The Monzo Money Pulse: Research finds financial admin could cost Irish SMEs €2.1 billion a year in lost productivity

Leading digital bank Monzo has released the second edition of ‘The Monzo Money Pulse’, a research-led series exploring how Ireland feels about money. Following its pulse check on savings, Monzo now examines the hidden economic and emotional toll financial admin takes on Irish small business owners.

The research, surveying 500 Irish SME owners, reveals that on average, they spend 2 hours and 43 minutes per week on financial admin. With their time valued at an average of €61 per hour, this equates to approximately €165 per week, or over €8,500 per year in lost time per business. Scaled nationally, this amounts to an estimated €2.1 billion per year in lost productivity.

“The Monzo Money Pulse found that financial admin is swallowing Irish SMEs’ time, with 55% of owners citing expense management as the most time-consuming task.[2] Chasing payments from customers and suppliers (38%), and tax planning as a close follow”, said  Elaine Deehan, Monzo’s Irish Country Manager. “We’re removing that friction with a range of plans that include automated tax pots, invoicing and many different methods to pay and get paid. We’re turning complex admin into a few simple taps. Businesses can join the waitlist to sign up for an account soon at monzo.com/ie/waitlist.”

The Stress of Success

SMEs form the backbone of the Irish economy, employing around 1.6 million people, or 68% of the business workforce. Yet financial management imposes a heavy emotional toll on them, with 94% of SME owners surveyed, reporting that it makes them feel stressed, with business owners more than twice as likely as sole traders to feel “very stressed.”

The burden is so significant that 55% of owners who handle financial admin personally would sacrifice playing or watching sports for a month to avoid a year of financial admin. Others would trade away their favourite takeaway (43%) or social media (25%) just to offload the task. Freeing up this time through better banking tools would be transformative: 56% of owners would reinvest that energy into customers or clients, 32% would focus on growth, and 47% would prioritise time with family and friends.

Time and Translation Tax

Financial admin is a significant time sink for SME owners d, with 47% of those surveyed losing three to four hours weekly and another 36% spending up to two hours. Because 92% of owners surveyed handle these tasks personally, the operational drain is constant: 9% are distracted from core business daily, 40% weekly, and 33% monthly.

This burden is compounded by a massive “complexity gap” with 41% of owners feeling they need a translator to understand bank products, terms, or communications.[6] 58% claim untangling a box of cables is easier than managing their finances and over half (55%) even believe predicting the Irish weather is more straightforward than navigating business banking.

Frustrations vs Fixes

Sharon Malone, CEO and Founder of Finerty said, “Managing financial admin is a stressful, time-consuming part of running your own business. I was spending 5 to 7 hours a month stuck doing manual VAT calculations, categorising and managing receipts, and processing payments through fragmented systems. I recall my early days as an Entrepreneur trying to set up a business bank account, it took weeks and it felt like there wasn’t much help or support available”.

“With Monzo I was able to open an account within 10 minutes and for the first time ever, we have all our payments, merchant services, receipts, invoice management, and transaction categorisation in one place. It has drastically reduced the time and stress I previously spent on admin, giving me more time to focus on growing the business which is exactly how I want to spend it.”

Sharon’s experience echoes the frustrations from SME owners with three quarters (76%) saying it’s important that their bank reduces the financial admin of running their business. Monzo Business will soon be offering a range of plans from Lite (free), to Pro (€7/pm) to Team (€20/pm). With features such as automated tax pots, invoicing and so many ways to manage payments, it has never been easier to pay or get paid. Businesses and individuals can register at monzo.com/ie/waitlist to join Monzo’s waitlist for early access.

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