Late payments improving, Experian claims

Average time to settle bills has dropped to 20.93 days, market watcher claims

Paying up: The IT industry came third in the most improved sectors for late payments

UK firms are paying their bills faster than they were a year ago with the IT sector in the top three improved performers, according to the latest figures from Experian.

During January to March this year, firms paid their bills an average of 20.93 days late compared to 23.61 days late in Q1 2009.

The biggest improvement in payments came from the South West which are settling bills within 16.07 days on average. Scottish businesses finished last increasing to 22.67 days in Q1 2010 compared to Q1 2009.

Greater London saw the biggest overall improvement, cutting payment times from 28.72 days to 23.89 days.

In terms of sectors, the utilities sector came out top in improvements, followed by the breweries and IT, according to the figures.

Joe Myers, head of commercial credit at Experian, said: “This is a positive step for businesses, mirrored by a stabilisation in business insolvencies over the last year.

“Businesses of all sizes know the impact a late payment can have on their cash flow, and also just how important it is to regularly monitor a customer’s ability to pay on time.”