City of Moreton Bay partners with Xero and Constant Contact to offer 1,000 local businesses six months free digital marketing and finance tools
What’s happening: City of Moreton Bay has launched the Business Boost Tech Essentials Program in partnership with Constant Contact and Xero, offering up to 1,000 local small businesses six months of free access to digital marketing and finance tools.
Why this matters: The program addresses a critical challenge facing Australian small businesses, where understanding financial position reduces insolvency risk by 80%, according to the Queensland Small Business Commissioner.
Understanding your financial position makes you 80% less likely to become insolvent. Now, 1,000 businesses in Moreton Bay can access the tools to do exactly that, for free.
City of Moreton Bay has launched the Business Boost Tech Essentials Program in partnership with Constant Contact and Xero, offering local small businesses six months of free access to digital marketing and finance management tools, plus training and support.
Why it matters now
The initiative comes at a critical time for small businesses navigating economic uncertainty whilst managing increasing operational complexity. Queensland Small Business Commissioner Dominique Lamb welcomed the program, emphasising its potential impact on business survival rates.
“If a business understands its financial position, it is 80 per cent less likely to become insolvent. That’s why programs like this are so important. City of Moreton Bay continues to show it understands its small business community and delivers practical initiatives to help them thrive, not just survive,” she said.
City of Moreton Bay Mayor Peter Flannery said efficiency was critical to small business success.
“This program is about helping local businesses grow, streamline processes and improve cash flow,” he said.
“Just one extra weekly sale from existing customers could save $5.1 million in lead generation costs across our business community. Altogether, this initiative has the potential to deliver up to $14 million in benefits for local businesses.”
The program supports Council’s commitment as a Queensland Small Business Friendly Council to ease pressure on business owners and build capacity.
The numbers behind it
The $14 million potential benefit estimate is based on measurable impacts across three key areas: increased sales from better customer engagement, reduced costs in acquiring new customers and improved cash flow from faster invoice payments.
Constant Contact Vice President Asia Pacific, Renee Chaplin, said time-poor small businesses often struggled to keep up with marketing whilst juggling tax and cash flow.
“Leveraging technology to drive growth and customer loyalty not only works, it’s good business. Through this partnership, small and medium businesses now have six months of free access to marketing and finance tools that support scalable, sustainable growth.”
Small Business Association of Australia Founder and CEO, Anne Nalder, said the program came at a critical time.
“To survive in a constantly shifting economy, small businesses must focus on sales, cost savings and profitability. This initiative provides valuable, free access to the finance and marketing tools needed to do just that.”
The combination of marketing automation through Constant Contact and financial management through Xero addresses two of the most common pain points for small business operators: attracting and retaining customers whilst maintaining visibility over cash flow and financial health.
Who can apply
The program is open to businesses operating in City of Moreton Bay with an ABN that are new customers to both Constant Contact and Xero. Eligible businesses receive six months free access to any Xero business plan, a Constant Contact Lite plan, free onboarding and local customer support.
The “new customer” requirement means businesses currently using either platform are ineligible, focusing the benefit on companies that haven’t yet adopted these specific digital tools. The six-month timeframe provides sufficient time to integrate the tools into business operations, measure results and determine whether ongoing investment makes sense.
Beyond free tools
Whilst free access to software removes an immediate financial barrier, the program’s inclusion of onboarding and local customer support addresses a deeper challenge: many small business owners lack the time or technical knowledge to implement digital tools effectively, even when they’re available.
The training component helps businesses move beyond simply having access to tools toward actually using them to improve operations. Understanding how to automate marketing campaigns, track customer engagement, manage invoices and monitor cash flow requires skill development that outlasts the six-month free period.
For businesses considering whether digital tools genuinely improve productivity, the program offers a risk-free testing ground. The structured support reduces the implementation burden whilst the six-month window allows for measuring actual impact on sales, costs and cash flow.
The initiative also reflects broader trends in how councils and government bodies support local business communities. Rather than generic grant programs or one-off workshops, partnerships with established technology providers deliver ongoing tools and training that build long-term capability.
For businesses struggling with cash flow management, which remains one of the primary causes of small business failure, the combination of financial visibility through Xero and revenue generation through Constant Contact addresses both sides of the equation: increasing money coming in whilst better managing money going out.
The program’s scale, targeting 1,000 businesses in a single local government area, represents a significant investment in building digital capability across the small business community. If successful, it could provide a model for other councils looking to support local economic development through practical, tools-based initiatives rather than traditional business advisory services alone.
Applications are now open for eligible businesses operating in City of Moreton Bay. Apply at: www.constantcontact.com/partner-offer/city-of-moreton-bay
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