In October, Sage Group plc acquired Lockstep. The acquisition, which is aligned with Sage’s ambition to be the trusted network for today's small and medium businesses, helps accelerate the expansion of its digital network by enabling and enhancing connections between businesses and their customers and suppliers.
The Seattle-based Lockstep develops products and services that streamline accounting processes, allowing customers to save time, eliminate human error and improve cash flows.
Lockstep's solutions include applications to automate accounts receivable and accounts payable workflows, deepening Sage’s capabilities in the office of the CFO, while its API platform expands the ecosystem by enabling third parties to develop connected services.
Today, the Lockstep platform enables network connections into more than 40 different accounting solutions, and more than 26,000 businesses already are part of its ecosystem.
To help get more of a feel for Sage's decision, we sat down with Sage Global CTO Aaron Harris.
Define the landscape for today's small businesses.
The biggest headline we are seeing is about the period of extreme uncertainty we are going through. Inflation, supply chain disruptions and a tight labor market make it difficult for any business, small or large to thrive. The good news is these are the times that give rise to extraordinary innovation.
SMBs and the accountants that serve them are the heart and soul of Sage. Our purpose at Sage is to knock down barriers so everyone can thrive.
Why is it important for accounting professionals to key in on this critical segment?
Because small businesses are the heart of our communities. We won’t get our economies back on track without small businesses. But it is more than that—small businesses can move faster and can often take more risks than larger businesses. They adopt new technologies and ways of working faster than larger businesses.
Ultimately, accounting professionals who want to stay at the forefront of the industry will work with the exciting small businesses who are forging the path.
Describe why it is important to enable and enhance the valuable connections between businesses and their customers and suppliers.
Customers want the convenience and speed that happens when they can interact digitally with
businesses. Each of these digital interactions is an opportunity to gain a new customer or strengthen the relationship with an existing customer.
But to properly serve customers, every business depends on their suppliers. Tight and sometimes unpredictable supply chains are the new normal, which means small businesses need strong relationships with their suppliers more than ever.
How does what Sage is doing help continue to build these bridges?
It starts with solutions that automate and digitize all the workflows between customers and vendors. When tasks like processing bills and invoicing customers are automated, it not only saves time and money, but it also frees small businesses to work on what matters. We call this “elevating human work.”
But automation on its own is not enough, we also are empowering small businesses with solutions to improve communication and collaboration with their customers and suppliers.
What does the future look like for Sage in the SMB community?
SMBs and the accountants that serve them are the heart and soul of Sage. Our purpose at Sage is to knock down barriers so everyone can thrive. It sounds very ambitious, but we know if we enable SMBs to succeed, the communities they support will thrive. We will only do more in the future to enable their success.
What advice can you offer today's accounting professionals about working with small business owners?
Find out what keeps them up at night. Take a real interest in the business. Do everything you can to give these entrepreneurs, who are shaping our future, the confidence they need to run their businesses knowing they are compliant and they have all the data they need to make decisions quickly.
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