Late payment statistics for the UK and Australia

UK large businesses took an average of 32 days to pay their suppliers in 2025, and 15% of their invoices were paid late. In Australia, large businesses paid 67.2% of small business invoices within 30 days in the data to June 2023, on an average payment term of 35.4 days. Both figures come from official reporting schemes that make large businesses publish how fast they pay.

Where the figures come from

United Kingdom. Large companies and limited liability partnerships must report their payment practices twice a year, and the government publishes statistics from those reports. The 2025 commentary, published on 14 July 2026, covers 11,178 valid reports. It gives the average time to pay, the share of invoices paid late by number and, new in 2025, by value.

Australia. The Payment Times Reporting Act 2020 requires large businesses and some government enterprises to report the payment terms they offer small business suppliers and how quickly they pay them. The Payment Times Reporting Regulator publishes updates. The most recent update that could be read on 21 October 2026 was January 2024, covering data to June 2023; the Regulator’s newer release did not load for automated reading, so its figures are not used here.

Neither scheme measures small businesses paying each other. They measure the large customers small suppliers depend on.

The UK: 32 days, 15% late

The UK average time to pay has fallen from 35 days in 2018 to 32 days, where it has stayed since 2023. The share of invoices paid late has fallen further, from 25% in 2018 to 15% in 2025, and 14% of the value of invoices was paid late. By sector, manufacturing is slowest at 45 days and has the highest late share at 21%; financial and insurance activities are fastest at 21 days; accommodation and food service has the lowest late share at 9%.

The government’s guidance also sets the default if no terms were agreed: payment is late 30 days after the customer receives the invoice or the work, whichever is later, and statutory interest can then be claimed.

Australia: 67.2% within 30 days

The Regulator’s January 2024 update reported an average payment term to small business of 35.4 days, down from 37.1 days when the scheme began in 2021, and a median term of 30 days. 67.2% of small business invoices were paid within 30 days, up from 64.5%. By industry:

• Financial and insurance services: 82.5% within 30 days, on terms averaging 29.1 days.
• Wholesale trade: 64.4%, terms of 37.5 days.
• Construction: 57.3%, terms of 38.0 days, almost ten points below the average.
• Manufacturing: 51.1%, terms of 43.5 days, the lowest share.

Side by side

The two countries measure slightly different things, so read the comparison with care. The UK figure is time actually taken to pay; the Australian average is the payment term offered, with the time actually taken shown as the share paid within 30 days. Both point the same way: most large businesses pay within about a month, a minority pay well beyond it, and manufacturing is slowest in both.

What these figures do not show

They do not show how long households take to pay tradespeople, or how small businesses pay each other, and they say nothing about invoices that are disputed. Averages also hide the slowest payers: an average of 32 days can include a customer that routinely pays in 70. The public registers are the better tool for one customer: the UK’s Check payment practices service and Australia’s Payment Times Reports Register both let you search a business by name.

What to do with them

1. Look up a large customer before agreeing terms.
2. Agree terms in writing on the quote, and print the due date on the invoice.
3. Ask for a deposit on work for slow paying sectors.
4. Remind before the due date, and follow a set sequence after it.

The standard payment terms by country post compares terms, how to chase an unpaid invoice covers the follow up, and late payment fees in Australia covers what can be charged. The overdue invoice page defines when an invoice turns overdue, and the invoice with a late fee shows interest billed under agreed terms. The overdue payment notice is the letter that follows.

Why averages understate the problem

An average of 32 days sounds manageable, but small suppliers rarely meet the average customer. They meet the specific large customer whose accounts payable runs monthly, whose purchase order process adds a week, and whose terms were set before the supplier was ever asked. The UK commentary shows the spread: financial and insurance businesses averaged 21 days, manufacturing 45. Australia’s update shows the same shape, with 82.5% of invoices paid within 30 days in financial services and 51.1% in manufacturing.

The averages also say nothing about disputed invoices, partial payments or invoices that were never approved because a purchase order number was missing, which are the reasons many small suppliers wait longest. A missing reference on an invoice can add a full payment cycle.

That is why the public registers matter more to a small business than the headline numbers. Before quoting for a large customer, look up its own reported days to pay and share paid within 30 days, and price the wait into the job or ask for a deposit. Then make the invoice impossible to reject: the right purchase order number, the right legal entity, the right contact, and a due date that matches what was agreed.

In the product

An invoice in the proposals module turns overdue the day after its due date. Each invoice can take a reminder preset: gentle sends on the due day and 7 days after; standard sends 3 days before, on the due day and 3, 7 and 14 days after; firm sends 3 days before, on the due day and 2, 5, 9 and 14 days after. The invoice reminders page shows the presets, and the guide to setting invoice reminders shows where to choose one.