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The rise in unpaid invoices - Is coronavirus to blame?

Recent times have seen unpaid invoices increase by 23% since lockdown measures were announced by the UK Government, following an analysis of 26 million business to business invoices by AI platform provider, Sidetrade.

The impact of COVID-19 is certainly a contributing factor to the increase, but unfortunately, it is not the sole reason why we have seen such a staggering increase of unpaid invoices in recent times, many small businesses were already plagued by the poor payment epidemic as previous studies have shown that delays in business to business payment was already a growing issue, prior to the outbreak of the virus.

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) say that 50,000 small businesses a year go under because of delayed payments, having an eyewatering impact on the UK economy.

Further, BACS Payment Schemes Ltd found that UK SME late payment debt experienced an upsurge to £23.4 billion in 2019. This is a staggering increase of £10.4 billion, when compared to the £13 billion recorded in the previous year of 2018. Therefore, it appears that it is somewhat more of a regular occurrence for many businesses to have the burden of chasing payment of the money that they are owed.

We understand that late payment is a real concern for many businesses and that is why Forbes Collect are here to help with the recovery of outstanding invoices. Instructing our expert Debt Recovery team will ensure that the Debtor is pursued with maximum pressure whilst taking the pressure off your business and its resources, alongside enhancing the likelihood of recovery.

For more information contact Sadie Butler in our Forbes Collect department via email or phone on 0333 207 9388. Alternatively send any question through to Forbes Solicitors via our online Contact Form.

Learn more about our Forbes Collect department here

Coronavirus: Don't let lockdown take your business

Business Debts & Covid-19