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Irish firms getting better at paying up

Thursday, March 21 10:10:50

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.

Businesses in the Republic of Ireland paid creditor invoices 24.37 days beyond invoice terms during the period October 2012 - March 2013 compared with 27.01 days beyond terms from October 2011 - March 2012.

Businesses in Northern Ireland paid their bills nine days quicker than their counterparts in the Republic, paying on average 15.4 days beyond terms during the six month period.

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.

This payment performance analysis reveals that businesses in the South paid their bills on average 24.37 days beyond terms from October 2012 to March 2013 compared with 27.01 days beyond terms the previous year.

Businesses in the Six Counties paid their bills on average 15.4 days beyond terms during the six month period compared with 15.48 days beyond terns from October 2011 to March 2012.

Firms in Longford are the fastest payers, averaging 18.04 days beyond terms from October 2012 to March 2013 while businesses in Galway are now the slowest to settle their bills averaging 29.28 days beyond terms.

Danielle Span-Dominy, Marketing Executive at Experian Ireland explains, "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. The new Experian Online Credit Report is a great resource for SMEs to check their own credit report as well as their customers so that businesses can make insightful credit decisions based on the most up to date data available."