Corporates often pay their invoices too late. In fact, one in seven Dutch corporate organizations fails to pay more than half of their incoming bills on time. The primary cause is not the economic uncertainty or liquidity issues, but rather the lengthy invoice approval process. This is one of the conclusions from research among more than 200 finance and procurement professionals, conducted by independent market research agency DirectResearch.
Less than half of the corporates in the Netherlands pays the majority of their invoices (80 – 100%) on time.
Causes of late payments
While there can be various reasons for delayed invoice payments, the research reveals that the primary cause is the lengthy manual approval process, which is still prevalent in a significant amount of corporations.
Another frequently mentioned reason for late invoice payments is the substantial number of corrections required during the invoice processing process. The cash policy is mentioned to a lesser extent and emerges as the third most common reason for paying too late.
Room for improvement
Clearly, there is still a lot to be gained from automation for corporate organizations when it comes to the purchase to pay process. Only 1 percent of the professionals surveyed indicated that their organization receives and processes all invoices entirely automatically.
Full trend report available for free
Would you like to learn more about how Dutch corporates have set up their purchase to pay process and the implications for Procurement and Finance? Download the full trend report for free.
In the report, you’ll find insights on:
- The extent to which indirect spend poses challenges for Finance and Procurement
- How purchase orders and invoices are generated within Dutch corporations
- The trends and developments influencing Procurement and Accounts Payable
