Small businesses are riding a wave of optimism on new tax reform legislation. A new survey from Right Networks finds 70 percent of small to medium businesses are very confident to moderately confident about this year’s business opportunities.
Small Businesses are Optimistic over Tax Cuts
At the heart of this optimism is the new Tax Reform and Jobs Act. Almost 37 percent said it would make a positive impact on business. Forty percent of the small to medium sized businesses polled saw taxes as the biggest regulatory hurdle.
Biggest Challenge
The biggest challenge was seen retaining clients and winning new business. Over 44 percent of respondents saw this as their number one concern for 2018. Getting and keeping the right talent (19 percent) and rising healthcare costs (18 percent) were the second and third on the list.
The cloud was expected to fuel growth in the new year, according to the survey. A full 75 percent of respondents say they already use a cloud-based accounting application or plan to implement one in 2018. As far as cloud storage goes, 57 percent said they either use it or plan to this year.
Working Remotely
That same percentage of respondents reported working remotely on a daily basis. A smaller number (21 percent) indicated they worked away from a central location several times a month.
Data Security
Data security for small to medium sized businesses remains a top priority as they move into the new year. Almost 34 percent saw data security and privacy as the top technological challenge they needed to address in 2018. Smaller percentages of respondents were concerned with handling workflow disruption and staying abreast of the latest innovations in technology.
The survey sampled 365 small to medium-sized businesses and accountants. Right Networks provides cloud-based accounting and business solutions to CPA firms, small businesses and accounting professionals.
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When companies like Apple see the tax cut as a chance to repatriate billions of dollars, my guess is there are some opportunities in there for the little guys too.