Expansion of Back-Office Support for Mid-Sized and Small Businesses

「This survey was conducted to clarify how small and medium-sized enterprises use generative AI, the tools they use and their applications, the benefits they experience, the challenges they face, their reasons for discontinuing use or not adopting it, and the status of internal rules, with the aim of providing information to support decisions on adopting and using generative AI.」

「On 12 June 2025, the company began providing “ホジョサーチ,” a grant-search website, to F&M Club members, followed by provision to financial institutions in July. “ホジョサーチ” comprehensively databases a wide range of support programs, from large national subsidies to small grants limited to specific regions.」

「On 12 June 2025, the company began providing “ホジョサーチ,” a grant-search website, to F&M Club members, followed by provision to financial institutions in July. “ホジョサーチ” comprehensively databases a wide range of support programs, from large national subsidies to small grants limited to specific regions.」

「For F&M Club, the company had partnership agreements with 223 regional financial institutions as of the end of March 2025. It worked to increase sales opportunities by encouraging activity through stronger information sharing, including sharing successful examples of cooperation and holding study sessions. Services such as recruitment support, including job-posting reviews to improve hiring competitiveness; support for developing personnel evaluation systems to improve retention and performance after hiring; improvements to the work environment through enhanced labor management systems; and cash-flow analysis related to capital and human investment met the needs of small and medium-sized business owners and led to the acquisition of new members. Under the joint business with MUFG Bank launched on 22 July 2024, the company has seconded sales personnel to jointly promote management support for small and medium-sized companies. It is also promoting partnerships with credit unions nationwide and support for their corporate customers through cooperation with Shinkin Central Bank, the central bank for credit unions.」

「For F&M Club, the company had partnership agreements with 220 regional financial institutions as of the end of September 2024. It worked to increase sales opportunities by encouraging activity through stronger information sharing, including sharing successful examples of cooperation, holding study sessions, and reporting results. Services such as recruitment support, including job-posting reviews to improve hiring competitiveness; improvements to the work environment through enhanced labor management systems; support for developing personnel evaluation systems to improve retention and performance after hiring; and cash-flow analysis related to capital and human investment met the needs of small and medium-sized business owners and contributed to acquiring new members.」

「For member companies, the company operated a system for regularly collecting information without relying on people, enabling timely proposals tailored to each company’s circumstances. It also proceeded with building a service structure that provides the reassurance of having an account representative who continuously understands the company’s situation and the satisfaction of receiving support from specialists. In particular, for companies that had only recently entered into contracts, it launched a department specializing in onboarding and provided support so they could continue using the services independently. As a result, the number of F&M Club members stood at 10,445 companies as of 31 December 2023, the end of the third quarter of the fiscal year under review, up 1,398 companies from the end of the previous fiscal year.」

「For member companies, the company operated a system for regularly collecting information without relying on people, enabling timely proposals tailored to each company’s circumstances. It also proceeded with building a service structure that provides the reassurance of having an account representative who continuously understands the company’s situation and the satisfaction of receiving support from specialists. As a result, the number of F&M Club members stood at 9,829 companies as of 30 September 2023, the end of the second quarter of the fiscal year under review, up 782 companies from the end of the previous fiscal year.」

「For member companies, the company operated a system for regularly collecting information without relying on people, enabling timely proposals tailored to each company’s circumstances. It also proceeded with building a service structure that provides the reassurance of having an account representative who continuously understands the company’s situation and the satisfaction of receiving support from specialists. As a result, the number of F&M Club members stood at 9,491 companies as of 30 June 2023, the end of the first quarter of the fiscal year under review, up 444 companies from the end of the previous fiscal year.」

「For member companies, the company proceeded with building a service delivery system aimed at moving away from a personalized structure in which all services were provided through human intervention. By checking with all member companies at the beginning of each month whether they had plans for capital investment or recruitment, among other matters, it became possible to provide personalized information and timely support to each customer company. As a result, the number of F&M Club members stood at 9,047 companies as of 31 March 2023, the end of the fiscal year, up 1,449 companies from the end of the previous fiscal year.」

「For member companies, the company proceeded with moving away from a personalized service delivery structure in which services were provided by individuals and launched customer success operations. This made it possible to provide personalized information to each customer company, such as proposing tax-saving measures to companies whose fiscal year-end was approaching and providing information on subsidies by municipality. Inquiries could also be handled centrally by customer support, significantly shortening the time required for resolution. In addition, because the service content covers the entire back office, it is necessary to respond to a wide range of consultations. The system in which specialists by field, rather than individual account representatives, handle inquiries has received a certain degree of recognition. As a result, the number of F&M Club members stood at 8,613 companies as of 31 December 2022, the end of the third quarter of the fiscal year under review, up 1,015 companies from the end of the previous fiscal year.」

「For F&M Club, the company had partnership agreements with 198 regional financial institutions as of the end of September 2022. It worked to increase sales opportunities by encouraging activity among partner financial institutions through sharing successful examples of cooperation and making proposals centered on the use of subsidies such as the Business Restructuring Subsidy, which continued to attract considerable attention from small and medium-sized business owners. It also held seminars jointly with the Japan Finance Corporation and 6 credit guarantee associations in the four Tokai prefectures of Aichi, Shizuoka, Gifu and Mie, covering the preparation of business plans for future business development and the use of subsidies.」

「For member companies, the company continued to move services online and proceeded with building a service delivery system that could collect information regularly through a system rather than relying on people, enabling timely proposals tailored to each company’s circumstances. As a result, the number of F&M Club members stood at 7,881 companies as of 30 June 2022, the end of the first quarter of the fiscal year under review, up 283 companies from the end of the previous fiscal year.」

「For F&M Club, the company worked to increase sales opportunities by making proposals focused on financial information and support for business owners considering the preparation of business plans and the use of subsidies, including companies facing increased repayment burdens following the end of the grace period under COVID-19 loan programs and owners reviewing their businesses or planning new business development. For member companies, it continued to move services online to improve convenience and developed a service delivery system that enables regular and voluntary use. As a result, the number of F&M Club members stood at 7,598 companies as of 31 March 2022, the end of the fiscal year, up 852 companies from the end of the previous fiscal year.」

「For F&M Club, the company proceeded with new partnership agreements with regional financial institutions and other organizations and worked to increase sales opportunities by making proposals focused on financial information and support for business owners considering the preparation of business plans and the use of subsidies, including companies facing the gradually increasing repayment of COVID-19 loans and owners reviewing their businesses or planning future business development after COVID-19. For member companies, it developed a service delivery system to improve convenience and promote use by moving services online.」

「For F&M Club, the company proceeded with new partnership agreements with regional financial institutions and other organizations and worked to increase sales opportunities by developing proposals focused on financial support for companies facing cash-flow difficulties due to the impact of COVID-19. It also encouraged activity among partner financial institutions by sharing successful examples of cooperation. For member companies, it developed a follow-up system that did not assume service delivery through visits or depend on the capabilities of individual consultants. As a result, the number of F&M Club members stood at 7,311 companies as of 30 September 2021, the end of the second quarter of the fiscal year under review, up 565 companies from the end of the previous fiscal year.」

「For F&M Club, the company proceeded with new partnership agreements with regional financial institutions and other organizations and worked to increase sales opportunities by making proposals centered on the Business Restructuring Subsidy, in addition to its conventional financial management, labor management and human resource development services. It also continued to hold online seminars for business owners to encourage activity among financial institutions with which it had partnerships or alliances. For member companies, it further developed a follow-up system that did not rely on visits. It focused on making services self-directed by holding Web seminars with external lecturers, moving human resource-related services online, and establishing a dedicated page for human resource content. It also strengthened tech-touch support by launching push-based information services via LINE, primarily covering support measures offered by local governments. As a result, the number of F&M Club members stood at 7,139 companies as of 30 June 2021, the end of the first quarter of the fiscal year under review, up 393 companies from the end of the previous fiscal year.」

「For member companies, the company improved productivity by shifting from a follow-up system dependent on visits to Web seminars and online meetings, and focused on promoting use of the newly added “資金繰りCompass,” which helps prevent cash shortages by providing a simplified view of cash flow six months ahead. It also revised “はじめて人事考課,” which enables companies to create their own personnel evaluation systems, to make it easier to use, and proceeded with building a service delivery system that enables member companies to use the services regularly and voluntarily. As a result, the number of F&M Club members stood at 6,746 companies as of 31 March 2021, the end of the fiscal year, up 367 companies from the end of the previous fiscal year.」

「For companies that had secured sufficient short-term funds through emergency loans and other measures, the company promoted the cash-flow management service “資金繰りCompass.” By encouraging users to prepare a cash-flow statement each month, the service is expected to promote continued use and contribute to improving the contract renewal rate.」

「In response to these circumstances, the company launched a new service, the cash-flow management service “資金繰りCompass,” to support corporate cash management. Its key feature is the linkage of a business overview chart, a simplified profit plan and a simplified cash-flow statement, and it has received a favorable degree of recognition from financial institutions seeking to understand companies’ future positions. As the service is expected to be used continuously each month, the company believes it will contribute to improving the contract renewal rate among F&M Club members.」

「To support member companies, the company created a special section on the members-only website covering support measures for COVID-19 and organized the information into categories so users could easily find the information they particularly needed. It also provided easy-to-understand information, including explanatory videos.」

「For member companies, the company expanded its services by adding videos to the members-only website explaining matters requiring attention in connection with the enforcement of the work-style reform legislation.」

「For F&M Club, the company strengthened cooperation with regional financial institutions and worked to increase sales opportunities by holding co-hosted seminars and study sessions at individual branches.」

「In addition to finance, labor affairs, human resource development and information services, the company is strengthening support for capital investment and IT adoption, pooling the strength of the entire organization to contribute to the further revitalization of sole proprietorships and small and medium-sized companies.」

「The company worked to improve the contract renewal rate by adding a business succession support service, which enables users to assess the level of preparation for business succession and the views of owners and successors and prepare a simplified plan, and a work-style reform assessment, which assesses the progress of work-style reform within a company and provides advice for improvement, to its service content.」

「For F&M Club, the company proceeded with new partnership agreements with regional financial institutions and other organizations. It also focused on strengthening relationships with financial institutions that had already entered into partnerships by holding co-hosted seminars and study sessions for bank employees, thereby working to increase sales opportunities. As a result, the number of F&M Club members stood at 6,037 companies as of 30 September 2018, the end of the second quarter of the fiscal year under review, up 161 companies from the end of the previous fiscal year.」

「For F&M Club, amid an era of population decline, the company focused on providing know-how and information on improving productivity and securing and developing human resources, which are necessary for companies to achieve sustainable growth. It also strengthened cooperation with regional financial institutions and worked to increase sales opportunities by holding co-hosted seminars. As a result, the number of F&M Club members stood at 5,894 companies as of 30 June 2018, the end of the first quarter of the fiscal year under review, up 18 companies from the end of the previous fiscal year.」

「For F&M Club, the job-posting review service for applications submitted to Hello Work, which supports recruitment, a longstanding top management challenge for small and medium-sized companies, continued to receive a strong response. The labor market remained extremely tight, with an unprecedentedly strong seller’s market, and there was also considerable demand for services to develop personnel evaluation systems and employee training as measures to retain and develop human resources.」

「For F&M Club, the job-posting review service for applications submitted to Hello Work, which supports recruitment, a longstanding top management challenge for small and medium-sized companies, has continued to receive a strong response. Demand has also been growing for a service to develop personnel evaluation systems as a means of retaining employees.」

「For F&M Club, the company expanded its services by adding a résumé and job-posting review service for applications submitted to Hello Work, addressing the recent difficulty of recruiting, and a service supporting the preparation of management improvement plans, which are increasingly serving as a passport for corporate management. Accordingly, from 1 June 2017, it raised the monthly membership fee by ¥5,000 to ¥30,000, excluding tax. As a result, the number of F&M Club members stood at 5,674 companies as of 30 June 2017, the end of the first quarter of the fiscal year under review, up 90 companies from the end of the previous fiscal year.」

「The F&M Club business, which centers on information services for the general affairs and accounting departments of small and medium-sized companies, worked to expand its sales channels and enhance its information services related to general affairs, management and finance. To increase the number of member companies, it focused on developing channels through financial institutions, strengthening cooperation with existing partner companies and local governments, and securing sales opportunities by holding co-hosted seminars. As a result, the number of F&M Club members stood at 5,584 companies as of 31 March 2017, the end of the fiscal year, up 534 companies from the end of the previous fiscal year.」

「The F&M Club business, which centers on information services for the general affairs and accounting departments of small and medium-sized companies, worked to expand its sales channels and enhance its information services related to general affairs, management and finance. To increase the number of member companies, it focused on strengthening cooperation with existing partner companies and local governments and securing sales opportunities by holding co-hosted seminars. As a result, the number of F&M Club members stood at 5,463 companies as of 31 December 2016, the end of the third quarter of the fiscal year under review, up 413 companies from the end of the previous fiscal year.」

「The F&M Club business, centered on a range of information services for the general affairs and accounting departments of mid-sized and small businesses, worked to expand distribution channels and enhance its information services related to general affairs operations, management and finance. To increase the number of member companies, the company strengthened its cooperation framework with existing partner companies, focused on building relationships with local governments, and worked to secure sales opportunities by holding joint seminars and other events. As a result, the number of F&M Club members at the end of the second quarter of the consolidated fiscal year (30 September 2016) was 5,292 companies, an increase of 242 companies from the end of the previous fiscal year.」

「The F&M Club business, centered on a range of information services for the general affairs and accounting departments of mid-sized and small businesses, worked to expand distribution channels and enhance its information services related to general affairs operations, management and finance. In particular, regarding the Nursing Care Support Initiative Grant under the FY2016 grants for work-life balance support, which was intended to create workplaces where employees could balance work and caregiving, the company provided information to many companies that met the requirements, including member companies, and undertook initiatives to encourage service use and secure new contracts. As a result, the number of F&M Club members at the end of the first quarter of the consolidated fiscal year (30 June 2016) was 5,152 companies, an increase of 102 companies from the end of the previous fiscal year.」

「In the F&M Club business, in addition to its existing range of information services for the general affairs departments of mid-sized and small businesses, the company is working to expand distribution channels and enhance its financial information services. Financial services that support companies' funding strategies complement the existing support for general affairs departments, and the company has established a structure capable of providing comprehensive support for the back-office functions of mid-sized and small businesses.」