One year on from the start of the Covid-19 lockdown, small business leaders are estimated to have derived $45.3 billion in value from relationships with their accountants and bookkeepers with more than half (51%) increasing their reliance on their advisors to help manage the impact of the pandemic.

Newly released QuickBooks Advocating for Advisors research estimates that $36.4 billion flowed into the sector through access to business grants, investment guidance or from other financial advice provided by advisors. This was complemented by savings estimated to amount to $8.9 billion from advisors’ recommendation of more cost-efficient financial products, guidance on debt consolidation, budgeting, retirement planning and taxes.

Two thirds (67%) of small business leaders also reported that advice from their advisors helped them to retain staff and as half of small business leaders say they turned to their accountant, bookkeeper or financial advisor for emotional support during the pandemic.

In addition to financial and emotional support, more than two thirds of small businesses said their advisor had helped to save them an average of 20 hours per month, amounting to a cumulative 16,000 hours-plus saved for the sector.

Looking ahead, small businesses with an advisor relationship are now three times more likely to feel positive about the upcoming end of financial year and tax preparation period, than those without. 

Intuit QuickBooks Australia head of advisor strategy, Meagan Wood said, “Our internal research shows us that there are three reasons why SMBs don’t connect to an advisor – they don’t think their business is big enough to warrant it, they don’t want to pay for ongoing access to an accountant or bookkeeper and they’re not sure where to find one.

“The results here speak for themselves – it’s the perfect time leading into tax season for small business owners to reconsider their current situation and seek out the financial guidance they might need so they can spend more time working on their business and less time worrying about their financials.”