Accountants are the key source of information for more than 80% small businesses
When faced with a business problem or dilemma, more than 80% of small businesses seek help from accountants, some rely on friends' experiences (a quarter of responses) while nearly a fifth alert government institutions, NALED's new survey found. Much less information is obtained independently - by searching the websites of the competent authorities, through social networks or in some other way.
When it comes to topics that interest them, the largest number of respondents (55%) emphasize the payment of taxes and contributions. Next in importance is the payment of non-tax duties, followed by inspections, procedures related to hiring workers, additional sources of financing and electronic business.
Starting from this year, businesses will be able to find answers to these and many other questions, at a single place - on an interactive webpage for entrepreneurs titled Small Business Informer, located within the national web portal www.preduzetnistvo.gov.rs. This initiative is part of the project of the same name, implemented by NALED with the support of the British Embassy in partnership with the Cabinet of the Prime Minister of Serbia and the Ministries of Economy and Finance.
- The availability of the most important information in a single place is very important for entrepreneurs and small businesses and makes their work easier, which was confirmed by more than two thirds of respondents, and almost 80% expressed a desire to use it. The Entrepreneurship and Small Business Informer portals will provide an easy insight into the most important business segments - paying taxes and non-tax duties, hiring workers, eBusiness, online commerce, inspections and Google mapping - says Dušan Vasiljević, Entrepreneurship and Investment Director in NALED, adding that the Small Business Informer will be available on the subdomain www.informator.preduzetnistvo.gov.rs.
Within the Small Business Informer project, several initiatives have been launched to support entrepreneurs, and along with upgrades to the Entrepreneurship web portal, an important segment of the project includes direct assistance to small businesses. In early November last year, a "Small Business in a Nutshell" caravan started, expected to include expert visits to least 500 entrepreneurs, small and micro companies in Novi Sad, Nis, Kragujevac, Krusevac and Valjevo.
Companies and entrepreneurs from five cities that need this type of support can schedule a visit to the consultants via e-mail address digitalnikaravan@naled.rs, and the visit can be realized until January 31.
- Within the caravan, expert consultants visit entrepreneurs with the intention of presenting the benefits of online sales and cashless payment, positioning on Google maps and the new fiscalization system. Each of them has the task of informing at least a hundred business entities about these topics in their city. According to expressed interest and our experts' activities, Novi Sad is in the lead with 90 visits, followed by Krusevac with almost 80 and Kragujevac with slightly more than 50 participants in the "Small Business in a Nutshell" campaign - says Vasiljevic.
NALED's research, as well as field visits, show that more than 80% of small businesses have already heard of the electronic fiscalization system, and more than half are positioned on Google Maps. On the other hand, only 10% use online sales, and only 9.2% plan to introduce them. In order to raise awareness about the importance and opportunities offered by this way of doing business, NALED is preparing a Guide to e-Commerce within the Small Business Informer project, which will soon be available to entrepreneurs, SMEs and those seeking to start a business.
