Laptops are being put aside in favour of mobile phones by Aussie self-employed women to run their businesses, according to a new study that reveals faster and more reliable Internet speeds are also on top of womens' lists of technology they want to make doing business easier.
In fact, more than 80% of the 300 self-employed women surveyed use a mobile phone to run their venture, compared with 70% who use a laptop.
The study by the Australian arm of US-based accounting software company Intuit found that after faster and more reliable Internet speeds, women in small business list technology integration - like the centralised storage of applications and files, transferring calendars from laptops to phones – and help with finance related problems (tax and managing expenses) as their top technology priorities.
Nicolette Maury, country manager and vice president of Intuit Australia said: “It’s great to hear that Aussie self-employed women are embracing technology when it comes to business.
{loadposition peter}“Of interest, the majority of women surveyed had left large companies to be their own boss so that they could have a better work life balance.
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“It’s estimated that there are up to 788,000 independent contractors in Australia and Intuit wants to support them in their ventures.
“To do this we launched QuickBooks Self-Employed (QBSE) last year, an innovative mobile app that makes it easier for the self-employed to stay in control of their business finances, and help them prepare for tax time while on the go.
“The beauty of QBSE is customers can also send invoices, snap and store receipts, track mileage and get real-time insights on their finances anywhere and at any time.”
Intuit says Erin Browne, founder of Melbourne-based company Tinka the Label, found that using QBSE has saved her nearly a day in time each week.
“With QuickBooks Self-Employed, I’ve saved at least an hour and a half a day, and I work seven days a week! Everything is there on my phone and I’m able to sit on the tram and categorise my bank transactions between business and personal,” Browne said.