- Intuit QuickBooks becomes the first global financial technology company to pledge its allegiance to the Good Business Pays campaign
- New alliance calls for faster payments to support small businesses, as operating costs soar
- The partnership comes as data from Intuit QuickBooks research shows small and midsized businesses (SMBs) are owed an average of £27,214 in late payments
The Good Business Pays campaign has today announced a partnership with Intuit QuickBooks, to further encourage large companies to fast-track their payments to suppliers. The partnership sees both companies spread awareness and increase understanding of the problems small businesses have, which are caused by slow-paying customers.
News of the partnership comes as recent data from Intuit QuickBooks research¹ shows that more than half (52%) of SMBs agreed they were more affected by late payments between 2022 and 2023 compared to previous years. Frustratingly, the most common reason an invoice goes unpaid is because it was simply forgotten (23%) – although the supplier experiencing their own cash flow issues and not being able to pay came in a close second (20%).
Rob Burlison, Director, Global Corporate Affairs & Strategic Initiatives at Intuit QuickBooks, said: “Our research data shows SMBs are owed an average of £27,214¹ in late payments, with one in six invoices with customers or suppliers overdue.
“This is having a serious impact on business owners’ wellbeing and finances. Ramifications can include business closure, dipping into personal savings as well as personal knock-on effects such as poor mental health.
“We hope our partnership with Good Business Pays helps to bring the issue of unfair slow and late payments for SMBs to the top of the national agenda. Business owners deserve to be paid on time, so they in turn can pay their own suppliers, which in turn fosters a much healthier cashflow environment for the entire supply chain.”
Research commissioned by Good Business Pays from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) has shown that up to £60bn of additional revenue would be unlocked for small businesses if their large customers paid them on receipt of invoices, adding much needed capital to the nation’s economy as we continue to deal with rising costs and creating up to 460,000 extra jobs.2
Terry Corby, Chair of Good Business Pays, commented: “Having the support of a global technology brand like Intuit QuickBooks is an exciting development for Good Business Pays and our campaign. Intuit QuickBooks has a huge number of small business customers around the world and our partnership with them will help us to get better, real-time insights into the payment issues that are hurting small businesses both in the UK and more broadly. I am hoping this partnership will lead to an expansion of the insights we bring, as well as the impact of our campaign.”
Liz Barclay, UK Small Business Commissioner, added: “It is great to see growing support for the Good Business Pays campaign. I’ve been working with Terry for more than two years now and I do believe that we really are pushing this up the agenda. We don’t just need small suppliers to be paid ‘on time’, by the due date. We need bigger customers to understand that there’s little benefit for anyone if they offer their supplier extended payment terms. Improved payment practices are good for business, good for customers and suppliers and ultimately for the economy, wider society and local communities.”
Corby continued: “The latest data from Intuit customers tells us the problem is getting worse for small businesses not better. At a time when small business operating costs are going through the roof, not getting a bill paid can be the last straw for many of them. Lots of small business owners will be asking themselves how they make payroll, which member of staff to lose or if they should re-mortgage their house to maintain their businesses. As Intuit say, we need to call time on the bad behaviour of withholding payments and I look forward to working with Intuit to do so.”
Backed by the Federation of Small Businesses, British Chambers of Commerce, CBI, and manufacturers group Make UK, the Good Business Pays movement was launched in May 2021 to encourage the UK’s largest companies to speed up payments to small suppliers, helping them bounce back and inject vital capital into the economy.