Home topics news Image Credit: Towfiqu barbhuiya News News Late payments continue to wreak havoc on small businesses Yajush Gupta November 23, 2022 Small businesses continue to be the biggest victims of late payers, according to the latest CreditorWatch data, which indicates that late payments for smaller firms are three times that of larger businesses. According to the October 2022 CreditorWatch Business Risk Index (BRI), small businesses are feeling the squeeze of current economic pressures, while big businesses are faring much better. This reflects small businesses’ need for help enforcing payment terms and collecting past-due payments. By the numbers While payment defaults have risen at a rate of 20 per cent per month over the past year, trade receivables for small businesses have decreased 18 per cent in the past month to their lowest levels since October of the previous year. In contrast, the fall in trade turnover has not been as severe for large corporations. From FY21 to FY22, big business revenue increased by 14 per cent for all publicly traded businesses and ASIC reporting organisations. Despite lower margins, profits increased by 9 per cent. Meanwhile, the report notes that court actions have decreased 26 per cent since last month but are still up 50 per cent year-on-year. Out of all the regions with more than 5,000 firms, Yarra Ranges in Victoria has the lowest insolvency risk, followed by Cottesloe-Claremont in Western Australia. Australia’s regions with the highest default risk are Merrylands-Guildford and Canterbury in Western Sydney (for regions