(This column originally appeared in Forbes)
Welcome to The Main Street Tech Report, your weekly roundup of the most important small business technology news. Here are five key developments in AI, automation, and digital tools that emerged this week—and what they mean for your business.
$5 CRM Software Reflects Shift Toward Simpler, Cost-Conscious Tools for Small Businesses
CRM platform Saleoid — a Firodia-based tech company — is offering small businesses affordable, more simplified customer management software at a mere $5 per month. There’s been a shift in what smaller teams are looking for when it comes to CRM technology. Instead of using multiple disconnected platforms, many teams prefer a single system that handles the entire customer lifecycle. Saleoid combines lead generation, sales CRM, marketing and billing into one system. Cost has also been a main contributor as teams are bypassing more expensive CRMs and investing in systems that match their budget. Overall, the transition toward simpler CRM tools is gradual but ongoing and Saleoid is meeting the need for easy-to-use, budget friendly technology. (Source: openPR)
Why this is important for your small business:
I’m dubious whenever I see really, really cheap software. I’m all in on vibe-coding and how it’s going to disrupt the industry. But longer term businesses still need to be doing business with technology firms that can provide the resources, support, data governance and security that’s needed for any company system. And we’ll be paying for those benefits. This not a knock on Saleoid — it’s just that sometimes you get what you pay for so if you’re interested in really cheap technology please be careful, especially if it’s using critical data in your business.
PayPal Turns Canva Designs into Payment Machines
PayPal is boosting the art of creativity by turning Canva-created designs into revenue-generating tools. The company’s April 9th announcement reflects the evolving domain of social commerce where buying happens within content — social posts, messages, communities — rather than traditional websites. (Source: TheStreet)
Why this is important for your small business:
According to the news release, Canva creators can now sell directly from their content, removing the extra step of setting up an online store. Creators simply add a PayPal link or QR code their design and customers who click the link or scan the code are taken to a PayPal hosted checkout page. PayPal’s SVP and Head of SMB Commercial, Taira Hall said, “By pairing PayPal’s trusted global payment infrastructure with Canva’s creative workflow, we’re reducing the friction between inspiration and income and meeting them at point of need.” Canva is an amazing tool and very popular among many of my clients. Selling directly from your content without having to setup a storefront sounds like a great option.
Avalara to Deliver Fully Embedded, Automated Sales Tax Compliance Tool to Small Businesses Within the Clover Platform
Tax compliance platform Avalara is partnering with payment solutions platform Clover to embed automated sales tax compliance directly into Clover’s point-of-sale system. The partnership helps small businesses alleviate the time-consuming task of tax compliance. With this new tool merchants can set aside sales tax from operating cash daily with the feature ‘set-aside,’ have their tax obligations tracked in real time and have returns filled on their behalf within one system. Tax sales rates are automatically updated via Avalara’s system, reducing costly errors. Expected to launch later this year, the goal is to simplify merchants’ operations and reduce time spent on compliance by “easing this burden so more time can be spent with customers,” a Clover rep stated in the press release. (Source: Avalara)
Why this is important for your small business:
I’ve worked with Avalara in the past and found them not only to be a good company but a legitimate leader in the sales tax world, which is confusing, complicated and will only get more confusing and complicated as more states grab for money. If you’re selling multi-state or online or just want to delegate this headache Avalara (and they have good competitors too) is a good solution to try.
BILL Lets Enterprise Suppliers Collect From Any SMB, Even Ones Not on its Platform
Financial operations platform BILL has expanded its Supplier Payments Plus platform to let large enterprise suppliers collect payments from any SMB including those not on the BILL system. Launched last year, Supplier Payments Plus allows suppliers to send payment links to a small business customer and receive funds without the customer having to set up a BILL account — standing apart from traditional B2B closed-systems where each party must use the same network for payment transfers. For businesses that handle large volume of payments, BILL offers a single dashboard that monitors incoming payments — regardless of origin — that are processed directly into the supplier’s system. The system also handles paper checks by converting them into digital payments, reducing friction. BILL currently serves more than eight million users. (Source: The Next Web)
Why this is important for your small business:
I consider this to be a significant benefit — and one that’s been long-needed. The biggest hurdle for my clients setting themselves up on BILL or any of their competitors is getting their vendors on the same payment network. Being able to send payments to vendors without this hurdle significantly reduces the time it takes to onboard.
Google Says its AI-Powered Ads Help Some Brands Life Online Sales by 80%
Google says its new AI-driven advertising tools are delivering significant returns, with some brands seeing their online sales increase to 80 percent. Google is shifting away from keyword-based ads to AI-driven ads with Gemini analyzing factors such as user behavior and brand data. The company began rolling ads in AI mode last year and has reported its ad revenue came in at over $82 million in the fourth quarter. Currently, the new features that are being tested: “Direct offers” — personalized promotions shown at the right moment; and “Business agents” — allowing brands to control how they appear in AI-generated answers. Thought the 80 percent increase isn’t across the board it indicates AI factors into the way ads are performing. Google continues to move toward a future where ads are fully automated and embedded in AI search. (Source: Digiday)
Why this is important for your small business:
If you, like my company, leans on Google and YouTube advertising, the AI tools being rolled out are becoming essential — and will ultimately replace the keyword-focused interface we’re working with already.
Have a technology story that small business owners should know about? Share it with me on X @genemarks, and it may be featured in a future edition of The Main Street Tech Report.
