In Australia, the average number of days business to settle accounts has risen to a seven-year high of 56.5. 

Slow payers leading to hot collars

"On another note it is also noted by Dun and Bradstreet that an early indicator of consumer stress is the non payment of mobile phone bills. Apparently mobile phone bill default is rising rapidly and this suggests stress at the individual level which then suggest stress at the mortgage level and so on."

 

"Without a steady cash flow, your business dies. This means that you need to be focused on your cash flow situation at all times: you need to know how much cash you have and how much is coming in. If you can see that you're likely to have problems, the time to take action is -  NOW."

 

"Ask any business owner to nominate the most frustrating thing about running their business and cashflow quickly comes up in the conversation. Running any business successfully entails maintaining a positive cashflow. Even in the most buoyant economy, let alone one that%u2019s floundering, cashflow can be a challenge."

"Mar 4 2009 Nearly a third (29 per cent) of small and medium sized companies (SMEs) reported cash flow problems in the second half of 2008, with 70 per cent citing late payment of invoices as the primary factor, according to research by Lloyds TSB Commercial."

 

"There are essentially two aspects to getting paid, getting everything right contractually when the deal is signed, and using the law to help you in the event of a dispute. Rather than leaving it to your legal department, however, the finance function should ensure everything is in place to facilitate payment before any customer becomes a bad debtor."