Research suggests average UK small business owed £63,000 in late payments

Research suggests average UK small business owed £63,000 in late payments

12 Mar 2018

Research carried out by commercial data provider Dun & Bradstreet has suggested that the average UK small business is owed £63,881 in late payments.

A further 11% of small firms are owed between £100,000 and £250,000 in such payments, Dun & Bradstreet found.

A lack of payment has created cashflow issues for 35% of firms, whilst 29% of businesses have to delay paying other suppliers as a result of late payments. A worryingly high 58% of businesses stated that late payments put their business at risk of failure, Dun & Bradstreet found.

In addition, 36% of firms don’t perform thorough credit checks on their clients. Dun & Bradstreet urged businesses to make sure that they have detailed knowledge of a client’s payment behaviour prior to entering into a contract with them. 

Commenting on the matter, Edward Thorne, UKI Managing Director at Dun & Bradstreet, said: ‘Although initiatives like the Prompt Payment Code are helping to highlight the issue, late payments pose a very real risk and can have a significant impact on the financial success of smaller businesses.’

Download our TaxApp Today

Tax rates, tips and calculators at your fingertips

Using the latest technology, our App has been developed to provide you with useful tax tools and information via your mobile device. Available for all mobile phones and devices.

Download for FREE now and simply save to your home screen.

The Ollis & Co TaxApp will always be technically up to date and keep you reliably informed.