Late Invoices Challenge Vendors, But Governments Aim To Speed Payments

Late payments continue to present a challenge for companies (particularly small businesses) around the world, but this week’s B2B Data Digest shows that the public and private sectors are taking novel approaches to tackle this widespread problem. With suppliers worried about the financial risk that late payments pose, governments are implementing regulations to ensure prompt payments as software companies are building software to help firms chase invoices.

65 percent is the share of vendors that consider late payments to be putting their firms at financial risk, London Loves Business reported, citing data from spend management tech firm Ivalua. Three hundred vendors throughout Switzerland, Germany, France and the United Kingdom were polled for the research. The report also noted that 60 percent of vendors indicate that clients have asked to lengthen payment terms during the past year. But three in ten vendors indicate that late payments have been on the uptick. “[Organizations] must [modernize] procurement tools to enable on time payments and give suppliers the visibility needed, thereby bolstering relationships,” Alex Saric, smart procurement expert at Ivalua said, as per the report.

 50 percent is the share of business-to-business (B2B) invoice payments in Asia that are past-due, Global Trade Review reported, citing the Atradius Payment Practices Barometer for Asia. International trade recovered to levels seen prior to the pandemic in Q1 2021 and was headed up by a very good performance by Asian markets, the outlet reported, citing UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) information. Even so, companies in Asia that responded to the Atradius survey noted that they are encountering “serious setbacks” to expansion. To that end, 40 percent of those who responded said that the payment practices of their clients have gotten worse during the last year. 

48 percent is the share of merchants responding to a poll who said they have decreased time-to-payment by bolstering payment choices and terms for B2B customers, according to new data from B2B payments firm TreviPay. The study noted that the acceleration of online shopping has made formidable online payment functions a must-have, yet a number of entities still encounter different payment system hurdles that are leading them to prioritize payment tech investments. TreviPay CEO Brandon Spear said in an announcement that “investments in finance applications, systems and processes are a top digital transformation priority for merchants.”

20 calendar days is the maximum amount of time that firms with yearly income exceeding $100 million that receive public sector contracts with a value exceeding $4 million have to pay vendor bills (of as much as $1 million) with the novel Payment Times Procurement Connected Policy in Australia, Dynamic Business reported. “Late payments are a significant issue in Australia, and it’s an issue that disproportionately impacts smaller businesses,” Minister for Employment, Workforce, Skills, Small and Family Business Stuart Robert said, as per the report. Companies will have to follow the procedure starting in October 2021.

$15 million is the amount of Series A funding that European upstart Upflow has landed, according to a published report. The firm aims to assist businesses with pursuing past-due payments. “We started with a simple idea addressing an obvious problem: B2B businesses still struggle to get paid in 2021,” read a blog post signed by the firm’s co-founders. Users can link their Upflow accounts with Stripe Billing, Chargebee, Netsuite, Xero and QuickBooks, according to the published report, which noted that companies can charge customers from the invoicing system that they already have.