July 15th, 2020.


As small business faces a deepening late payments crisis, invoice finance – borrowing against unpaid invoices – is surging in popularity.

The total amount of money owed to small businesses in late payments now stands at a staggering £23.4bn, according to payment processor Pay.UK.

Just over half of Britain’s 5.9m small businesses said they were owed outstanding invoices before COVID-19 struck. That figure has now gone up to 62 per cent, according to the Federation of Small Businesses.

Small firms in wholesale, legal and accounting, and advertising and marketing have been the hardest hit.

On top of that, it costs Britain’s small businesses £4.4bn a year just to get paid, with around a quarter of SMEs spending over £500 a month chasing late payments.

Given this dire late payment situation, it is hardly surprising more small businesses are turning to invoice finance.

One solution could be to turn to invoice finance and borrow against the value of your unpaid invoices. In exchange, the lender charges interest on the longer it takes you to actually get the invoice settled and repay it. But it can be a useful lifeline for a struggling small business.


For the full story at growthbusiness.co.uk  CLICK HERE.