Research released in April from Natwest and RBS revealed that nearly three quarters of SMEs have suffered from the late payment of debts over the last 12 months, and yet less than half of these SMEs have taken steps to address this problem.

The impact on cash flow, and the affect this can have on the SME’s business, is not to be underestimated. 235,000 SMEs claim that time wasted chasing debts has adversely affected their business. The collective value of invoices paid outside of the agreed payment period in the UK is £62.87 billion and, whilst the larger companies may carry the larger debts, and when debts are viewed as a percentage of turnover, SMEs are the worst affected.