Unpredictability has become the new normal for small businesses. From shifting demand and higher costs to leaner teams and tighter budgets, many SMBs spent the past year reacting instead of planning—just trying to stay upright. As we head into 2026, the question isn’t whether uncertainty will continue. It’s whether small business owners feel better equipped to manage it.
That’s why I wanted to talk with Kacey Flygare, General Manager and Global Business Head of SMB at SAP Concur. Flygare works closely with small and midsize businesses navigating exactly these pressures, especially when it comes to spending, cash flow visibility, and operational efficiency. Her perspective is refreshingly practical: You don’t need to overhaul your entire tech stack to regain control—but you do need better insight into where money is going and smarter ways to reduce friction for already-stretched teams.
In the conversation that follows, we dig into why technology adoption—especially automation and AI built into tools SMBs already use—will matter even more in 2026. We also explore how business travel is changing, why expense management is no longer just an administrative task, and how small businesses can make lower-lift, higher-impact decisions that create stability without sacrificing growth.
Rieva Lesonsky: A lot of SMBs struggled with unpredictability in 2025. Will 2026 be different—and why do you think tech adoption will matter even more?
Kacey Flygare: Unpredictability was a real strain on SMBs this year, as many faced tough budget decisions, shifting demand, higher costs, and even layoffs, leaving smaller teams to carry heavier workloads. Unfortunately, the uncertainty won’t disappear in 2026. What will matter is how prepared SMBs are to manage the parts of their businesses they can control, especially cash flow, spending visibility, and operational efficiency.
That’s why technology becomes so critical in volatile periods. Automation and AI can relieve teams of manual work, reduce errors, and give leaders real-time insight into where money is going. Even if large tech investments aren’t in the budget, SMBs can tap into AI capabilities from the partners and platforms they already use.
At SAP Concur, for example, our Joule agents can help employees plan trips, estimate travel costs, complete expense reports, and ensure compliance with far less manual work. For SMBs navigating volatility, these kinds of AI capabilities aren’t just efficiency boosters; they’re a practical way to create stability, control spend, and give teams more bandwidth to focus on growth.
Lesonsky: You’ve said that smart SMBs are treating travel and expense management as an investment, not a cost. Can you expand on that?
Flygare: A lot of small businesses grow by getting in front of their customers, strengthening relationships, and being present for the moments that matter. That’s why travel isn’t just another line item; it’s often one of the most effective ways SMBs can drive new business and deepen customer loyalty.
Our 2025 SAP Concur Global Business Travel Survey confirms this, with more than half of business travelers saying business travel is indispensable for their job and four in 10 saying it’s helpful. When it comes to closing deals, nurturing customer relationships, and building trust and rapport, face-to-face engagements go much further than a virtual connect.
Where the real opportunity lies is in how SMBs manage that spend. When businesses use technology to make booking, tracking, and expensing trips easier, they gain stronger visibility and control while giving employees a better travel experience.
With more Concur Expense integrations on the horizon, SMBs will soon be able to plan, book, and expense travel through a single, streamlined process. That kind of simplicity not only saves time but also helps ensure that every dollar spent supports the business in a meaningful way.
Lesonsky: Automation and AI can feel intimidating for smaller companies. What are the lowest-lift, highest-impact tools you think SMBs should start with?
Flygare: A lot of SMBs hear “AI” and think it requires a major tech overhaul, but the truth is many already have AI features at their fingertips; they just may not be turned on yet.
A great place to start is the AI built into the tools teams already use every day. In SAP Concur, for example, AI can automatically categorize expenses, audit reports, and flag anything that looks unusual. These are simple switches SMBs can flip without taking on new systems or big change-management efforts, and the payoff is almost immediate: fewer errors, less manual work, and faster reimbursement cycles.
The other key is regularly checking in on where people are losing time. Often, it’s the same handful of repetitive tasks, like digging through inboxes for receipts or entering the same data over and over. Once those pain points are clear, it becomes much easier to see where automation can step in. Starting small, learning what works, and scaling from there is far more effective than trying to “do AI” all at once.
Lesonsky: How is employee travel changing? What do SMBs need to know about safety, autonomy, and the expectations of today’s workforce?
Flygare: Travel today looks very different than it did just a few years ago. Employees are far more focused on personal safety, flexibility, and having the tools they need to navigate disruptions confidently. Safety and health concerns are now the top reason people turn down travel, and that’s something businesses can’t ignore.
These concerns are rising alongside real-world disruption. A TripIt and Riskline analysis found travel-related risk alerts increased 15% year-over-year, driven by travel disruptions, safety issues, and environmental events.
For SMBs, meeting these expectations doesn’t have to be complicated. It starts with clear policies, better visibility into where employees are traveling, and tools that let travelers make smart adjustments when plans change. Solutions that bring booking, updates, and traveler assistance into one place [help] both employees and managers feel more supported throughout the trip.
When people feel safe and trusted, their travel is more productive, and the business benefits from that confidence.
Lesonsky: You mentioned pre-spend controls and virtual cards reshaping cash flow management. What problems do these solve for small businesses?
Flygare: For many SMBs, the hardest part of travel expenses isn’t the booking—it’s the surprise charges that show up weeks later. Card companies are giving SMBs tools like spending controls and virtual cards to help solve that by allowing businesses to set spending limits before money is spent. It’s a simple idea, but a powerful one.
By putting guardrails in place upfront, SMBs get more predictable costs, fewer out-of-policy purchases, and far less time spent chasing down missing receipts. With a connected expense system, those limits and rules flow directly into the expensing process, reducing manual review and headaches for administrators.
Virtual cards also help ease cash flow pressures. By controlling when and how funds are accessed, SMBs can pace spending more intentionally and avoid unexpected hits to the budget. For companies operating with tight margins, that stability is invaluable.
Lesonsky: For SMBs with limited budgets, how do they decide where to invest first—travel tech, automation, AI, expense controls? What’s the smartest order of operations?
Flygare: Most SMBs can’t invest in everything at once, so the question becomes: where will you feel the most significant impact? A practical starting point is to begin with a clear policy.
Once you have implemented and communicated about your policy, it’s valuable to invest in an expense management system that gives you the right controls to enforce that policy. This approach creates feedback and visibility into what is actually happening with your spend and can help support decision-making around the next area of opportunity for automation.
Processes will look different for each business as you begin to identify the areas where automation and AI will have the greatest impact on your people. For example, if you are spending a lot on travel, it could be beneficial to establish a tool and process to help tap into supplier discounts. Or if it takes employees a long time to submit expense claims, AI can help collect and analyze receipts and practically complete the expense report for them, giving businesses greater spending predictability while speeding up reimbursements.
Lesonsky: What’s the biggest misconception SMBs have about business travel today?
Flygare: Many SMBs assume the quickest way to cut costs is to cut travel. On paper, that looks easy. In practice, it often slows down growth.
Employees overwhelmingly say travel helps them do their jobs better, whether that’s building trust with clients, solving problems face-to-face, or opening doors to new business. When companies cut too deeply or compromise trip quality, they may save money in the short term but create bigger challenges around employee satisfaction, productivity, and even safety.
Rather than pulling back on travel, SMBs that pair strategic travel investment with strong policies and the right technology gain better control, support employee safety, and create opportunities for growth.
Lesonsky: If you could give small business owners one piece of advice for 2026, what would it be?
Flygare: 2026 is likely to remain unpredictable, but for SMBs, travel and expense management doesn’t have to be. Investing in the right tools can actually be a lever to unlock growth and visibility while giving back control. Most SMBs don’t need a massive tech overhaul to see meaningful improvements in how they manage travel and expenses. Turning on built-in AI features, adding a few well-placed spending controls, and simplifying how people book and submit expenses can create real stability in an unpredictable year.
If SMBs can focus on automation, smarter controls, and treating travel as a lever for growth, they’ll be in a much stronger position to navigate whatever 2026 brings.
Rieva Lesonsky is the founder of Small Business Currents, a content company focusing on small businesses and entrepreneurship. You can find her on Twitter @Rieva, Bluesky @Rieva.bsky.social, and LinkedIn. Or email her at Rieva@SmallBusinessCurrents.com.
Photo courtesy Andrej Lišakov for Unsplash+