One in three small business invoices are paid late, new ANNA Money data reveals

More than a third (35%) of small business invoices were paid late over the last 12 months, according to new data from ANNA Money, the AI-powered business account that does taxes automatically. As the King’s Speech puts late payments back on the political agenda, it shows both the scale of the UK late-payments crisis on small businesses across the country.

Over the past 12 months, more than one in three invoices issued by UK small businesses using ANNA were paid late, new data shows. Of the 383,000 invoices paid through the platform during the year, 134,028 (35%) had to be chased after passing their due date, representing £196 million in overdue payments. 

The figures underline just how significant the late-payment problem has become for SMEs, with millions of pounds owed to small businesses sitting unpaid and in limbo at any given time.

ANNA’s automated invoice-chasing system only follows up once an invoice has passed its due date – meaning business owners no longer have to spend valuable time sending awkward follow-up emails or chasing clients themselves.

Once ANNA sends a single reminder, the impact is immediate:

• Half of all chased invoices are paid within 7 days.
• Two-thirds are paid within two weeks.
• 84% are paid within 30 days.
• On average, it takes just 1.86 polite nudges before money lands in a small business’s account.

“For small business owners, late payment means stress, uncertainty and wasted time chasing money they’re already owed,” says ANNA co-CEO and co-founder Eduard Panteleev. “What our data shows is that simple, timely reminders make a huge difference – half of overdue invoices are paid within a week of a single chase.

“The fact that ANNA chased £196 million worth of overdue invoices in just one year shows how widespread the problem still is. That’s money small businesses have earned, but can’t properly rely on while it remains unpaid. For many SMEs, cash flow – not profitability –  is often the difference between growth and survival. Delayed payments can mean putting off hiring, investment or even paying themselves. Small businesses shouldn’t have to act as debt collectors just to protect their cash flow.”

To find out more about how ANNA supports small businesses, visit anna.money. 

About ANNA:
ANNA Money is an AI-powered business account that automates taxes and accounting for SMEs. From creating and chasing invoices, receipt scanning and even helping to set aside the right amount of money for tax, ANNA’s aim is to make life easier for small business owners – so they can focus on business, not admin. ANNA has more than 50,000 active customers every month and currently has a Trustpilot rating of 4.6 ‘Excellent’.

• ANNA won Accounting Tech of the Year at the UK Fintech Awards 2026 in April; was in Bloomberg’s 25 Startups to Watch in 2024 list, and has been featured in the CB Insights Top 100, ranked #26 in the Deloitte Fast 50 and #32 in The Sunday Times 100 Tech List.
• ANNA won “GenAI Application in Financial Services” at the 2026 FStech Awards. The company continues to pioneer the use of AI, machine learning and Large Language Models (LLMs) to make things simpler and easier for small businesses across the UK.
• ANNA entered the Australian market in 2025 and will shortly add expense management and credit cards to its offering for UK customers.