Late payment is the norm
89% of UK companies reported late payments in the past year (Coface, 2026).
Delays are getting longer
Overdue invoices averaged 34 days, two days longer than the year before.
Customers are struggling too
Customers' own financial difficulty was the main cause, at 37%.
Nearly nine in ten UK companies were paid late last year. Slow payment is now the most common way a healthy business runs out of cash.
The scale of the problem
Coface surveyed 608 companies in July 2026 and published its findings on 15 September. It found no sector improving on balance, with paper and wood, metals, and automotive and transport worsening sharply. R3's Q1 2026 report puts the same pressure in numbers of firms: more than 1.5 million UK businesses had overdue bills.
Where it bites hardest
Insolvencies fell slightly year on year but rose on the previous quarter, so the pressure has not gone away. R3 names late payment as a key risk factor and warns that arrears can escalate cash problems quickly.
A cash-protection routine
Write payment terms into every proposal and agree them before work starts. Take a deposit. Bill at milestones so no single invoice is large enough to hurt you. Chase early and by phone, not only email. Know your legal right to claim statutory interest and compensation on late commercial debts and use it when it fits the relationship.
Track one number
We use debtor days as an early warning on our own business and flag it when it passes 60. Calculate it by dividing money owed to you by annual sales and multiplying by 365. If the number climbs two months in a row, act before cash is tight.
Key takeaways
- 89% of UK companies reported late payments in the past year, and overdue invoices averaged 34 days, two days longer than the year before (Coface, 2026).
- In Q1 2026 there were 17.48 million overdue invoices across 1.57 million UK businesses, up 3% on a year earlier (R3).
- Construction, wholesale and retail, and accommodation and food services had the most insolvency-related cases.
- Customers' own financial difficulty was the main cause, at 37%.
What to do this week
- Run an aged-debt report today and phone the three largest overdue accounts.
- Add a deposit or first-milestone invoice to your standard proposal.
- Set a calendar reminder for day 1, 7 and 14 after every due date.
- Check your debtor days and write down the number.
General information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Figures are as reported by the sources named; check the source before you rely on one.
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