Late Payments Aren’t Going Anywhere

By: Charlotte Ng, Chief Product Officer, OneAM
Published Friday, May 30, 2025 | Estimated read time: 3 min

Delaying payments to suppliers is a long-standing practice by large companies to optimize their working capital and liquidity. But for small and midsize businesses, that delay creates real pain – collections risk, tighter cash flow, and limited runway for growth. According to a survey on B2B payment practices by credit insurer Atradius , 50% of B2B invoices are overdue, with payments taking place on average 20 days past due. The result? Suppliers end up with delayed payroll, deferred investments, and increased borrowing costs. 

It’s about to get more painful.  

Q1 Earnings Signal More Pressure Ahead  

In the latest company earnings, we saw large companies withhold their 2025 revenue and earnings guidance, as tariffs and changes in regulatory policies cloud their visibility and confidence in their near-term business performance. Majors like Dow, Procter & Gamble, IBM, PepsiCo, and Hasbro indicated that they would reduce capital expenditure, cut expenses such as employee travel and consulting, and retool their supply chains to be as cost-efficient as possible. Large enterprise buyers have the upper hand in negotiations and are able to push for longer payment terms. This helps their financials look better to investors with higher Days Payable Outstanding (DPO) and healthier cash flow.  

What Business Owners Can Do 

When we talk to businesses that cater to large customers, these words keep surfacing: manual, messy, slow. The back-and-forth of invoice approvals and outdated processes inflate Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) and delay vital cash flow. While renegotiating terms can be difficult, there are smart steps businesses can take: 

• Streamline invoice processes through automation and best practices 

• Improve collections with better tracking and payment reminder workflows 

• Explore early payment programs, if the structure is affordable and doesn’t hurt customer relationships 

Cash is Queen: How OneAM Can Help 

At OneAM, our goal is to provide accessible and affordable early pay to businesses selling goods or services to large corporates. With our easy onboarding process, intuitive user experience, and a powerful underlying infrastructure backed by sophisticated, data-driven capital providers, we can do this in a way that doesn’t bother your customers and gives you maximum flexibility and control over when and what terms to accept. During times of economic uncertainty, cash is queen, and OneAM Early Pay helps you control the controllable by shoring up liquidity and managing your collections risk.  

Learn more on our website and schedule a demo at info@oneam.us.