Blue Collar Firms See Technology and Automation as a Solution to the Challenges that COVID has brought to their Sector : It is no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world: the way we work, the way we act, and the way businesses operate.

In a recent survey conducted by UnicONE – the all-in-one Business Management Software, over 1000 people were asked questions about their businesses: before, during and after the pandemic. The results indicated a rise demand for technology to overcome the effects of the pandemic and to move their businesses forward in 2021.

Over 50% of respondents reported that they use small amounts of software in their business, mostly accounting software, and spreadsheets to run their businesses. Job sheets and timesheets are produced using software available on their computers and printed off and passed to their field staff.

35% of respondents reveled they are using lots of different pieces of software that do not integrate with each, resulting in duplication of tasks such as invoicing and reconciliation.

Nearly three quarters of the business owners we spoke to advised that they spend their evenings and weekends working. Some say to get ahead for next week, others say they work on jobs during the day and must prepare quotes, schedules and catch up on admin. All of these would like to have more free time to spend with their families and on their hobbies.

Everyone surveyed responded that technology could improve the way they worked, yet some were reluctant to adopt new technologies. Cost and time investments were among the reasons for the reluctance and a proportion responded ‘my workforce won’t use technology’ – however most of these probably use their mobile phones to order food, check the recent scores of their favorite team and order supplies from an app.

Looking ahead, many businesses state they want to get back to where they were pre-covid, they want to attract more clients and increase profits, and many want to reduce time spent ‘running’ the business and focus on growing their businesses over the next 1-2 years. The belief that technology will assist them with their goals has resulted in more researching technology options. All-in-one solutions that integrate with their accounting software ranked as the preferred solution.

UnicONE was developed to provide a credible solution to some of these challenges currently experienced. Removing paper job sheets, timesheets, and spreadsheets. Reducing the time spent on administrative tasks by simplifying processes around quotations, invoicing and scheduling. And most importantly in 2021, collaborating with your team, in real time.

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For more information on UnicOne:

Visit their website: www.unic.app

Email Gemma Green for further details or a product demo: ggreen@unic.app

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