Among small business owners who’d been paid late in the past year, more than 2 in 5 say they’d need financing, debt, or asset sales just to cover one month of delayed payments. For 10%, even a single week without incoming payments would be too much to absorb without outside support.
That data comes from a new altLINE survey of small business owners shows how little financial cushion many have against a late-paying customer — a dynamic accountants and advisors are likely seeing play out with clients firsthand.
“It shows how little room for disruption many small businesses have,” said Jim Pendergast, general manager at altLINE by The Southern Bank. “A business can be super profitable on paper and still struggle if the cash isn’t available when its bills come due. When more than two in five businesses would need outside support to cover just one month of delayed incoming payments, it highlights how closely day-to-day operations can depend on predictable cash flow.”
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The survey also found that 88% of small businesses paid late in the past year said it affected their operations in some way, and more than a third covered the gap with personal savings rather than business reserves — a pattern that can complicate the financial picture accountants are working from.
Pendergast said the businesses that weather a late payment without lasting damage tend to be the ones with a plan already in place: “Businesses with stronger cash reserves, diversified customers and enough accessible working capital have more options when an invoice is late… The businesses that are most vulnerable are often those where a single customer represents a large portion of revenue and there isn’t enough cash available to bridge the gap.”
Additional findings from the survey:
- If a business’s single most significant client is 90 days late on payment, more than a third of SME owners say the impact would be critical or severe, and 15% say it would be serious enough to make them consider permanent downsizing, selling, or closing the business.
- At just 30 days, roughly 9% already describe that impact as critical or severe.
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