44 percent Asia: B2B credit sales overdue
Overdue invoices currently affect an average 44% of all B2B credit sales across the region.
Source: Atradius2025 · 8 Asian markets
The problem
Getting paid is the hard part.
In every market we checked, a large share of invoices is paid late, and the cost lands hardest on freelancers and small firms.
Nine sources, each linked, each with its year and region.
Sources checked:
It happens in every market
Four regions, four different measures: credit sales, receivables and invoices. They are not comparable with each other, so each stands on its own.
23 percent North America: B2B receivables overdue
Overdue invoices account for an average 23% of B2B receivables.
Source: Atradius2026 · US, Canada, Mexico
31.5 percent Australia: invoices to small businesses not paid on time
68.5% of invoices to small businesses were paid on time, within terms, so 31.5% were not. Large firms paying small suppliers.
Source: Govt of AustraliaAug 2026 · Australia
1 in 4 Western Europe: about a quarter of invoices are paid after the due date
About one quarter of invoices are paid after the due date.
Source: Atradius2026 · Western Europe
50 percent of EU invoices are not paid on time
Across the European Union, one invoice in two is not paid on time.
Source: European Commission2023 · EU-wide
71 percent of freelancers struggle to collect
71% of freelancers struggle to collect payment for work at least once in the course of their career. The survey behind the report covered over five thousand freelance workers.
Source: Freelancers Union2015 · United States
1 in 4 bankruptcies due to late invoices
One in four bankruptcies is due to invoices not being paid on time.
Source: European Commission2023 · EU-wide
Nearly 4 in 5 companies face late payments
Nearly four in five companies in Western Europe report late payments. One in four reports losses of up to 5%.
Source: Atradius2026 · Western Europe
26 billion pounds Owed in late payments to UK businesses at any given time
Businesses are owed an estimated £26 billion in late payments at any given time.
Source: UK Govt2025 · UK
Rs 7.34 lakh crore Delayed payments owed to India’s MSMEs
The value of delayed payments owed to micro, small and medium enterprises has fallen to Rs 7.34 lakh crore as of March 2024.
Source: GAME / FISME / C2FOFigures as of March 2024 · India
8.74 billion euros a year Staff time EU businesses lose chasing late payers
At least 5 man-days are currently lost to chasing debtors, equal to € 8.74 billion for the entire EU economy. This is the value of time spent chasing, not an amount owed.
Source: European Commission2023 · EU-wide
Chasing is the part Ochre can help with. Here is how.
Sources: Atradius (Asia, North America, Western Europe) · Payment Times Reporting Regulator · European Commission · Freelancers Union · Small Business Commissioner · GAME / FISME / C2FO
What Ochre can and cannot do about it
Ochre cannot make a client pay on time. What it does is make chasing easier:
- Add your own payment link (Stripe, PayPal, Wise, your bank or UPI) and Ochre puts a pay-online button and a QR code for it on the invoice.
- When an invoice is due or overdue, Chase drafts a payment reminder for you.
- You mark an invoice paid yourself; Ochre does not reconcile payments for you.
The sources, word for word
Each quote is copied from the source as it read on 20 October 2026.
Atradius: B2B payment practices trends in Asia 2025
Overdue invoices currently affect an average 44% of all B2B credit sales across the region
Atradius: B2B payment practices trends, North America 2026
Late payment remains a widespread challenge across the region, affecting seven in ten companies. Overdue invoices account for an average 23% of B2B receivables.
Payment Times Reporting Regulator: Regulator’s Update, August 2026
Paid on time (within terms) (%): 68.5
to reach 95 per cent of small business invoices paid, it took 55 days
The 31.5% on this page is 100 minus 68.5: our arithmetic, not a figure the Regulator prints.
Atradius: B2B payment practices trends in Western Europe 2026 (report page)
about one quarter of invoices are paid after the due date
European Commission: Late Payments Regulation factsheet
Over 500 invoices are issued every second in the EU.
1/2 is not paid on time
1/4 bankruptcies are due to invoices not being paid on time
at least 5 man-days currently lost to chasing debtors, equal to € 8.74 billion for the entire EU economy
Freelancers Union: Special Report, the costs of nonpayment
This year, we surveyed over five thousand freelance workers across the United States to learn more about the nonpayment problem and shine a spotlight on the facts.
71% of freelancers struggle to collect payment for work at least once in the course of their career.
Atradius: Payment Practices Barometer, Western Europe (AAP release)
Nearly four in five companies report late payments with one in four reporting losses of up to 5%, a level that steadily erodes working capital and profitability.
Small Business Commissioner: late payments research (London Economics for the Department for Business and Trade)
Businesses are owed an estimated £26 billion in late payments at any given time
GAME, FISME and C2FO: Delayed Payments Report 3.0
The value of delayed payments owed to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) has fallen to Rs 7.34 lakh crore as of March 2024, according to the Delayed Payments Report 3.0, “MSME’s Access to Finance and Timely Payments,” released by the Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship (GAME), the Federation of Indian Micro and Small & Medium Enterprises (FISME), and C2FO.
These are separate studies, with different years (2015 to 2026), regions, bases (credit sales, receivables, invoices, money) and methods, so the figures are not added together or compared. A press release and a survey are not audits.