Late payment isn’t just a nuisance anymore, it’s a defining pressure on UK businesses. Recent figures show that 90% of UK companies experienced late payments in the past year, with average delays of 32 days beyond agreed terms. SMEs alone are carrying £23.4bn in overdue invoices at any given time, with 54% of B2B invoices paid late. For many clients, cash flow is tight, unpredictable, and often out of sync with when your invoices land. 1) [coface.uk] [collecthq.io]
Against that backdrop, practices offering diverse payment options upfront position themselves as modern, client‑centric partners—while removing a significant operational burden internally.
When clients are shown flexible options at the start of an engagement, they see a practice that’s:
- Professional – Clear, transparent payment choices demonstrate a well‑run, process‑driven firm.
- Client‑centric – Flexibility acknowledges that every business has its own cash‑flow rhythm.
- Forward‑thinking – In a market where only a quarter of invoices are paid on time, offering modern payment solutions helps you stand out.
And the benefits for practices are significant:
- More predictable cash flow – Critical in a landscape where average UK Days Soles Outstanding (DSO) sits at 52 days, well beyond typical 30‑day terms. 2) [collecthq.io]
- Fewer overdue invoices – Reducing the risk that your fees become part of the £112 billion currently locked up in late payments across UK businesses. 3) [sage.com]
- Less strain on credit control – A national study shows UK businesses spend an average of 86 hours per year chasing overdue invoices, totalling 133 million hours of lost productivity across the economy. 4) [smallbusin…ner.gov.uk]
- Stronger relationships – Payment conversations stop feeling corrective and instead become collaborative.
The timing problem: why “late‑stage” fee finance doesn’t work
Offering finance options isn’t the issue. The real problem is waiting until invoices are 30, 60, or 90+ days overdue before mentioning them.
By that stage:
- The client feels under pressure.
- Your team has invested hours chasing payment.
- The conversation becomes awkward.
- Admin spirals as each overdue case becomes a one‑off intervention.
This reactive approach wastes time and erodes goodwill. It also clashes with the reality that more than 87% of UK businesses are paid late at least once a year. Late payment is common—but preventable with the right systems. 5) [collecthq.io]
Introducing options like Fee Finance by Keys Finance upfront changes the dynamic entirely. Clients see financing as a standard, sensible choice—not a rescue plan when they’ve fallen behind. Uptake increases, tension evaporates, and invoices stop ageing unnecessarily.
It’s one of the simplest operational shifts a practice can make—and one of the most impactful.
Review your payment offering now
Take an honest look at your current payment options:
- Do they reflect how your clients actually want to pay?
- Are you supporting clients proactively, or only reacting once payment becomes a problem?
- Could your credit control team reclaim hours every month with a more flexible, automated approach?
Expanding your payment offering—and crucially, presenting it at the start of every engagement—can transform cash flow, reduce overhead, and strengthen your client experience.
Put simply: the earlier the options, the fewer the problems.
Now is the time for every UK accountancy practice to rethink how clients pay—and to make flexibility a standard, strategic part of your service. If you would like to find out how Keys can help get in touch today – https://www.keysfinance.co.uk/next-day-professional-fee-finance/
