Timely payments are essential for businesses to maintain a healthy cash flow, enabling them to pay their employees, cover operating costs, and make investments that drive growth.
Unfortunately, the ongoing late payment crisis has been a significant challenge for many businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises.
Late payments are a growing concern, as highlighted by Xero's data from 2019, which reported that 48% of invoices faced payment delays each month on average. By 2022, Chaser's late payment report revealed that this number had jumped to 87%, affecting nearly 9 in 10 businesses.
In light of the ongoing problem, Chaser set an ambitious target, to get $5 billion USD collected for businesses in 2023 to help combat the issue of late payments. Chaser helps businesses get paid with its end-to-end accounts receivables automation platform. Businesses can credit check, monitor debtors, chase outstanding invoices via SMS and email, collect payments and recover debt, all on the same platform.
The Chaser team is excited to announce that the $5 billion USD target has now been met - and exceeded!
During the $5 billion USD collected campaign, Chaser rolled out a counter on the website homepage to display the current total, which was updated daily. Monthly updates were celebrated on Chaser’s social media accounts and shared with all users in the newsletter.
While achieving the milestone of $5 billion in payments collected is an incredible achievement, Chaser will continue to strive to ensure that all businesses get paid in an efficient and friendly way, so that they can improve cash flow.
Why is it so important to get invoices paid?
Timely payments are far more than just money. For small and medium-sized enterprises, they are essential for survival as late payments create cash flow problems, leading to unexpected costs and the risk of insolvency.
There are several negative implications connected to late payment of invoices, including:
- Difficulty maintaining operations - Companies with cash flow problems may have to turn down projects, hire fewer employees or delay investments, thereby limiting their ability to grow and compete in the market.
- Stress for the business owners - Late payments cause a lot of stress and hassle for small business owners who are already hard at work trying to keep their businesses going. Over 40% of business owners have reported anxiety due to late payments.
- Damage to credit scores - The impact of late payments on credit scores can be incredibly damaging. It can make it difficult for businesses to access financing or other forms of credit.
- Reduced capacity - When payments are not made in a timely manner, businesses have less ability to invest in new technology and expand operations.
- An overwhelming administrative burden - Having to track down customers for unpaid invoices can quickly become a full-time job, taking away from other responsibilities. Research shows that 50% of businesses spend more than four hours weekly on accounts receivables tasks.
- Issues establishing customer trust - Late payment can put a significant strain on customer relationships, undoing years of hard work and reducing the chances of future business.
- Reduced overall business stability - Cash flow problems can increase stress levels for employees and owners. Business owners can feel powerless and vulnerable, with their business finances hanging in the balance, while employees can face potential layoffs. This makes recruiting and retaining talent or having staff concentrate on operations challenging.
- Problems fueling business growth - Late payments can hinder businesses from entering new markets, launching new products and services, and expanding existing operations.
These issues are all too common for businesses, yet they can be avoided with the right tools and strategies.
Chaser is proud to have achieved the goal of collecting $5 billion for businesses in 2023, but much more work still needs to be done. Chaser will continue to fight to ensure all companies are paid on time.
Chaser's role in empowering timely payments
Chaser's end-to-end accounts receivable automation platform enables businesses to get paid on time, every time! With Chaser, businesses can easily create and send automated reminders when an invoice is due and monitor the status of payments for all invoices.
A combination of email and SMS increases a business’s chance of getting paid within a week of the invoice due date by 56%, proving that automated reminders are a must-have for any business. This eliminates the need for manual invoice tracking and reduces the time spent chasing up outstanding payments. The platform also enables businesses to access real-time insights and comprehensively see their accounts receivables.
These insights help businesses make smarter decisions and optimise their cash flow, further helping them to eliminate potential financial risks. Regarding risk management, Chaser's credit checking and payer rating features help businesses assess the risk associated with new customers and identify any potential credit issues. By understanding a customer’s individual payment habits, businesses can protect themselves from late payments and financial losses.
When customers choose to make payments, Chaser's Payment Portals give them a secure and straightforward way to pay their invoices. Offering multiple payment options and all the required payment data helps customers pay quickly and easily.
This is just the start of Chaser’s mission to ensure that all businesses get paid on time, every time. Through a combination of automation, artificial intelligence, and powerful features, Chaser will continue to empower businesses with the tools they need to stay financially secure.
Goal reached: $5 billion collected and the impact it has on businesses
The $5 billion in payments collected by businesses using Chaser in 2023 is a significant milestone and an essential step towards achieving greater financial security and stability.
Chaser embarked on this mission for numerous reasons including:
- Market demand: Late payments can be a significant issue for SMEs, affecting their cash flow and ability to operate smoothly.
- Improving SMEs’ financial health: Assisting SMEs in recovering late payments can significantly improve their financial health. This, in turn, can lead to business growth, job creation, and overall economic stability.
- Enhancing customer relationships: Chaser's mission is driven by a desire to help SMEs maintain positive relationships with their clients while still ensuring they get paid on time. This could lead to stronger, more long-lasting partnerships.
- Reducing economic inefficiencies: Late payments can create inefficiencies in the economy, causing delays in investment, stifling innovation, and preventing companies from taking full advantage of opportunities. By helping SMEs recover these payments, Chaser might aim to address these inefficiencies.
- Regulatory compliance: Some regions or industries may have regulations or guidelines around timely payments. Chaser wants to help SMEs meet these compliance requirements.
- Economic stimulus: Helping SMEs recover late payments can inject a significant amount of money back into the economy, potentially leading to broader economic benefits.
The payments have enabled businesses to cover costs, invest in new technology, expand operations and keep their employees paid on time. Chaser’s software and services have also allowed businesses to manage their cash flow better and focus on the growth of their business rather than worrying about chasing up late payments.
However, this has been a collaborative effort between Chasers and our customer's hard-working credit controllers and finance professionals at the frontline of chasing payments. Without their efforts, the success of this milestone would not have been possible. These teams have gone above and beyond to ensure timely payments and ultimately reach this milestone.
Real success stories: businesses transformed
A manufacturing business using Chaser got invoices worth $136,073,008.36 USD paid through Chaser’s software since the beginning of 2023. This payment ensures that the company maintains a steady cash flow, reducing delays and disruptions in their production cycle.
A technology company in the UK using Chaser has seen that invoices worth $64,752,341.14 USD have been paid so far in 2023. This helps the company effectively manage its finances and focus more on innovation and growth without being concerned about unpaid bills.
Not only are these businesses recovering the money they are owed, but many Chaser users are receiving these payments significantly faster than they previously were before using automation. For example, Wren Accountancy got their DSO reduced by 60% after implementing Chaser’s software.
Using Chaser gives these businesses a more consistent inflow of cash to cover their expenses, and helps them avoid the cash flow struggles that were previously faced when waiting for late payments.
Chaser's strategies: Confronting payment delays
A proactive approach is essential when it comes to getting paid on time. Chaser empowers businesses to take control of their payment process and increase timely payments. Chaser's automated payment reminders feature helps businesses stay on top of invoices, with the correct information delivered at the right time. This ensures that customers are constantly aware of when an invoice is due and reduces the likelihood of late payments.
Businesses also benefit from Chaser’s comprehensive tracking and real-time data insights so they can monitor and analyse their accounts receivables. By understanding each customer's performance in detail, businesses are better equipped to identify any customers at risk of late payments and take the necessary steps to prevent them.
Beyond the milestone: future goals and initiatives
While achieving the milestone of $5 billion in payments collected is a significant victory for businesses, Chaser will continue to strive to ensure that all businesses are paid on time. Chaser's mission statement is, and continues to be, to assist small and medium-sized enterprises worldwide in receiving prompt, efficient, and friendly payments, saving them time on manual tasks while enhancing their cash flow.
The success of the $5 billion milestone has only further inspired Chaser to push forward with initiatives and strategies that will continue to help SMEs get paid on time, every time.
Sustaining support for business success
Chaser has always proscribed a proactive approach to payment management and will continue to do the same for Chaser users in the future. By providing businesses with the right tools and strategies, Chaser will continue to support them in achieving financial security and sustainability. Chaser is committed to helping businesses succeed through the introduction of new and innovative features that make it easier to get paid on time, including:
- The late payment predictor - Chaser's predictive analytics tool that can anticipate potential late payments and help businesses to take action in advance. These kinds of analytics features are invaluable when it comes to staying on top of payments.
- Recommended chasing time - A new feature that helps businesses identify the best time to send chasing emails to get paid faster. Correctly timing chasing emails is essential to ensure customers respond quickly.
These are just some of the new features Chaser has been working on to ensure that businesses get paid on time. Chaser's role in nurturing businesses' financial health goes beyond simply timely payments and will continue to help empower businesses to succeed.
The rest of 2023 and 2024 will see more projects, campaigns, or initiatives that align with Chaser's mission to help businesses secure their cash flow. Building on the use of AI and predictive analytics to anticipate payment delays, Chaser will continue to innovate and create solutions to support business owners.
Moving towards a brighter future
Achieving the milestone of $5 billion in payments is incredible for Chaser’s users. It demonstrates how powerful the use of automation can be when it comes to managing accounts receivables, resulting in greater cash flow security for businesses everywhere.
With that being said, even though Chaser has assisted businesses in getting paid 5 billion USD in 2023, this amount represents only a fraction of the total owed in late payments.
The late payment situation has never been worse, and many businesses have been fighting to stay afloat. Chaser has stood up for these businesses, provided a platform for them to get paid what they’re owed and ultimately build a healthier small business economy.
Moving forward, Chaser will continue to strive for both businesses and individuals to be paid on time. Chaser is dedicated to creating tools that empower users to take control of their accounts receivable process and maintain financial security.
To learn more about how Chaser can help you improve your accounts receivables process, book a demo with us today or start your 14-day free trial.
