This is all based on a new study from Sage Pay. And was presented as a foot note alongside the main finding. The study from Sage Pay primarily discovered that SME businesses in the UK as a whole are currently owed more than £55 billion in unpaid or outstanding invoices. The average SME is owed £11,358, with one in five owed over £30,000.
Some other findings:
- When it comes to new invoicing methods, mid-sized companies are leading way, with 85 per cent saying they have adopted e-invoicing.
- However 67 per cent of SMEs state they still use paper invoices as an additional channel.
- SME spend the equivalent of two weeks each year chasing unpaid invoices.
- For one in ten companies, a third (33 per cent) of invoices are paid late.
Simon Black, CEO of Sage Pay, the company conducting the research, comments:
- “The majority of invoicing is still done via paper and post. Given the environment we’re now living in, this process is not only antiquated, it’s actually depriving small businesses of critical revenue.”
- “For smaller businesses in particular, this delay in payment can cause significant problems and can affect the overall performance of the company.”
The conclusion is that: “Businesses of all size need to look at a more seamless, automated invoicing process so they can focus on running and growing their business – rather than chasing money owed or spending their time on book keeping and administration,”
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