{"id":3072,"date":"2019-12-07T09:50:03","date_gmt":"2019-12-07T14:50:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/?p=3072"},"modified":"2026-02-12T05:11:47","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T10:11:47","slug":"late-payments-get-paid-faster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/late-payments-get-paid-faster\/","title":{"rendered":"Late payments: Why your invoices are delayed and how to get them paid faster"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header has-dark-background-color entry-header--has-illustration entry-header--has-illustration--generic\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__row row align-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-lg-7 col-xlg-6 entry-header__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"component component-single-header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__misc text--subtitle text--uppercase text--small\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/category\/money-matters\/\" class=\"entry-header__link\">Money Matters<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-title-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"entry-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tLate payments: Why your invoices are delayed and how to get them paid faster\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"entry-header__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"single-post-details container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2019-12-07T09:50:03-05:00\">December 7, 2019<\/time><\/span><span class=\"reading-time\"> min read<\/span>\n\t\t<button\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"social-share-button button button--icon button--secondary js-social-share-button\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-title=\"Late payments: Why your invoices are delayed and how to get them paid faster\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-url=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/late-payments-get-paid-faster\/\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-text=\"Please read this interesting article\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__share-label\">Share<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-label\" hidden>Copy Link<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\" hidden>Copied<\/span>\n\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/header>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-author has-dark-background-color alignfull\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"co-authors\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-author-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"entry-author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/author\/johannabrown\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"40\" height=\"40\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/Johanna-headshot2-350x350.jpg\" class=\"entry-author__image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"entry-author__name\">Johanna Brown-Lyons<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>At Sage, we know that late payments create unnecessary financial stress, especially for our customers with small to medium-sized businesses. If you\u2019re not receiving payments on time, the manpower used in chasing late payments becomes a big issue. &nbsp;These businesses rely on funds to run day-to-day operations, pay staff and suppliers, and support future growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To get a better understanding of why payments are late and the impact these late payments have on small to medium size businesses, Sage surveyed more than 3,000 SMBs across 11 countries. We learned that 1 in 10 invoices are paid late, and up to 10% of payments are either never paid or written off as bad debt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the U.S., the results paint a clear picture of the impact of late payments on businesses:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Over 30% of SMBs currently experience or expect to experience negative impacts of late payments that affect company investments, supplier and staff pay<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>10% of late payments are written off as bad debt<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>13% of invoice payments to SMBs are made late<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>An average of 15 days a year are spent chasing late payments.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-here-s-what-we-ll-cover\">Here&#8217;s what we&#8217;ll cover<\/h4>\n\n\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><div class=\"wp-block-yoast-seo-table-of-contents yoast-table-of-contents\"><ul><li><a href=\"#h-why-do-late-payments-occur\" data-level=\"2\">Why do late payments occur?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-barriers-to-chasing-late-payments\" data-level=\"2\">Barriers to chasing late payments<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-establish-payment-terms-upfront\" data-level=\"2\">Establish payment terms upfront<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-build-the-right-relationships\" data-level=\"2\">Build the right relationships<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-use-automation\" data-level=\"2\">Use automation<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-invoicing-tips\" data-level=\"2\">Invoicing tips<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-mastering-your-money\" data-level=\"2\">Mastering your money<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-more-invoice-template-styles\" data-level=\"2\">More invoice template styles<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta gated-content\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Say goodbye to late payments<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Get paid faster with our late payment templates <\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-cf393d1f-5d47-49ee-b6e3-e850f962050a\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Download now<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/07\/shutterstock_1990168073_c2222-1440x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/07\/shutterstock_1990168073_c2222-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-why-do-late-payments-occur\"><strong>Why do late payments occur? <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Surprisingly, our research didn\u2019t shed light as to why paying companies are making late payments.&nbsp; Results reveal 34% of paying vendors had no reason why payments were late and 30% said the payment has been made and the transaction is simply \u201cstill pending.\u201d Additionally, 20% say invoices are paid at certain periods, which means the business can expect payment forthcoming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-barriers-to-chasing-late-payments\"><strong>Barriers to chasing late payments<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Many SMBs find it difficult to raise the late payments issue with customers for fear of harming the relationship, with over 30% noting the lack of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/6-common-invoicing-mistakes-to-avoid\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">chasing outstanding payments<\/a> to protect the client relationship. Another barrier? Organizations lack a dedicated resource (13%) to chase late payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The good news? Businesses can address the late payments issue without impacting the customer relationship. Here are a few tips to reduce the impact:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-establish-payment-terms-upfront\"><strong>Establish payment terms upfront<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Our survey shows the most common reason given for delaying payments is that the transaction is pending or there was no reason given at all (34%). There could be a significant improvement in timely payments if you tightened up on your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/invoice-payment-terms-definition-and-tips\/\">payment terms<\/a> from the start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Late payers are likely to be aware of the situation they cause and could be willing to pay you faster if it was a requirement for service. This helps to manage your customer\u2019s expectations and gives them time to schedule their payment in advance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-build-the-right-relationships\"><strong>Build the right relationships<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Foster relationships with invoice recipients and make sure invoices are delivered to the right contact in charge of making payment. Better relationships also mean better communication, which is critical when it comes to getting an invoice paid!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-use-automation\"><strong>Use automation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Automatic and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/integrated-payment-solutions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">digital payment methods<\/a> such as direct debit and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/accounting-software\/invoicing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">e-invoicing<\/a> can make payments as simple as one click for your customers and virtually eliminate the top obstacles to getting paid on time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Digital payments that are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/integrated-payment-solutions\/bank-reconciliation-software\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">automatically reconciled in your bank account<\/a> can also give you more visibility and control of your cash flow. Since those types of payments are more reliable, you can better forecast what funds you\u2019ll have available throughout the year, giving you the agility to adjust as needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-invoicing-tips\">Invoicing tips<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>We have a full guide on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/how-to-write-an-invoice\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">how to write an invoice<\/a>, but here are a few tips to ensure prompt payment and maintain cash flow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Make a due date or \u201cpay by\u201d date on your invoice<\/strong> \u2013 providing a deadline can be helpful to promote urgency to your customers. It also makes forecasting your company funds easier and more predictable.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Include a space for recommendations<\/strong> \u2013 repeat business is the best kind of business. Providing recommendations for future services helps your customer know from an expert perspective what services may be needed down the line. As the professional, your input is valued and appreciated by clients<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Include a specific invoice number<\/strong> \u2013 this should be visible at the top of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/what-is-an-invoice\/\">invoice<\/a>. It seems minor, but an invoice number makes the document easier to keep track of while exuding a subtle touch of that professionalism we were talking about.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-mastering-your-money\">Mastering your money<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Using professional invoice templates is a great step towards properly managing your business finances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But wouldn\u2019t it be great if you could generate and send professional, personalized invoices from anywhere as you process orders? You could say goodbye to manually completing, saving, and sending invoices \u2013 freeing up time to work on your business instead of in it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When you create and send invoices within <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/accounting-software\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Accounting<\/a>, you\u2019ll also create a record of all your orders, customers and outstanding payments at the same time. No more manually entering orders, chasing lost pieces of paperwork, and stress at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/how-to-get-your-business-ready-for-year-end\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">year-end.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-more-invoice-template-styles\">More invoice template styles<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/free-invoice-templates-hvac\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">HVAC invoice template<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/free-invoice-templates-construction\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Construction invoice template<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/free-invoice-templates-professional-services\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Professional services invoice template<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/free-invoice-templates-contractor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Contractor invoice template<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/free-invoice-templates-sales\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sales invoice template<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/free-invoice-templates-simple\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Simple invoice template<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/free-invoice-templates-freelance\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Freelancer invoice template<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/free-invoice-templates-design\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Designer invoice template&nbsp;<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/free-invoice-templates-small-business\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Small business invoice template<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em><small>Editor&#8217;s note: This article was originally published December 2017 and has been up dated for relevance.<\/small><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta gated-content\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Say goodbye to unpaid invoices<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Download our\u00a0 guide for 7 tips to get your invoices paid faster.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-9b2a69dc-e10f-4dbf-b0ce-54a1fa05ac69\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Download Now<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1064\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/07\/1675w-x-1275h_0017_Layer-4-1064x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/07\/1675w-x-1275h_0017_Layer-4-1064x810.jpg 1064w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Subscribe to our Sage Advice Newsletter<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Get our latest business advice delivered directly to your inbox.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-ab515c6e-7e90-4c2f-a67e-113872516e8b\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Subscribe<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1073797282-1440x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"Working from home with tea in hand\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1073797282-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At Sage, we know that late payments create unnecessary financial stress, especially for our customers with small to medium-sized businesses. If you\u2019re not receiving payments on time, the manpower used in chasing late payments becomes a big issue. &nbsp;These businesses rely on funds to run day-to-day operations, pay staff and suppliers, and support future growth. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":795,"featured_media":3073,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sage_video":false,"post_featured_image_hide":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[299],"business_type":[40],"lilypad":[],"context":[102],"industry":[56,54],"persona":[96,97,95],"imagine_tag":[215,230,231],"coauthors":[645],"class_list":["post-3072","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-money-matters","tag-cash-flow","business_type-small-business","industry-ecommerce","industry-retail"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-us","author_name":"Johanna Brown-Lyons","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/12\/latepaymentsresearch.jpg","imagine_tags":{"215":"HR and Payroll","230":"Small business","231":"Start up business"}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice US","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3072","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/795"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3072"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3072\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/3073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3072"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3072"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3072"},{"taxonomy":"business_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/business_type?post=3072"},{"taxonomy":"lilypad","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/lilypad?post=3072"},{"taxonomy":"context","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/context?post=3072"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=3072"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=3072"},{"taxonomy":"imagine_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/imagine_tag?post=3072"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=3072"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}