Businesses in Galway slowest in Ireland to pay their bills

Businesses in Galway are the slowest in Ireland to pay their bills, taking on average of more than 29 days past the due date to settle their accounts, new research has shown.

And this may be affecting smaller suppliers who are dependent on prompt payment of bills for their survival.

The payment performance of Irish companies over the past six months has improved by almost three full days when compared with the same period last year, according to the latest insights from Experian, the global information services company.

Businesses throughout Ireland paid creditor invoices 24.37 days beyond invoice terms on average during the period October 2012-March 2013 compared with 27.01 days for the same period the previous year.

But businesses in Galway are the slowest in Ireland to pay their bills, averaging 29.28 days beyond terms during the period October 2012–March 2013.

That’s a full day longer than those in the next slowest county, Waterford (28.14), who are followed by Louth (27.97), Kildare (27.56) and Sligo (26.27).

The most prominent bill payers were from Longford, where businesses paid up 18.04 days on average after accounts fell due. They were followed on the fast-payments table by Wicklow (20.27), Donegal (21.48) and Clare (21.56).

By analysing the payment records of tens of thousands of businesses in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, including those owned by overseas companies, Experian is able to identify both if and, crucially, when they are going to pay their debts.

Danielle Span-Dominy, Marketing Executive at Experian Ireland, said: “Most SMEs in Ireland rely on prompt payment of bills for survival and so it is imperative that businesses work together to improve overall payment performance.”

Read more in today’s Connacht Sentinel