Rotterdam, June 22, 2023 - 25% of Dutch companies did not pay their invoices on time in 2022. That's according to figures from business data expert Altares Dun & Bradstreet. In Western Europe, only Danish companies paid more bills within the agreed payment period. There, as many as 92% of invoices were paid on time.
Dutch businesses barely changed their payment behavior in 2022. A year earlier, 74% of entrepreneurs also paid neatly on time. However, a difference can be seen with 2019: back then, entrepreneurs paid only 69% of bills within the agreed deadline.
Large business owners pay later
Altares Dun & Bradstreet's analysis also looked at whether the size of a company affected the payment amount. The data show that large businesses paid only 35.5% of invoices on time in the last quarter of 2022. The smallest businesses (77.8% on time), small (67%) and medium-sized businesses (49.3%) all fared better.
Agriculture and retail in order
Payment trends also differed by sector. Agriculture and fishing businesses paid their bills on time 82% of the time. In retail, the percentage was even higher: merchants conducted transactions for 83% of bills on time.
Payments in manufacturing (61.3%) and transportation (62.4%) were less smooth. In construction, suppliers also saw payment delays increase. While construction companies still paid their bills on time in 75.6% of cases in 2021, a year later it was 72.2%.
Barry de Goeij, Data Scientist at Altares Dun & Bradstreet: "From July 1, the legislation regarding paying invoices on time will change. Even large companies will then no longer fall below the legal payment period of 30, or in some cases 60, days. Many companies are already paying on time. At the same time, our figures show that many companies still have work to do. Macro and microeconomic factors always influence payment behavior among entrepreneurs. It is good to see that Dutch companies, at least in the European context, seem to have their affairs in order."
Download here the full study.
