Small- and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) in the UK are currently owed more than £55bn in unpaid or outstanding invoices, according to new research.
A study by payment service provider Sage Pay found that the average business is owed £11,358, with one in five owed more than £30,000.
Surprisingly, two-thirds (67%) of SMBs revealed that they still use paper invoices.
Furthermore, they spend the equivalent of two weeks each year chasing unpaid invoices. One in 10 companies reported that a third of their invoices are paid late.
When it comes to new invoicing methods, mid-sized companies are leading way, with 85% saying they have adopted e-invoicing.
“The majority of invoicing is still done via paper and post,” said Simon Black, CEO at Sage Pay. “Given the environment we’re now living in, this process is not only antiquated, it’s actually depriving small and medium businesses of critical revenue. For the smaller businesses in particular, this delay in payment can cause significant problems and can affect the overall performance of the company.”
Sally Percy is editor of The Treasurer