Home topics news Economy News Small Business Economy New Xero report: Late payments cost small businesses $7billion a year Loren Webb June 24, 2019 A new report from Xero , the global small business platform, reveals for the first time the magnitude and impact of late payments to Australian small businesses, putting the value of outstanding, late payments at $115 billion a year. The research finds that half of all trade credit invoices are paid late and that solving the problem would see small and medium businesses (SMBs) benefit by $4.38 billion over 10 years. The report, “Paying the Price: the economic impact of big businesses paying Australian small businesses late”, is based on data from Xero Small Business Insights (Xero SBI). Prepared by AlphaBeta Advisors, it analyses more than 10 million invoices issued by more than 150,000 SMBs. “Late payments are the scourge of small business, and being able to name the staggering figure of $115 billion for the first time gives fresh urgency to solving the problem. We call on big business and government to prioritise this issue. Our research finds that addressing the fundamental inequality of small business carrying $115 billion worth of debt on behalf of big business will deliver a significant benefit of $4.38 billion to SMBs over a decade ,” said Trent Innes, Xero Managing Director, Australia and Asia. The report finds that over half of all trade credit invoices to SMBs (53 percent) are paid late, being settled an average 23 days after