Last editedApr 20221 min read
What’s causing your late payments? How much time do you spend chasing and reconciling them? Ever wondered how your business compares to the benchmark?
Read on.
We surveyed 1,700+ small businesses about late payments and payments admin
In June and July 2021, we surveyed a variety of small businesses across the UK, US, France, Spain, Germany, and Australia. Both existing GoCardless users, and non-users.
We wanted to learn more about how much time they spend on payments admin – both chasing up late payments they’re owed, and reconciling payments once they are paid. Here’s what we learned.
(Note: Some numbers represent an estimated median. All percentages are rounded to the nearest whole percent.)
How much time is spent chasing late payments each month? Breakdown by country
We asked small businesses how many hours they spend chasing late payments each month. Here’s what they said.
|
Small businesses (not using GoCardless) |
GoCardless users |
|
|
Australia |
8.8 hours |
3.1 hours (65% less) |
|
France |
4.5 hours |
3.0 hours (33% less) |
|
Germany |
5.9 hours |
3.2 hours (46% less) |
|
Spain |
6.9 hours |
3.9 hours (43% less) |
|
UK |
6.7 hours |
3.5 hours (48% less) |
|
US |
3.9 hours |
3.0 hours (23% less) |
|
Global |
5.8 hours |
3.3 hours (43% less) |
How much time is spent reconciling payments each month? Breakdown by country
We asked small businesses how many hours they spend reconciling late payments each month. Here’s what they said.
|
Small businesses (not using GoCardless) |
GoCardless users |
|
|
Australia |
6.3 hours |
2.2 hours (65% less) |
|
France |
3.7 hours |
1.6 hours (57% less) |
|
Germany |
5.4 hours |
2.0 hours (63% less) |
|
Spain |
5.9 hours |
3.0 hours (49% less) |
|
UK |
5.6 hours |
2.8 hours (50% less) |
|
US |
3.5 hours |
2.4 hours (31% less) |
|
Global |
4.9 hours |
2.3 hours (53% less) |
Get paid without chasing your customer up. Less stress, less time wasted.
Collecting payments can be painful. Late payments, awkward conversations, all that admin. But it doesn’t have to be that way. With GoCardless, you can invoice your customers as normal and have payment collected automatically on the due date. No more chasing, no more headaches, no more stress.
How many payments are on time and correct? Breakdown by country
We asked small businesses what percentage of payments are made to them on time and correct, without any follow up required. Here’s what they said.
|
Small businesses (not using GoCardless) |
GoCardless users |
|
|
Australia |
52% |
79% (52% improvement) |
|
France |
64% |
84% (31% improvement) |
|
Germany |
71% |
81% (14% improvement) |
|
Spain |
65% |
85% (31% improvement) |
|
UK |
61% |
84% (38% improvement) |
|
US |
79% |
85% (8% improvement) |
|
Global |
65% |
83% (28% improvement) |
How many FTEs are required for collecting payments? Breakdown by country
We asked small businesses how many FTEs they have for collecting payments. Here’s what they said.
|
Small businesses (not using GoCardless) |
GoCardless users |
|
|
Australia |
2.6 |
1.5 (42% reduction) |
|
France |
2.4 |
1.3 (46% reduction) |
|
Germany |
2.4 |
1.6 (33% reduction) |
|
Spain |
2.3 |
1.4 (39% reduction) |
|
UK |
2.7 |
1.6 (41% reduction) |
|
US |
2.3 |
1.5 (35% reduction) |
|
Global |
2.4 |
1.5 (38% reduction) |
Why are payments late? Top reasons by country
We asked small businesses why their customers pay late. Here’s what they said.
Australia
56% - Complicated accounts payable processes
25% - Payer forgets to pay
19% - Payer has cash flow problems
France
42% - Complicated accounts payable processes
34% - Payer forgets to pay
24% - Payer has cash flow problems
Germany
41% - Payer forgets to pay
35% - Complicated accounts payable processes
24% - Payer has cash flow problems
Spain
47% - Complicated accounts payable processes
32% - Payer has cash flow problems
17% - Payer forgets to pay
UK
40% - Complicated accounts payable processes
34% - Payer forgets to pay
26% - Payer has cash flow problems
US
39% - Payer has cash flow problems
32% - Complicated accounts payable processes
30% - Payer forgets to pay
Global
43% - Complicated accounts payable processes
28% - Payer forgets to pay
27% - Payer has cash flow problems