A quarter of Slovak firms lags behind when it comes to paying their invoices on time. (source: SME)
Slovak companies are the least disciplined firms in Europe when it comes to paying their invoices on time, suggests the European Payment Practices study conducted by the EOS KSI company in 2018.
The data from last year indicates that up to 27 percent of payments by Slovak firms came either late or never. In addition, the figure has not changed compared with 2017.
“Late payments, or the fact that companies do not receive any remuneration at all, can cause serious cracks in business and significantly disrupt cash flow,” said Michal Šoltes of EOS KSI Slovakia, as quoted in the firm's press release.
However, it is not just the case of firms from Slovakia. eastern European companies fare worse in payment discipline than firms in western Europe.
Payment balance of firms in eastern Europe. Figures in the brackets come from 2017. (source: EOS KSI)
Apart from Slovakia, the study included Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Greece and Russia among eastern European countries.
Firms become more responsible
Slovakia, which scored the worst among the studied 17 European countries, was followed by Greece and Romania. In both countries, 26 percent of payments by firms are late or never paid.
Eastern companies have yet to improve their figures. The average of past due invoices was at 25 percent in 2017. And last year the figure decreased by 3 percentage points, to 22 percent.
Firms in western Europe also performed better in terms of payment discipline in 2018. For example, Danish firms are the most responsible in Europe, with only 15 percent of overdue invoices.
Payment balance of firms in western Europe. Figures in the brackets come from 2017. (source: EOS KSI)
The average of late or never executed payments in the West dropped from 20 to 19 percent in the previous year, the study indicates.
The European Payment Practices study looked at 3,400 firms across Europe.
