Top Trends for 2023? Flexible, Customizable Tech to Serve the Dynamic SMB Market

When I think about the trends driving us forward this year, top of mind is how small business owners continue to rely heavily on accounting and fintech solutions to help them succeed and are increasingly looking for their technology to go further for them. They rightfully expect it to bring a lot of value, including managing operations, driving greater efficiencies, providing insights on how to grow their customer base, and streamlining workforce management.?

But businesses are like snowflakes in that no two are the same, so there is no one-size-fits-all solution. What works for the mom-and-pop restaurant in Michigan likely won’t work for a scaling e-commerce business with a deep omnichannel presence and a global customer base. That’s why customization is crucial and why continued innovation around flexible, customizable tech rides high on my list of trends to watch.?

A QuickBooks study found that a lack of customization is one of the top disadvantages of current systems for 47% of mid-size businesses. The study also shared that 93% of businesses surveyed say they have outgrown at least some of their digital tools or are paying for features they DON’T USE! Spending money on a tool you don’t utilize to the fullest can have major consequences for a business. Business owners have a clear appetite for having a more customizable solution, and I believe that tech like QuickBooks Online Advanced is primed to fill that need.

A perfect example of this is our customer SwagUp. 27-year-old founder Michael Martocci started with his first customer invoice, created using QuickBooks in his mom’s garage, and has now turned his venture into a successful multi-million dollar business. Michael started with QuickBooks Online to get him off the ground. When his business began to boom, he graduated from using QuickBooks Online to QuickBooks Online Advanced. As his business grew and volume increased, so did his team’s need for customization. Just like the scalable business model Michael created, Quickbooks’ technology could flex and grow with them, too.? He shared with us that the wide range of integrations with QuickBooks Online Advanced also gave him the flexibility to create a solution tailored to the exact needs of SwagUp. So despite things like their growing number of employees, products/SKUs, and revenue streams, Michael’s team was able to make Advanced fit the unique demands of the business without having to jump to costly and confusing ERP systems.

I love success stories like Michael’s, and he’s a great case study for why innovation around customization features will continue to be a trend this year – and something that we’re fervently focused on at QuickBooks. How customization will serve the needs of a dynamic market is just one of the trends I’m tracking. Here are four more that are on my radar. I’d love to hear about yours in the comments section:

Advanced forecasting and inventory management solutions will soar

The fast-changing retail landscape left businesses challenged to meet demand in 2022. With a troubled economy and inflation concerns, what consumers and business owners are buying and selling, respectively, can change unexpectedly. Small business retailers will be looking for technology that allows them to intelligently forecast their business and track inventory so that they can quickly adapt their strategy as needed throughout 2023.

Tools with more mature reporting systems

As businesses scale, day-to-day operations become more complex, and the need for more robust reporting features rises. Deeper reporting capabilities become especially critical at the mid-size stage when an owner requires a deeper understanding of their business performance. This gives the owner complete control of generating reports and insights that are most relevant to their business.?

Technology with robust API integrations will rise

An average of 19 apps are in use for mid-sized small businesses, according to research from Intuit QuickBooks. That many apps can be a lot to keep track of for the busy business owner! In the coming year, we expect to see more businesses seeking out tech that supports app integrations. The appetite for this is especially true for some of the most popular apps driving businesses forward daily. Overall, this helps streamline the experience of using the apps while saving time with seamless integration across platforms.

Digital marketing strategies become more complex

More than three-quarters of Americans go online on a daily basis. 43% go on more than once a day, and 26% are online “almost constantly.” There was an increase in the adoption of digital marketing platforms for mid-sized companies in 2022, and it’s only going to go up from there. More mid-sized small businesses will adopt new, advanced digital marketing strategies to make deep connections with customers. They’ll be looking for more opportunities through email marketing platforms to build up their brand, provide a great customer experience, bring in potential customers, and more. Tech solutions will rise to fill this need.

The year ahead of us has a great deal of promise. As mid-sized businesses face new challenges and opportunities in 2023, we’ll see even more SMBs utilizing these innovative technologies to help them grow and prosper.