UK small businesses are owed around £8.3bn in late payment deficits, a recent survey conducted by Barclays Local Business has discovered.
The research found that nearly six in ten businesses have trouble with late payment, with a third of these concerned that their businesses would be at risk as a direct result. Company owners using their own money to keep the firm afloat whilst waiting for payment totalled 40%, making late payments a primary cause for loss of both company time and money.
Marketing Director for Barclays Local Business, John Davis, explained why these revelations are particularly worrying: ‘A regular and reliable cash flow is essential to the smooth, day to day running of a business – particularly a smaller one. The majority of small businesses cannot afford to wait on money they are owed without feeling the impact on their bottom line.”
Over 4 million hours are wasted every year chasing late payments, time that could be spent winning new business, driving sales and meeting customer demands.
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