Late-payers proving a major problem

A study, published by Leeds-based Liquid Recovery, showed that 73 per cent of firms said they do not always get paid on time and, of these, 45 per cent said that customers delay settling up without having agreed it in advance.

Rashmi Dubé, director of Liquid, said: “What’s really worrying is the fact that many of these SMEs seem to be prepared to put up with this. As a result, the problem is spreading: a culture of late-payment is fast becoming the norm.”

Two-thirds (67 per cent) of the 123 firms surveyed said they tolerated late payment because they were worried about losing customers and didn’t want to create “bad feeling”.

Ms Dubé said outstanding invoices needed to be handled in a different way from debts.