If you feel like you're constantly waiting for your trade invoices to be paid, you're not alone. The average time it takes for invoice payments to be settled is 49.2 days, according to Dun and Bradstreet's latest research into the matter.
It's a dramatic improvement on the 53.2 days registered a year earlier. After all, four days is an eternity in business, particularly if you're waiting on that money to pay staff wages or settle one of your own outstanding payments.
However, is it quick enough? With 30 days being the average payment term, it's quite a margin above the accepted time scale. It also restricts business cashflow as they wait for their money to finally enter their accounts.
It's a burden and a rather unfair one, which is why debtor finance exists - to help free up the cash held outside of your business without the risk of taking out a business loan, falling into debt, or paying high interest rates.
But let's take a closer look at those Dun and Bradstreet figures.
The statistics show that Tasmanian businesses settled their accounts the quickest, with an average payment time of 42.1 days. Meanwhile, those in the ACT and New South Wales had the slowest invoice settlements of around 51 days.
Delving into different industries, the fishing sector was the fastest, with invoices paid within an average 39.4 days. Real estate, finance and insurance sectors were the most burdened, as it took their clients a rather substantial 53.1 days to settle their scores.
The transport industry, meanwhile, held its own, taking around 46 days to receive their payments.
Are your clients slow to pay? Call our team today to run through your options for a quick and effective finance solution.