- Global E-Invoicing Statistics
- Small Business Invoicing and Overdue Invoice Statistics
Invoicing data is easy to inflate with vendor surveys, old PDFs, and uncited numbers that get copied from one blog to another. This page is a cleaner version.
We removed claims we could not trace to a current public source and rebuilt the page around source-linked data from Billentis, Intuit QuickBooks, Xero, the Federal Reserve payments study, Nacha, AFP, and The Clearing House. Where a number comes from a vendor survey or platform dataset, we say so explicitly.
Key Takeaways
- Billentis estimates that businesses sent about 560 billion invoices globally in 2024, and about 125 billion of them were electronic.
- Intuit QuickBooks reports that 56% of U.S. small businesses are currently owed money from unpaid invoices, averaging $17,500 each.
- Xero says U.S. small businesses were paid an average of 7.8 days late in the December 2025 quarter, the shortest delay in four years.
- Nacha's summary of the Federal Reserve's 2024 business payments study says 73% of businesses still use checks, even as ACH adoption keeps rising.
- AFP found that 79% of organizations experienced attempted or actual payments fraud in 2024, and 63% saw business email compromise.
Global E-Invoicing Statistics
According to the Billentis global e-invoicing market overview:
- Businesses sent about 560 billion invoices globally in 2024.
- Around 125 billion invoices were electronic.
- Billentis estimated the global e-invoicing and enablement market at about EUR8.3 billion in 2024.
- The same report projected that market to reach about EUR22.2 billion by 2028.
Billentis also highlights how incomplete digitization still is in day-to-day invoicing:
- In the United States, PDF by email remains the dominant format for invoice exchange.
- Among larger U.S. businesses, fewer than 20% send structured EDI e-invoices.
- More than half of invoices received in the U.S. are still paper or PDF rather than structured data.
Small Business Invoicing and Overdue Invoice Statistics
The 2025 Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Late Payments Report found:
- 56% of U.S. small businesses are owed money from unpaid invoices.
- Those businesses are owed $17,500 on average.
- 47% report that some of their invoices are overdue by more than 30 days.
- Among businesses with heavier overdue exposure, 50% report cash flow problems, versus 34% among those with fewer late invoices.
- Businesses with more late invoices are more likely to raise prices, at 30% versus 21%.
- They are also more likely to rely more heavily on credit cards, at 30% versus 17%.
- They are more likely to report hiring friction, at 47% versus 34%.
The same report shows how invoice terms shape payment pressure:
- Businesses using 90-day payment terms were more likely to report cash flow problems than businesses that ask for immediate payment, at 60% versus 40%.
- Businesses using long payment terms were more likely to rely on loans or credit lines to manage the gap between invoicing and cash collection.
Payment Timing and Payment Method Statistics
The latest Xero Small Business Insights late payment update reports:
- U.S. small businesses were paid an average of 7.8 days late in the December 2025 quarter.
- That was the shortest U.S. late-payment delay in four years.
- Canada averaged 9.7 days late in the same update.
Xero's UK late-payment guidance adds more evidence on how payment choice changes results. In this 2026 Xero update, the company says:
- 50% of payments to UK small businesses are made late.
- Those delays cost UK small businesses an estimated GBP1.6 billion per year.
- Customers using online invoice payments through Xero get paid up to twice as fast as those who do not.
- 86% of customers say they pay with credit or debit cards.
- 74% of UK consumers use direct debit.
- 58% of UK small businesses do not offer direct debit.
- Small businesses using automated reminders save about 3 hours per week globally, according to Xero.
- Xero says invoices sent by SMS in the UK are often paid the same day on average.
QuickBooks reports a similar pattern. In its mobile invoicing guide, Intuit says:
- Invoices with online payment options are paid up to 4x faster than paper invoices.
- QuickBooks users who send invoice reminders get paid 5 days faster on average.
Business Payment Rail Statistics
Nacha's summary of the Federal Reserve's 2024 Business Payments Study shows how mixed the payment stack still is:
- 73% of businesses still use checks.
- 60% use standard ACH.
- 56% use Same Day ACH.
- Check use is even higher among small and very small firms, at 83% and 78%.
- Businesses cited cost and fees as the most common pain point, at 48%.
- 32% cited speed as a top issue.
- 32% cited security as a top issue.
The Federal Reserve Small Business Credit Survey 2024 report on employer firms adds one more practical detail:
- Small employer firms are more likely to accept checks than any other payment method.
Nacha also cited the AFP Digital Payments Survey in this 2025 summary:
- In 2004, checks represented 81% of B2B payments.
- By 2024, that share had fallen to 26%.
Invoicing Fraud and Payment Security Statistics
The 2025 AFP Payments Fraud and Control Survey found:
- 79% of organizations experienced attempted or actual payments fraud in 2024.
- 63% experienced business email compromise.
- 63% experienced attempted or actual check fraud.
- More than 75% of organizations still had no plans to reduce check usage in the next two years.
- Only 22% recovered 75% or more of the funds they lost to payments fraud in 2024.
The FBI's 2024 IC3 BEC alert adds broader context:
- Business email compromise has generated more than $55 billion in identified global exposed losses since 2013.
- The FBI said identified global exposed losses grew 9% from December 2022 to December 2023.
Real-Time Payment Statistics Relevant to Invoicing
The Clearing House said in its 2025 RTP network growth update:
- RTP network payment value grew 94% in 2024 to $246 billion.
- RTP network volume grew 38% to 343 million transactions.
- Participating financial institutions grew 67% in 2024.
- The network ended 2024 averaging more than 1 million payments per day.
- 42% of RTP transactions took place overnight, on weekends, or on holidays.
For invoice collection, that matters because the faster the payment rail, the smaller the lag between a client approving payment and cash actually landing in your account.
What These Invoicing Statistics Mean
Three patterns show up across nearly every source.
Invoice friction is still mostly operational. Most businesses are not losing time because invoicing is conceptually hard. They are losing time because invoices are late, terms are long, payment options are limited, and manual workflows still dominate.
Checks are shrinking, not gone. Businesses have more digital options than ever, but checks remain common enough to keep settlement slow and fraud risk high.
Payment design affects cash flow. A "Pay now" button, shorter terms, direct debit, and automated reminders are not cosmetic changes. The public data consistently points to faster payment when businesses reduce friction.
If you want to apply these numbers, start with three basics: invoice quickly, let clients pay online, and automate follow-up on overdue balances. That combination shows up repeatedly across the strongest public datasets.
Stop relying on manual follow-up. Try Billed free to send invoices, accept online payments, and automate reminders from one place.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many invoices are sent globally each year?
Billentis estimates that businesses sent about 560 billion invoices globally in 2024, with about 125 billion handled electronically. Electronic volume is growing quickly, but structured e-invoicing is still far from universal.
Are checks still common for invoice payments?
Yes. Nacha's summary of the Federal Reserve's 2024 business payments study says 73% of businesses still use checks, and the Federal Reserve's small business survey says employer firms are more likely to accept checks than any other payment method.
Do online payment options really speed up invoice collection?
Yes. Xero says customers using online invoice payments get paid up to twice as fast, and QuickBooks says invoices with online payment options are paid up to 4x faster than paper invoices.