, according to research from small business banking service Tide.

Surveying 149 business owners and sole traders that had already pre-registered for the service, Tide found that 36% would rate their bank’s support when setting up an account as poor or very poor, whilst 47% felt that ongoing support after they’d become a customer was also poor or very poor.

67% of respondents were not likely to recommend their current business bank to others, with 36% dissatisfied by the ease of use of their business bank account.

Tax calculations (54%) was listed as the most significant frustration faced by entrepreneurs, followed by accounting (51%), keeping track of expenses (49%), using multiple applications for different services (38%), invoicing (30%) and payroll (18%).

Businesses trading for less than a year were found to be most likely to cite tax (60%) and accounting (59%) as their biggest struggles, compared to payroll (27%) and keeping track of expenses (55%) for businesses of between one and five years.

George Bevis, CEO of Tide, commented: “In the early days of starting a new business, entrepreneurs and sole traders all too easily find themselves tied up in financial red tape.

“And while the tasks they have to complete aren’t necessarily complicated, they are time-consuming and unfamiliar, and there can be significant consequences if done incorrectly.

“There is no reason why banks can’t help their customers to navigate these waters more efficiently and save them time, but they simply aren’t doing so.”