Late Payment Statistics: UK, EU and US Figures

UK: how long large businesses take to pay
UK: what late payment costs

These figures show how late businesses are paid, how much it costs them and which businesses are hit hardest. Each comes from the organization that collected the data, with its year, geography and sample. The page includes only figures it could trace to the organization that published them.

Billed publishes this page. All sources were opened on October 29, 2026. For US figures on cash flow, see cash flow statistics; for payment methods and B2B trends, see B2B payment trends; and for how businesses pay their own suppliers, see accounts payable statistics.

UK: how long large businesses take to pay

From the Department for Business and Trade's official statistics, Large businesses' payment practices and performance statistics: 2025 (published July 14, 2026). The figures come from reports filed under regulations that "require large UK businesses to report on their payment practices, policies and performance twice-yearly", and they're medians: "Medians are used instead of means to limit the impact of extreme values."

Time to pay: "In 2025, large businesses paid their suppliers in 32 days, down from 35 days in 2018".
Invoices paid late, by number: "In 2025, large businesses paid 15% of invoices late, down from 25% in 2018, a 10 percentage point decrease".
Invoices paid late, by value: "14% of the total value of invoices was paid late by large businesses. This metric is new and only available for 2025".
Reports: "There were 11,178 valid reports submitted in 2025".
By region: large businesses in the East Midlands and West Midlands took the longest to pay in 2025, "averaging 38 days", and those in London the shortest, "averaging 27 days".
By sector: large manufacturing businesses took the longest to pay in 2025, averaging 45 days.

These statistics describe how large businesses pay their suppliers, not how quickly small businesses are paid by all their customers.

UK: what late payment costs

From government research, Late payments research: impact on the UK economy (published July 30, 2025), carried out by London Economics for the Department for Business and Trade and the Office of the Small Business Commissioner. It draws on "a quantitative survey of 1,455 businesses", which "was conducted by YouGov and IFF Research and took place between 15/01/25 and 07/02/25", together with econometric analysis. It counts both overdue invoices and payment terms of more than 60 days as late payment.

Cost to the economy: "Late payments are estimated to cost the UK economy almost £11 billion per year."
Businesses affected: "Over 1.5 million businesses, or 28% of businesses, are affected by late payments each year."
Money owed: "Businesses are owed an estimated £26 billion in late payments at any given time, on average £17,000 per business affected by late payment."
Time spent chasing: "22% of surveyed businesses said they spent staff time chasing late payments, on average 86 hours per business affected by late payment per year."
Closures: "14,000 businesses close each year as a result of late payments, equivalent to 38 businesses every day."
Avoiding customers: 15% of surveyed businesses said they had avoided doing business with specific customers because of how those customers paid.

The report says the £11 billion "could be conservative", because some costs aren't quantified, and also that some of its parts "could be overestimates in places".

US: small businesses with slow-paying customers

From the Federal Reserve Banks' 2024 Report on Payments, findings from the 2023 Small Business Credit Survey. It was fielded from September through November 2023, and the payments questions were answered by 4,920 US small employer firms with 1 to 499 employees. The Fed notes: "The SBCS is not a random sample".

39% of small employer firms named "Customers are slow to pay" as a payments-related challenge (4,858 firms).

By the firm's main payment arrangement, the share naming slow-paying customers was:

64% where the customer pays after delivery, such as by invoice (1,455 firms)
56% where the customer pays in multiple installments (435 firms)
50% where payment is made through a third party (234 firms)
48% where the customer pays on a set schedule (610 firms)
14% where the customer pays in full at the time of service or purchase (1,864 firms)

EU: the share of invoices SMEs are paid late

From the European Commission's 2023 impact assessment for its proposed late payment regulation. The Commission's SME panel consultation "took place between 26 January and 16 March 2023", and "939 SMEs replied". Taking part was voluntary, so the replies don't represent EU businesses as a whole. The most replies came from Spain (457), then Italy (182), then Poland (110).

The Commission reports that "only 3,4% of the respondents (32 out of 939) stated that no invoices were paid late." The rest, in US notation:

45.3% (425) said between 1% and 10% of their invoices are paid late
29% (272) said between 10% and 25%
12.8% (120) said between 25% and 50%
7% (66) said more than 50%

The same respondents "strongly agreed or agreed that late payments affect their wellbeing and generate stress and anxiety (91,7% or 861), affect the survival of their business (80,3% or 754) and affect their trust in the market (78,5% or 737)."

UK and Western Europe: B2B late payment in 2026

From the Atradius Payment Practices Barometer. Atradius is a trade credit insurer, so it sells cover against the risk these surveys measure. Both surveys were "conducted between the end of Q1 and the beginning of Q2 2026".

United Kingdom (report page; 210 interviews):

"Around two thirds of UK businesses report delayed payments from B2B customers, compared with more than three quarters across the region."
"These delays affect about 25% of invoiced B2B turnover in the UK, slightly below the Western European benchmark."
"Around 68% of B2B sales are made on credit".
Bad debts "stand at around 2% of B2B credit sales, driven mainly by customer insolvencies."

Western Europe (report page, May 20, 2026). The report lists "Markets surveyed: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom", and says "The findings for Denmark, Finland, and Sweden, while part of Western Europe, are presented separately in the report dedicated to the Nordic region." Its survey design gives "Total interviews = 2,945", in a table that also lists those three markets as "covered in the report for Nordics":

"Nearly four in five companies across the region report B2B customers pay invoices late."
"Regionally, about one quarter of invoices are paid after the due date."
"Just over half of B2B sales across Western Europe, around 52%, now take place on credit."
"Across the region, credit losses now average 1.6% of B2B invoiced turnover."

For Atradius's 2026 US and multi-market figures, see cash flow statistics and B2B payment trends.

When these statistics don't apply

Your own business. To see how late your own customers pay, check your invoices and payment records; these surveys describe other businesses.
Different measures. The UK statistics measure how large businesses pay suppliers; the Fed and Commission surveys ask small businesses about the challenges they face; Atradius measures shares of B2B sales and invoices. Keep each figure with its own measure when you compare them.
Other countries. Each section names its country or region.

Where Billed fits

Billed's invoice software page says: "Set a due date on each invoice so your client knows when to pay. Invoice reports show which invoices are paid, partially paid or past due, and you can see who owes you money and send them a payment reminder." The figures on this page come from the sources named above, not from Billed.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do large UK businesses take to pay their suppliers?

The Department for Business and Trade's official statistics, published July 14, 2026, show that large UK businesses paid their suppliers in a median of 32 days in 2025, down from 35 days in 2018. They paid 15% of invoices late, down from 25% in 2018.

How much does late payment cost UK businesses?

Government research by London Economics, published July 2025, estimates that late payments cost the UK economy almost £11 billion a year, and that businesses are owed an estimated £26 billion in late payments at any given time.

What share of US small businesses have slow-paying customers?

In the Federal Reserve's 2023 Small Business Credit Survey, 39% of small employer firms named slow-paying customers as a payments challenge. Among firms whose customers pay after delivery, such as by invoice, the share was 64%.

How common are late payments for EU small businesses?

In the European Commission's 2023 SME panel of 939 self-selected SMEs, only 3.4% said none of their invoices were paid late. 45.3% said between 1% and 10% of their invoices were paid late, and 7% said more than half.

What share of Western European companies report late-paying B2B customers?

In Atradius's 2026 Western Europe survey, with 2,945 interviews in total and with Denmark, Finland and Sweden reported separately, nearly four in five companies reported B2B customers paying invoices late, and about one quarter of invoices were paid after the due date. Atradius is a trade credit insurer.

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