Abstract:
This research study aims to assess the influence of business records keeping on the growth of
small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Tanzania. The significance of this study lies in
understanding the role of records keeping as a strategic tool for SMEs to enhance their
competitive advantage and overall performance. The study will investigate the current practices
of records keeping among SMEs in Tanzania, examine their impact on business growth, and
identify the challenges faced in maintaining effective record-keeping systems, also the influence
of business record keeping on building small and medium enterprises in Tanzania. Descriptive
research design was applied and mixed research approach was used as the research approach
in utilizing the collected primary data whereas questionnaire was also used to obtain the
required data to the right respondents such SMEs owners, managers and financial officers. A
purposive sampling technique followed by random sampling technique was be employed in
obtaining the sample size. The study was applying Provenance Theory, Records Continuum
Theory and Records as Evidence Theory also the SPSS was used by researcher as a tool in
data analysis. From the study findings, it has found that, there were more male than female
since male were about 10% more than female, this can give the study a message that most of
the enterprise’s owner are male as it has been depicted in table 1. Also, the findings have
discovered that the society has tendency of keeping their record as it has shown that about
65.67% of the participated in the study has declared that they usually keep their records.
Encourage SMEs to maintain a systematic and organized approach to record-keeping,
emphasizing the importance of capturing various types of data that contribute to a holistic
understanding of business operations.
