ISME's survey of SME owners for the first quarter of 2026 found they waited 44 days on average to be paid, five days longer than the quarter before. Late payment often has an ordinary cause, such as an unclear due date, an invoice that stalls in the customer's approval process, a payment that depends on someone remembering to make it, or a customer short of cash. Which fix makes sense depends on the cause, and statutory interest is there for business customers who still pay late.
In this article
The short version
- ISME's Q1 2026 survey found SMEs waited 44 days on average to be paid.
- 82% of respondents don't charge late payment interest on overdue invoices.
- Unclear dates, stuck approvals and forgotten transfers can all delay payment.
- Reminders before the due date and direct debit remove the need to remember.
- Statutory interest applies to business customers from the day after the due date.
What the Irish figures show
One regular Irish measure is ISME's quarterly Prompt Payments Report. In Q1 2026 its respondents waited 44 days on average to be paid. 24% of them said big businesses were taking longest to pay, and 14% pointed to Government Departments. The survey had 80 respondents, so I'd read it as a direction of travel and not a precise figure for every Irish business.
Two other numbers from the same report say a lot about how suppliers respond. 82% of respondents don't charge interest on late payments, and 13% are afraid to charge for late payment in case they lose the customer. Interest on late payments between businesses is a legal entitlement under S.I. 580 of 2012, which suggests many suppliers leave that right unused.
Public bodies are a separate case, because the Government's prompt payment policy asks them to pay suppliers within 15 calendar days of receiving a valid invoice. It's an administrative policy, not law, and it doesn't change your contract, but it gives you a reasonable expectation to hold a public body to.
Five ordinary reasons an invoice gets paid late
I'd argue that most late payment isn't a customer deciding not to pay. It tends to be one of a handful of ordinary things, and each one calls for something different from you.
An invoice that says "payment on receipt", or carries no due date at all, leaves the customer to decide when to pay. Where no date was agreed between businesses, the law sets a default of 30 days after the later of receiving the invoice or delivery, which may be later than you expected.
Sometimes the invoice can't get through the customer's own process, because a business customer's accounts team may hold an invoice that's missing something it needs, such as your VAT number, a unique invoice number or a clear description of what was supplied. Some contracts also include an acceptance or verification step, and the payment clock can start from that date, up to 30 days after delivery unless the contract expressly allows longer and that isn't grossly unfair to you.
Often, paying depends on someone remembering to do it, because a bank transfer only happens when a person logs in, finds your details and sends it. If that person is busy, on leave or waiting for a sign-off, your invoice waits too.
Your customer may be short of cash, or simply putting other bills first. Larger customers came up in ISME's figures above, and when no interest is charged, a customer loses little by paying later.
Sometimes there's a dispute nobody has mentioned. If a customer is unhappy with part of your work, they may hold the whole invoice, and a reminder is less likely than a phone call from you to bring the reason out.
How to respond to each reason
| Reason | What tends to help |
|---|---|
| Unclear due date | A specific date on every invoice and in your terms of business |
| Invoice stuck in approval | A complete invoice with every detail on Revenue's VAT invoice list, sent to the right contact |
| Payment depends on someone remembering | A reminder before the due date, a payment link the customer can use from their phone, or SEPA direct debit for regular amounts |
| Cash or priorities | Statutory interest and compensation for business customers, applied consistently |
| Unspoken dispute | A call early on, before reminders escalate |
A reminder a few days before the due date takes little effort and can catch a forgotten invoice before it becomes late. For customers who pay you every month, direct debit takes the remembering out altogether. Once a signed mandate is in place you collect on the due date, after giving notice.
For business customers who pay late by habit, interest changes the arithmetic. The statutory rate is the ECB main refinancing rate plus 8%, which is 10.4% a year from 1 July 2026 and is reset every 1 January and 1 July, and you can add fixed compensation of €40, €70 or €100 depending on the invoice amount. Consumers are outside these rules, so none of this applies to individuals. If the 13% worry about losing a customer applies to you, putting interest in your terms before work starts and applying it to every business customer tends to make it feel less personal when you do charge it.
Where automation fits
You'll notice most of the fixes above are routine, and routine work tends to be what slips when you're busy. Adfin takes SEPA direct debit, card, Apple Pay, Google Pay and bank transfer, and sends payment links by email, SMS or WhatsApp, so a customer can pay from the reminder itself. Its free Essential credit control sends unlimited reminders on those channels and gives you an aged debtors view, where each overdue account gets an owner and a next step.
For business customers, Enhanced credit control adds statutory late payment interest automatically, with grace periods and waivers for customers you've decided to treat differently. It also brings in Adfin's collection agents, which follow up within rules you approve. You pay 0.3% per paid invoice for Enhanced, and only while it's in use.
Software won't settle a dispute or decide when an account needs a solicitor's letter. Those calls stay with you, with the routine follow-up running alongside.
Common questions
What is the average time Irish SMEs wait for payment? ISME's survey of SME owners for Q1 2026 found an average wait of 44 days, up five days on the previous quarter. The survey had 80 respondents.
Who pays Irish small businesses latest? In ISME's Q1 2026 survey, 24% of respondents said big businesses took longest to pay and 14% said Government Departments did.
Do Irish small businesses charge late payment interest? In ISME's Q1 2026 survey, 82% of respondents said they don't charge interest on late payments, and 13% said they were afraid to in case they lost the customer.
How quickly should a public body pay an invoice in Ireland? Government policy asks public bodies to pay within 15 calendar days of receiving a valid invoice. It's an administrative policy and doesn't change the terms of your contract.
When is an invoice due if no payment date was agreed? Between businesses, payment is due 30 days after the later of the customer receiving the invoice or delivery of the goods or services.
Can I charge interest to a consumer who pays late? Statutory late payment interest and compensation apply to business and public body customers only. Individuals buying outside their trade or profession aren't covered.
Sources
- ISME - Prompt Payments Report Q1 2026 (accurate as of November 2026) https://isme.ie/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Q1-2026-Prompt-Payments.pdf
- Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment - Prompt Payment Returns (accurate as of November 2026) https://enterprise.gov.ie/en/what-we-do/supports-for-smes/late-payments/prompt-payment-returns/
- Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment - Late Payment Interest Rate (accurate as of November 2026) https://enterprise.gov.ie/en/what-we-do/supports-for-smes/late-payments/late-payment-interest-rate-
- Irish Statute Book - S.I. No. 196/2014, European Communities (Late Payment in Commercial Transactions) (Amendment) Regulations 2014 (accurate as of November 2026) https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2014/si/196/made/en/print
- Revenue - Information required on a VAT invoice (accurate as of November 2026) https://www.revenue.ie/en/vat/vat-records-invoices-credit-notes/invoices/information-required-vat-invoice.aspx
