The fear of losing business is stopping many SMEs from chasing bad debt.

A study by online debt recovery service Positive Collections, which surveyed more than 260 business professionals, found that SMEs are the most prone to suffer from late payers, with 74 per cent stating that they are likely to accept late payment excuses.

Interestingly, businesses with one to nine employees are less likely to worry about debt recovery, as 45 per cent claim they are always paid on time.

According to the survey, 17 per cent of businesses would try to chase debts but avoid legal action as they believe it will be too expensive.

David Green, CEO of online debt recovery service Positive Collections, says: ‘The fact that so many businesses in the UK have become accepting of this late payment culture is certainly a cause for concern as this has implications on the whole business community and economy.’

Latest News | small business news and advice