adminConcerns that the coronavirus lockdown has opened the door for large corporates to avoid paying smaller suppliers for their services has prompted the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry to launch a survey among its members probing allegations of non-payment.
The Chamber says it is conducting the survey following a spike in complaints of non-payment from small and medium enterprises (SMEs), who say that they are struggling to make ends meet as a result of not being paid by their corporate clients. They fear that a lack of cash flow could spark a wave of closures and job losses, exacerbating the impact of the coronavirus where they are already hard hit.
Non-payment is not a new struggle faced by SMEs. Fin24 previously reported that late payments have been called the “assassin of small businesses” and that over 90 percent of small businesses are impacted by late payments.
A survey by the Small Business Institute (SBI) in 2019 suggested that as many as 40 percent of late payments were being written off as bad debt by SMEs and they received payments, on average, were made 101 days after the 30-day target. — fin24.com
Online Reporter