The research
Late payment isn't the exception. It's the norm.
What the numbers say about getting paid as an Australian sole trader or small business, and why the hardest part isn't the reminder. It's knowing what to say.
69%
of Australian small business owners were paid late
GoCardless, 2025 (500 AU SMB owners)
78 hrs
a year spent chasing money, more than two working weeks
GoCardless, 2025 (≈1.5 hrs a week)
41%
of those paid late wait more than 14 days past due
GoCardless, 2025
39%
avoid money conversations with clients entirely
GoCardless, 2025
Chapter 01
A big market of people working alone
Around 2.8 million businesses were actively trading in Australia in June 2026. About 65% have no employees, and 97% have fewer than 20 staff.
For most of them, there's no accounts team. Whoever does the work also chases the money.
Chapter 02
The wait is long, and it's getting worse
In 2025, 69% of small business owners had been paid late, up from 63% the year before. Of those, 41% waited more than two weeks past the due date and 17% waited over a month.
Averages look better than it feels. Xero put average payment time at 23.9 days in the December 2025 quarter, but invoices were still paid 6.6 days late on average.
Chapter 03
Some industries have it much harder
CreditorWatch found overdue invoices at 92% of construction businesses, and 87% in distribution and business services.
Payment disputes are now the most common reason small businesses seek one-to-one help from the Small Business Ombudsman (ASBFEO). Requests rose 67% in the year to December 2024, and the ASBFEO received 8,142 requests in 2024–25.
Chapter 04
The real problem: the conversation
“68% see late payment as an inevitable cost of doing business.”
39% avoid money conversations entirely. 23% would write off 6% or more of their turnover rather than have a difficult conversation.
Most owners don't need yet another tool. They need confidence and a script: what to say at each stage, when to get firmer, and what's allowed.
Chapter 05
What most owners don't know
- Australia's consumer and finance regulators (ACCC and ASIC) have guidance on contact hours and on how often you can contact someone about a debt.
- When a letter of demand is appropriate, and how to word it.
- In NSW and Victoria, debts between businesses go to the Local Court and Magistrates' Court, not NCAT or VCAT.
- The Small Business Ombudsman (ASBFEO) offers free help with payment disputes.
General information only, not legal advice.
Chase gives you the script.
Clear, proportionate wording for every stage, sent on time, and stopped the moment you're paid.
Start freeSources
- GoCardless, Australian SMB late payments survey (2025, 500 owners)
- CreditorWatch, overdue invoices by sector
- Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO), assistance data 2024 and 2024–25
- Xero Small Business Insights, December 2025 quarter
- ABS, Counts of Australian Businesses (June 2026)
Figures from research compiled in September 2026.
Start with one unpaid invoice.
Add the client, amount and due date. See your reminder schedule, then choose your next follow-up.
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