Costs keep rising. Customers pay late. And the admin that comes with running your business takes up more of your time than it should.
Two recent statistics sum up the situation well. The average UK small business is owed £42,000 in overdue invoices, according to research by Sage. And government figures from May this year show that late payments alone shut down 38 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) a day, costing the economy £11 billion a year.
There’s no single fix for this, no magic bullet. But artificial intelligence, which any SME can access and use, can take humdrum tasks off your hands – giving you the time and space to think and plan.
Where AI delivers value
The trick to getting the best out of AI is to start small.
Instead of applying it in one fell swoop to the business, focus on a clearly defined task that the technology can make short work of.
When it comes to financial admin, you’ll typically see the biggest impact by applying AI to tasks such as chasing invoices, reconciling bank statements, and processing payroll.
AI tools can flag potential issues, draft messages, highlight trends, and automate repetitive processes. But your insights and judgement – the human element, if you like – are as crucial as they’ve ever been.
What using AI looks like in practice
At Tyne Chease, an artisanal vegan cheese maker in Tyne and Wear, chasing invoices used to be a time-consuming chore. That changed when the team started using Sage Copilot.
In a typical week, it saves 12 to 14 hours and helps payments arrive up to seven days faster. “If you took it away, there’d be piles of paper and me rocking in a corner,” says CEO and director Victoria Inskipp.
These efficiencies also helped the business reduce costs and operate more effectively. Following a cost review, Tyne Chease’s retail prices came down by 30-50p.
What’s more, the company passed an audit for a large-scale customer that required certification. This, says general manager Adam Williams, “was largely due to the time that we were saving”.
In London, architectural joinery firm Haneker has seen Sage Copilot offer a real-time view of cash flow and notify staff of unusual spends, as well as replacing spreadsheets and manual reports. “It’s like having a helpful assistant who knows the numbers better than I do and explains them in plain English,” says managing director Margaret Sadzynska.
How to start using AI for your business
You don’t need to overhaul your business to start using AI. A simple, step-by-step approach is more effective:
- Pick a task. A recurring job that takes up too much of your week, such as chasing invoices or reconciling accounts.
- Set a benchmark. Define what “better” looks like. Be it time saved, errors reduced or faster payments, make this an outcome you’ll recognise when you see it.
- Don’t go overboard. Stick to just one or two tools. Often those you need are built into the software you use already.
- Keep humans in the loop. The technology will draft, suggest and flag, but it’s an aid, not a substitute. Ultimately, every decision rests with you. Your judgement and experience are integral parts of the process.
- After 30 days, study the results. Measure what’s changed against your benchmark. That way, you can keep what works and tweak what doesn’t.
Perhaps you’ve heard that AI is overrated. That’s the inevitable consequence of trying to do too much with it.
But at the end of the day, the AI revolution isn’t about adopting more tools. It’s about using the correct ones, on the right tasks, to give yourself back more time.
Pick a task this month and see what changes. That’s the fastest way to see how AI can save time, reduce costs, and support growth.
