40% of SMEs wait 3 months for pay

State agencies and large companies are continuing to delay payments to SMEs, with the amount of small firms waiting for more than three months increasing to over 40% in the last quarter.

Fresh data from small firms lobby group Isme notes that the average payment period for SMEs is 69 days — unchanged in the third quarter of the year from the preceding three months, but still more than double the 30-day limit most companies are looking to be made mandatory.

Furthermore, 41% of small businesses are experiencing payment delays of three months or more — a figure which is up by 3% on the second quarter of the year. One bright note from Isme’s third-quarter credit watch, which was published yesterday, is that only 8% of SMEs are waiting for more than 120 days for payment, down from the 10% measured in June.