The Digilyse blog
Short pieces on getting more out of the software you already pay for, written for people running growing businesses.
If your business answers customers on WhatsApp through your CRM, booking system or a shared team inbox, WhatsApp Business pricing changes on 1 October. Meta is bringing back a charge on the replies you send, and the way it is priced rewards businesses that need fewer messages to reach an answer. That makes this a … Read more
The big AI assistants stopped being things you paste text into and became things that reach into your actual tools. Since ChatGPT Work launched on 9 July, ChatGPT can connect to Gmail, Google Drive, Slack, your calendar and a long list of other apps, and carry out a job across several of them in one … Read more
On 26 June the Department for Business and Trade published a progress update on its SME Digital Adoption Taskforce, with a stated aim of making UK small firms the most digitally capable and AI confident in the G7 by 2035. That is a long way off and easy to ignore. But buried in it are … Read more
Last month the government confirmed the UK e-invoicing mandate will run on the Peppol network, with the rule taking effect in April 2029. Two thoughts usually follow. First, 2029 is miles away. Second, this is the accountant’s problem. Both are wrong in a way that quietly costs you if you leave it. The firms that … Read more
AI meeting notes have quietly become standard in business calls, and this month Microsoft Teams is rolling out a toggle that lets meeting organisers turn its AI features off mid-meeting. Copilot, the Facilitator agent, automatic notes, recap: one switch. Microsoft added it after sustained pushback from customers who found AI switched on in meetings by … Read more
If you run an appointment business, a no-show is one of the quietest ways you lose money. A slot booked and not filled is money you cannot get back, because you rarely have time to resell it. Most owners treat this as a customer problem, something people just do. It is closer to a workflow … Read more
UK small firms now wait an average of 27 days to be paid after sending an invoice, and nearly half of all SME invoices are overdue. In construction and trades it is worse, with real payment times running closer to 61 days against 30-day terms. The government’s new late payment bill, announced in March, will … Read more
Since 6 April 2026, statutory sick pay starts on the first day of absence, not the fourth. The lower earnings threshold has gone too, so part-time, casual and variable-hours staff now qualify. For pubs, cafes, shops and care homes running on a mix of contracted and flexible hours, that means more people are owed SSP, … Read more
A wave of “AI agents” landed in mainstream business software this spring. In May, ClickUp shipped Super Agents, which sit inside your workspace as if they were staff: you can assign them tasks, put them on a schedule, and let them draft, summarise or chase. Sage has built its Copilot into Sage 50. Most of … Read more
The Google Business Profile UK rules changed this spring and most SMEs have not noticed. The 2026 update treats profile freshness as a ranking signal in its own right. Going 30 days without a new photo, post or update now causes measurable drops in impressions, even for businesses with strong review histories. That matters because … Read more