Small Business Owners Big on Mobile Technology

For banks that are on the fence about offering mobile banking to small business owners, a survey released today could nudge them to take that step.

A survey of 1,305 small business owners conducted by Constant Contact in March found that 66% currently use a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet in their work. Of the non-mobile users, 65% have no plans to use a mobile device in the future, many citing a lack of demand for mobile access from their customers.

This segment is partial to Apple devices, according to the survey — 66% use iPhones, while 39% use Android phones. About 49% use iPads; only 15% use Android tablets.

Among the general public, according to comScore, Android subscribers account for 52% of all subscribers, while iOS subscribers account for 38%.

Mobile apps are playing a growing role in the way small businesses manage operations: 82% use a calendar/time management app; 74% use a customer communications app; 52% use a GPS and mapping app; 44% use an accounting/invoicing app; 44% use an app for industry news/information consumption; and 29% use a travel planning app.

Chase, which has offered mobile apps to small business owners for two years, yesterday rolled out a feature that lets these customers image their receipts and attach them to specific credit card transactions. The bank already offered the ability to tag specific transactions with an identifier, such as the name of a client or project.