The way we do finance today is changing constantly. It's no more about crunching numbers; it’s about managing unpredictability. 

Small and mid-sized businesses have always been stressed with late payments, shifting regional payment habits, and rising operational costs. But at the same time, automation and AI are reshaping how finance teams work. This can help all sizes of businesses to cut manual effort and improve visibility into cash flow. 

We have brought together the global data. From late payment behavior to automation trends, to shows where finance teams stand today, how technology is driving measurable gains, and what leaders can do to stay ahead. 

How common are late payments for SMBs?

• Over half of all B2B invoiced sales across the USA, UK, and Asia are overdue. According to Atradius, more than 50% of invoices miss their due dates and in some regions, it’s even worse. 

• Barclays reports that late payments hit 58% in the UK and soar past 60% in parts of Asia. 

• In the last 90 days alone, 52% of small businesses have faced at least one delayed customer payment, says the Federation of Self Employed & Small Businesses (FSB). 

• The FSB’s latest study reveals that 50% of all SME payments miss their due date. About 10% arrive 30 days late, while another 12% lag 60 days or more. The result? Billions in lost opportunities and growth potential for small businesses each year. 

• Late payments aren’t a new headache. Over the last 15 years, more than 40% of all credit invoices have never been paid on agreed terms, according to The Data Foundry. 

• Every 1-day delay in payment triggers a 1.1% rise in small-business borrowing adding up to a staggering US $278.7 billion globally. According to XSBI this borrowing need explodes when invoices are delayed by a week or more proving just how tightly cash flow and credit stress are linked. 

• Small-business owners lose around 5 hours every week just tracking and following up unpaid invoices.  

• Australian businesses lose about AU $1.1 billion, New Zealand businesses NZ $456 million, and UK businesses £684 million every year in extra financing and collection costs, according to an analysis of over 200,000 data points.

How widely is AR automation being adopted?

• A PYMNTS + American Express report found that 44% of US companies have automated only a handful of AR tasks, while 33% still rely almost entirely on manual processes.  

• According to a survey, 62% of companies planned to upgrade their AR tech in 2024.  

• A MineralTree survey revealed that 85% of finance teams using automation tools report higher efficiency in payment processing. Of these, 63% also noted that payments are now completed more on time, underscoring how automation smooths out the entire AR cycle.  

• According to PYMNTS.com, 62% of companies that implemented AR automation saw their Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) improve dramatically.

What’s driving the global AR automation market?

• The global AR automation market size was USD 3.40 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach USD 5.95 billion by 2030, with a CAGR of 11.84% from 2025-2030.  

• Large enterprises currently drive 52.4% of the global AR automation market. 

• SMEs are the fastest-growing group in AR automation market, with a projected 14.5% CAGR through 2030. 

• In 2025, software solutions accounted for a massive 86.5% of total AR automation market revenue. The cloud deployment model leads the market with 81.2% share in 2025, expected to grow at 16.8% CAGR through 2030. 

• The banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) sector leads AR automation adoption, holding 28.7% of total market share in 2025. 

• North America commands 44.9% of global AR automation revenue in 2025, thanks to strong digital adoption and advanced financial infrastructure. 

• According to Mordor Intelligence, the biggest growth drivers in AR automation are AI-powered credit analytics, cloud adoption by SMEs, and data-driven cash-flow visibility. These factors together boost working-capital efficiency by roughly 2.8-3.2%

What trends are shaping AR’s future?

• The average unapplied cash in global business services sits between 2% and 4% of total AR, showing that even mature finance teams still struggle with invoice matching and data visibility. 

• Manual tasks remain the biggest challenge in Order-to-Cash operations, with 62% of teams citing them as their top barrier to efficiency. 

• Roughly 40% of organizations say data accuracy and integration issues slow down collections and forecasting. 

• Only 2% of companies resolve AR disputes in a day, while 25% take 7-14 days, and another 25% stretch to 30 days, a huge drag on customer experience. 

• 15% of firms already use generative AI in Order-to-cash. Another 40% plan to implement it within a year, making AI-driven automation the fastest-growing trend in receivables management. 

• 56% of organizations of shared services deploy AI to automate O2C processes end-to-end, not just for reporting or chatbots. 

• 45% of AR teams are streamlining order processing to improve CX. 

• Customer-centric collection is on the rise 45% focus on faster order processing, 43% on better communication, and 38% on smoother payments.

How does AI help accounting professionals?

• 85% of accounting professionals say increased speed and efficiency is a top benefit of AI. 

• 68% of accounting professionals say AI reduces errors. 

• 63% of accounting/bookkeeping firms said workflow was their biggest challenge, according to Financial Cents’ 2024 State of Accounting Workflow Automation Report.  

• Leading finance teams achieved cost reductions of nearly 25% (as a percentage of revenue) in their finance functions via transformation (includes automation) in the 2024 Finance Effectiveness Benchmarking.

Moving from late payments to smart finance

The big picture is clear from the data that there are global payment delays, regional quirks, and manual finance processes that continue to slow businesses down. Yet, the rise of automation and AI is rewriting this story. Modern tools are helping finance teams not just to chase payments but to predict, prevent, and process them with speed and accuracy. 

That’s exactly where Forwardly makes a difference. 

With AI-powered payment automation, Forwardly gives finance teams real-time visibility into cash flow, faster collections, and fewer manual touchpoints. With its intelligent workflows, you can sync seamlessly with accounting software/ERP solutions and automate payments. That’s where your receivables turn into revenue without the usual lag. 

If your business is ready to move past overdue invoices and outdated manual processes, it’s time to take the next step. Sign up for free or watch a 30-second product tour.