Payment behavior of large companies leaves much to be desired: many invoices paid late

Dutch companies still fail to pay their invoices within the agreed payment period. One in ten large companies even pays the majority of their invoices too late. This is evident from the annual Trend Report Digital Transformation Finance and Procurement 2024.. The payment behavior of corporates did improve last year compared to a year earlier.

Payment behavior of large companies in the Netherlands

One in ten Dutch large companies pays more invoices late than on time. This is a significant improvement over last year. At that time, one in seven large companies paid more than 50% of their invoices late.

Causes of late payment

Of course, there could be several reasons why companies pay their invoices so often late. In the survey, a lengthy approval process emerges as the main cause. Nearly a third of large companies say they are unable to pay on time because it takes too long internally for invoices to be approved by the necessary people.

In itself not very surprising, since many invoices are still approved manually based on an e-mail or even still on paper. For a quarter of large companies, this happens often or always. Almost half of large companies already process invoices largely automatically by means of a three-way match.

Many invoices are also paid late because there are errors on them or because it was not sent in the right way, requiring corrections. For 14% of companies, it is a conscious decision for the sake of cash policy to pay (part of) the invoices late.

Turnaround time of invoices

Given the lengthy approval processes, many corrections and manual operations, it is perhaps not entirely surprising that the average turnaround time for an incoming invoice is 14 days.

So from the moment an invoice arrives, it takes an average of two weeks for it to be ready for payment. For 16% of large companies, it even takes more than 20 days.

Digital Transformation Finance and Procurement 2024 Trend Report available for free

Want to know more about the current status of the digital transformation of finance and procurement departments at large and medium-sized companies in the Netherlands? Then download the full trend report for free.

In it you will read about, among other things: 

• How do purchase orders and invoices come about among Dutch companies?

• To what extent does indirect spend pose a problem for Finance and Purchasing?

• What trends and developments affect Procurement and Accounts Payable?

Anoek
van der Riet

Contents Specialist

Anoek writes daily about purchase to pay, order to cash and Robotic Process Automation. She enjoys diving into topics such as e-invoicing, working capital and hyperautomation.