Small business invoices at the double
Over a third of the UK's 3.7 million small businesses are losing thousands of pounds each year by mistakenly paying the same bill or invoice twice.
Over a third (37%) of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) admit they have paid a bill twice in error, according to Bank of Scotland Corporate Banking.
The Bank's survey of 1,000 SMEs across the UK, reveals one in eight businesses have lost up to £1,000 a year through double payment with one in 50 having lost over £5,000. Six businesses surveyed had lost between £5,000 and £50,000 while one unlucky business lost over £50,000.
However, it appears size does matter when it comes to paying invoices. Over two-thirds (68 per cent) of businesses with less than 10 employees claim they've never paid an invoice twice. For businesses employing over 100 people, this drops to just 37 per cent.
Female owner-managers are generally more careful than their male counterparts with two-thirds claiming to have never paid an invoice twice compared to just over half of male owner-managers. Older bosses also appear to be more careful. While just 26 per cent of owner-managers aged over 56 have paid a bill in error, this rises to 43 per cent for those aged under 35.
A number of interesting regional and sectoral patterns are also evident. Welsh and Birmingham-based businesses appear to be the most careful at not paying invoices twice (35 per cent and 36 per cent respectively have done so). Businesses in Scotland and Yorkshire are the least successful in this area (46 per cent admit to having done so). When it comes to issuing multiple copies of invoices, however, it is Manchester businesses which do so most frequently while Newcastle SMEs rarely do so (41 per cent compared with 28 per cent).
On both counts, businesses in the professional sector appear to be the most careful in not sending or paying bills twice (71 per cent have never paid an invoice twice and just 22 per cent have ever sent a bill twice). The opposite is the case within the agricultural sector where half of businesses (50 per cent) admit they've double-paid and two-fifths have been guilty of multiple invoicing.
Eddie Morrison, Managing Director of Bank of Scotland Corporate Banking, said: "The evident culture of businesses issuing multiple invoices and those being caught by double-paying is quite alarming. Unless all invoices are cross-referenced before payment, there is a real danger SMEs will continue to lose thousands of pounds in a vicious circle."