Small Business

While there are millions of small business owners across the United States, most of them can generally fit into one of "four distinct types," according to a new survey by sales and marketing software maker Infusionsoft. The company's 2014 Small Business Market Survey also sheds light on how each type manages business challenges while attracting customers and growing sales.

Intuit, the makers of numerous small business and personal financial and tax technologies, has entered into an agreement to acquire KDK Softwares India Private Limited a market leader in providing professional tax solutions in India.

As new and alternative funding sources target small businesses and increasingly penetrate the U.S. market, less than three percent of U.S. microbusiness owners report using government loans (2.7%), small business loans (2.4%) or crowd-funding (1.9%) to fund their business, according to the Sam’s Club/Gallup Microbusiness Tracker.

U.S. small businesses added 15,000 jobs in July, bringing the number of new jobs added over the last six months to more than 90,000. While 610,000 jobs have been added since the small business recovery began in March 2010, small business employment remains 870,000 jobs below its peak in March 2007.

Expense and travel management technology provider Concur has partnered with Airbnb and Uber as the latest partners to join its growing platform to improve business travel and streamline expenses.

Venture capitalist and serial entrepreneur Marc Andreessen and Arianna Huffington, the editor-in-chief of Huffington Post, will headline an impressive lineup of featured speakers at Intuit Inc.’s upcoming inaugural QuickBooks Connect conference, scheduled for Oct. 21–23 in San Jose, Calif.

The latest Paychex | IHS Small Business Jobs Index shows an increase in jobs over the past month in most states, with the overall index growing 0.34 percent in the 12 months leading up through July. The national index increased to 101.11, inching closer to its record high of 101.26 achieved in April 2014.

Already public in New Zealand and Australia, Xero is now valued at $2.7B and part of the rising cloud economy.