A new study suggests that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the UK are spending an average of 130 hours a year chasing late payments, and losing billions of pounds worth of liquid cash flow as a result.
Late payments are a growing problem for UK SMEs
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) recently estimated that as many as 50,000 business failures could be avoided every single year if suppliers paid on time. Meanwhile, separate research from the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self Employed (IPSE) has found that freelancers are losing an estimated £16.5million annually due to the amount of time spent chasing late payments.