Late payments for small businesses

 Late payments force directors to take salary cuts

A study by Bacs, the payments processor, has found that more than three quarters of businesses are waiting at least a month beyond agreed terms for their bills to be settled. As a result, Bacs said one in five directors affected by late-paying customers reported taking a salary cut in order to cover the resulting cash-flow shortfall. Bacs said late payment is resulting in additional costs to SMEs of £8.2bn a year, the equivalent of £677 a month for each affected company. Smaller companies are owned on average £32,000 report Harris & Co accountants Northampton, the specialist small business accountants