In the UK, small businesses are reportedly owed more than £23.4bn in unpaid invoices. That’s an eye-watering amount that creates significant cash flow problems for many business owners. Late payment remains a big problem for SMEs, with many large businesses particularly bad at paying their small-business suppliers on time. This can have disastrous consequences. Research by the Federation of Small Businesses suggests that 50,000 UK businesses a year close down as a consequence of late payment.

In this episode, former small-business and consumer-affairs broadcaster and writer, Liz Barclay, who became the Small Business Commissioner in 2021, talks about political, economic and business factors that could make late payment worse in 2022 and 2023, and what small businesses can do to limit the chances that it will affect them. Liz also shares her insight on chasing overdue invoices, charging interest and what legal steps you can take should late payment become a bad debt.

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This bonus episode of the podcast is brought to you thanks to the support of the Federation of Small Businesses.