Why missed appointments could be costing small business

The UK’s appointment-based businesses could be losing millions of pounds every year due to missed appointments, new research has found.

SMEs account for more than 99% of all UK businesses, according to the Federation of Small Businesses and are a key driver of economic growth.

There are around 1.1 million appointment-based businesses who see their operations interrupted by late or missed meetings, and the administration related to rearranging them.

The FSB believes that up to five minutes can be spent altering bookings, which adds up to 20 million minutes every day across all of the UK’s small businesses.

Customers not turning up for appointments are a major hindrance for firms and cost a great deal of money in lost time.

According to the FSB, more than 40 million minutes are wasted every day due to people missing appointments or coordinating new ones.

SMEs are also losing up to 12 days a year staying on top of their tax administration and it is estimated that as much as half a billion pounds is being lost in total.

Much of this finance could be spent on expanding a company or on developing new sales and marketing techniques.

Given the costs of hiring a permanent member of staff, many firms are looking for alternative ways of reducing administrative spending.

The average salary for a Personal Assistant can be up to £24,000 which can be a significant sum for smaller companies and may not be viewed as a worthwhile investment, for example.

Wider business restructuring may also help to cut down unnecessary spending should a company wish to take slightly more drastic measures.

Cost-effective solutions such as online booking systems can massively reduce admin costs which means bosses can spend their time investing in the future of their companies.

This means businesses have more opportunities to thrive amid a positive economic outlook and can make the best possible use of time.

By Phil Smith

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