{"id":593,"slug":"cfib-2025-smb-10pct-fully-integrated","title":"CFIB / Sage / Payworks 2025: only 10% of Canadian SMBs have digital tools fully integrated; $1.60 ROI per dollar invested","kind":"reference","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","smb-owner","candid-team"],"topics":["measurement","data-infrastructure"],"reference_body":"**Claim:** CFIB / Sage / Payworks 2025 survey of **1,683 Canadian SMB owners** (Apr-Jun 2025):\n\n> *\"Only 10% have fully integrated [digital tools] across operations.\"*\n> *\"Digital tools boost productivity by **29% on average**, generating **$1.60 for every dollar invested**.\"*\n\n**Source:** <https://www.cfib-fcei.ca/en/research-economic-analysis/digital-transformation-how-small-businesses-in-canada-are-leveraging-ai-and-technology-for-growth-and-productivity> (September 29, 2025)\n\n**Confidence:** Verified.\n\n**Companion data:**\n- **BDC:** *\"Only one in five Canadian businesses has achieved a high level of digital maturity.\"* *\"More than half show low levels of maturity.\"* (<https://www.bdc.ca/en/articles-tools/blog/digital-sme>)\n- **BDC 2022 (still cited):** *\"Only one in 20 businesses use digital technologies effectively.\"* *\"60% have a website and 34% analyze customer data.\"*\n- **BDC LIFT (April 2026):** *\"Only **30% of Canadian SMEs used AI in 2025** — yet those businesses were **24% more productive**.\"*\n- **QuickBooks Canada:** ~60% market share of Canadian small-business accounting software\n- **ServiceTitan US industry survey (April 2025):** *\"Almost half (49%) [of commercial specialty contractors] continue to use spreadsheets\"* (vendor survey, US-focused, directionally relevant)\n\n**The defining Canadian SMB number:** **10% fully integrated**. The other 90% is where the structural opportunity lives — for Candid clients AND for Candid as the agency that helps them get there.","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"data-maturity-curve-5-stage","title":"Reference: the 5-stage Data Maturity Curve — from stranded data to data as product","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"mulesoft-2025-897-apps-29pct-integrated","title":"MuleSoft 2025 Connectivity Benchmark: organizations use 897 applications on average; only 29% are integrated","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}],"incoming":[{"slug":"research-brief-dataset-is-the-product","title":"Research brief: The Dataset is the Product — when a service business should own its data (piece 12 of 15)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}]},"created_at":"2026-05-22T20:37:13.231Z","updated_at":"2026-05-22T20:37:13.231Z"}