Small Business (SMB) stories

Employment Hero rolls out AI recruitment tool in Canada as small businesses seek faster screening, with human managers keeping final hiring decisions.

Xero's Anthropic tie-up deepens finance software AI split as groups weigh integrated platforms against agent tools that work across multiple systems.

Nmbr and Paiday join forces to embed payroll into Canadian accounting software, targeting compliance headaches and multi-client workflows for firms.

PayPal brings payment links into Canva for 265 million users, letting creators, entrepreneurs and small firms sell from designs with QR codes and checkouts.

Cloudflare and GoDaddy team up to give site owners more control over AI crawlers while backing open standards to verify agent identity.

Canada's patent filings have flatlined for years despite a surging population, with experts blaming investment barriers, brain drain and weak IP strategy.

Synology extends BeeStation Plus with local camera monitoring for homes and micro-businesses, offering AI alerts and no subscription fees.

AI agents prompt accounting firms to redesign bookkeeping and tax workflows as junior staff tasks are automated and human oversight stays central.

Apograph's £60-a-month firewall plan helps clients dodge emergency refresh costs, cut downtime and strengthen security across 1,500 endpoints.

Ripple Treasury adds Digital Asset Accounts as finance teams get a single view of cash and crypto balances across banks, custody providers and onchain wallets.

SonicWall says small firms are being hit hardest by basic security lapses as ransomware, bot traffic and identity theft keep climbing.

Geneva Association says cyber insurance can help firms tackle rising threats, but warns take-up remains low and SMEs are underusing cover's prevention services.

Dext adds time-tracking insight to help accountants and bookkeepers spot workload bottlenecks and client-heavy periods on its Advanced plan.

Canada invests in Edmonton defence projects as Wyvern, the University of Alberta and Cando aim to boost supply chains and innovation.

AMD says a new class of always-on personal machine can run AI agents locally, promising more privacy, speed and productivity for users.

Apple rolls out Business platform for companies, bundling device management and brand tools as it replaces Manager and Connect.

Boast says R&D tax credit claims in the United States and Canada topped USD $900 million in 2024 as average recoveries surged.

Keepit's 2026 data report says most SaaS restores are single files, while many organisations still fail to test identity and bulk recovery.

Small US defence manufacturers face CMMC readiness shortfalls as cybersecurity checks tighten, with many underestimating the work needed to win contracts.

Xero and Anthropic strike multi-year deal to weave Claude AI into accounting software, giving small firms real-time cash-flow and invoice insights.