Reading, UK - 27 March, 2012 - More than half of small sized firms in Great Britain do not use any business application software which could help them run efficient organisations. Research published today by Workbooks.com and conducted online by YouGov, revealed that 51% of small enterprises[1], have not implemented any software to help streamline their business processes or provide access to real-time business management information.

The survey, of 529 SME leaders, implies that British businesses are failing to leverage technology at a time when running efficient businesses and having real time data on business performance can be the difference between company success and failure. Of those SMEs who do have business applications software, 24 per cent appear to use basic free programs with a very limited amount of features, mentioning they would benefit from an improved process and better availability of data.

John Cheney, CEO of Workbooks.com, comments: “Smaller organisations typically tell us that they want the tools to run better businesses, but are wary of the cost and complexity of adopting new IT systems. Our experience shows that it is at precisely this stage of their development (around 50 people) that these firms need to be forward-thinking about their growth trajectory. Adopting software that will ultimately help them make better business decisions is critical. It’s astonishing to think so many are missing the opportunity to be more efficient.”

James Reynolds, Managing Director of EST Marketing added: “As a fast growing, yet small business, I think we were typical of our peers when we ran the company using spread sheets. Products like Salesforce.com, Microsoft Dynamics or Sage just seemed too complex and expensive for us.”

He added: “Workbooks has enabled us to ‘join-up’ marketing, sales and the finance teams. We have much better management data and it has significantly reduced the time taken to move from finding a new prospect, to cash in the bank. It’s no surprise to us that many other organisations still haven’t taken the plunge yet, it felt like a huge step, but in reality just wasn’t.”

Cheney concludes: “The research suggests that business managers need the kind of easily manageable solutions offered by the cloud, which are tailored to meet their needs as the business grows. No one wants to pay for features they aren’t using and it’s rare that small businesses have a chunk of change to invest up front in software. They need to understand they have other options.”

Workbooks.com can help business managers overcome these problems. The CRM software can help drive sales growth, streamline business processes, improve levels of customer service and give employees access to real-time management information to help make better overall business decisions.

Please visit www.workbooks.com for more information.

[1] With less than 50 employees