Irish businesses lose up to €2.2 billion annually in productivity due to burdensome administrative tasks according to Sage, a global provider of cloud accounting software.

It is estimated that businesses in Ireland spend an average of 70 working-days per year navigating the bureaucracy burden. Administration accounts for 3.5% of the total manpower of the average business and, according to the company’s live productivity tracker, the cost of lost productivity so far in 2018 amounts to over €309m.

The report’s findings highlight the largest administrative task for small and medium sized businesses in Ireland is accounting. Operational tasks, such as recruitment and HR, represents a smaller burden for entrepreneurs.

The research also shows Irish companies have fallen behind their international competition in the uptake of digitalisation to address burdensome tasks. For instance, more than 55% do not make use of digital aids to relieve the administration burden on their staff.

The report included views from businesses across the world, including the UK, US and Ireland. Sage provides solutions to 25% of businesses in Ireland while internationally the Sage Group has more than three million customers in 23 countries.

Commenting on the research, Managing Director at Sage Ireland, Barry Murphy said, "Small and medium sized businesses are the lifeblood of the Irish economy, accounting for over 60% of the total workforce. These businesses are under growing pressure to remain competitive in the wake of Brexit and increased international competition."

He added, "Our research has uncovered that staff productivity is swallowed up by administration. Imagine how we could benefit by removing this burden and allowing business builders to be ambitious, win new clients or improve their product offering."

Source: www.businessworld.ie