Amsterdam, 6 September 2022 – Almost half of the Dutch SMEs (45%) have to wait longer than a month on average for their money. In comparison, only a quarter (24%) of large companies have to wait longer than thirty days for a paid invoice. This was revealed by the FinTech Barometer, Visma | Onguard’s research into the financial status of Dutch companies, which was carried out for the fifth time this year. The main reasons customers are currently delaying payment are cash flow problems (25%), financial uncertainty due to the corona crisis (24%) and bureaucracy within organisations (20%).
Paying with iDEAL stays preferred
The study shows that no less than 88 percent of the companies offer one or more ways to get their invoices paid as quickly as possible. Within large organisations, periodic payments at fixed moments (24%) are used most often. This is different in the SME sector. There, periodic payments are slightly less popular (21%). They prefer to work personally (27%) or to use specialised software for collection and reminders (23%).
Another popular means is to offer online payment options. One in five organisations offer their customers several ways to pay online. The survey shows that companies prefer to be paid via iDEAL (35%) and customers also prefer to pay via iDEAL (30%). Followed by direct debit (34% and 29% respectively) and manual transfer (25% versus 21%).
Adriaan Kom, Managing Director at Visma | Onguard: “It is quite a challenge for organisations to get invoices paid. The fact that almost half of the entrepreneurs have to wait longer than one month for their payment is not acceptable. When payments are not made on time, this can have major consequences. Especially for somewhat smaller organisations. Fortunately, this is also recognised by the government and, since 1 July, a change in the law has been implemented: as a result, SMEs do not have to wait longer than thirty days for a payment from large companies. A step in the right direction. And as an organisation you can also do a lot to get outstanding invoices paid on time. For example, set up a strict follow-up, communicate personally and make it easy for customers to pay. The use of smart software, which takes the repetitive work off your hands, can be a good solution. This way, the finance professional or the entrepreneur can free up time to deal with the exceptional cases.”
