The headline numbers
59% of US small businesses are carrying invoices 30 days overdue, the average amount waiting is $17,700, and getting paid takes 29.3 days. Every figure on this page comes from a named primary source, linked in the sources section. Last checked: 29 August 2026.
How common late payment is
59% carry invoices 30 days overdue
Nearly three in five US small businesses have at least some invoices overdue by 30 days or more in 2026, up from 47% a year earlier. Source: QuickBooks 2026 Small Business Late Payments Report.
$17,700 owed on average
Businesses waiting on unpaid invoices are owed $17,700 on average, roughly level with $17,500 the year before. Source: QuickBooks 2026 Small Business Late Payments Report.
22% have a fifth of invoices stuck
For around one business in five, at least 20% of all invoices sit unpaid past the 30 day mark. Source: QuickBooks 2026 Small Business Late Payments Report.
43% of B2B credit sales are overdue
Across North America, 43% of credit-based B2B sales are overdue, driven primarily by customer cash flow pressures. Source: Atradius Payment Practices Barometer, North America 2025.
What one late invoice does
39% struggled to cover payroll or bills
Two in five owners say a single late payment made it hard to cover payroll or bills in the past year. 27% say a miss under $5,000 was enough, and 12% were strained by one under $1,000. Source: QuickBooks 2026 Small Business Late Payments Report.
49% squeezed even after the client pays
Half of owners say normal payment processing times create critical or moderate cash flow gaps after the customer has already paid, and 59% paid extra fees in 2025 just to access money sooner. Source: QuickBooks 2026 Small Business Late Payments Report.
42% passed the delay on
Late money in becomes late money out: 42% of businesses say pressures delayed the payments they owed their own contractors, suppliers and vendors. Source: QuickBooks 2026 Small Business Late Payments Report.
5% of long overdue invoices go bad
About one long overdue invoice in twenty is never collected at all. Source: Atradius Payment Practices Barometer, North America 2025.
How long invoices actually wait
29.3 days to get paid
US small businesses waited an average of 29.3 days for invoices to be paid in the June 2026 quarter, up from 28.6 days the quarter before. Source: Xero Small Business Insights, US, June 2026 quarter.
8.5 days past terms
The average invoice was settled 8.5 days late in the June 2026 quarter, easing through the quarter to 8.3 days in June itself. Source: Xero Small Business Insights, US, June 2026 quarter.
The terms make the difference
The same QuickBooks report shows the wait is often set before the invoice goes out: 55% of businesses on net 30 terms carry overdue invoices against 26% of those requiring immediate payment, and among businesses with no overdue invoices at all, 64% require payment up front. Which terms to use and the exact wording are covered in the payment terms guide. When the date passes, the late fee generator writes the follow-up with the new balance worked out, and a payment link on the invoice removes the easiest excuse not to pay.
Sources
QuickBooks 2026 Small Business Late Payments Report, published July 2026, drawing on the quarterly Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Insights survey of about 5,000 respondents and a December 2025 survey of 1,305 US business owners.
Xero Small Business Insights, United States, June 2026 quarter, built on aggregated and anonymised data from more than 32,000 US small businesses on the Xero platform since 2017.
Atradius Payment Practices Barometer, North America 2025, the annual B2B payment practices survey covering the US, Canada and Mexico.
Figures are quoted as published and each carries its source above. This page is rechecked when the sources publish new editions.