Emailing tops the list of jobs to be done during the Christmas break in a survey of Australian small business owners which found that 91.7 per cent of Australian small business owners will be taking time off. According to an online survey of 300 people by I.T. on Tap, a fully hosted and managed IT service, just over one third will take a holiday with 63 percent staying home but 88.2 per cent will continue to work during their break.

The top five small business priorities during the Christmas break are email (79 per cent), general administration (57.8 per cent), finances (38 per cent), and writing a 2009 business plan (37.6 per cent). Updating website content and looking at budgets for 2009 are equal fifth (30.7 per cent). This list of priorities will be managed during entrepreneursÍ time off during public holidays (29 per cent), one to two weeks of leave (42 per cent) or up to one month off (16 per cent).

A laptop will be the must have accessory and technology of choice for entrepreneurs. The blackberry will be relied upon by 9.1 per cent and only 7 per cent will connect to their office systems via a virtual private network (vpn).