Monday 10^th February, 2014

According to new research by Sage Pay, small and mid-sized businesses (SMEs) in the UK are currently owed more than £55 billion in unpaid or outstanding invoices. On average businesses are owed £11,358, with one in five owed more than £30,000.

The study also discovered that 67 per cent of SMEs are still using paper invoices, and that they spend about two weeks each year chasing unpaid invoices. For one in ten companies, a third (33 per cent) of invoices are paid late.

As quoted in SME Web, 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."

When it comes to new invoicing methods, mid-sized companies are leading way, with 85 per cent saying they have adopted e-invoicing.