There has been growing interest from suppliers in regularly receiving early payment once an invoice is approved as an alternative source of finance. In 2021, one-fifth (22%) of suppliers were interested in receiving early payment every time for every customer, compared to 15% in 2017.

The supplier's reasons for taking early payments varied. In 2021, the main reasons for their interest in early payments were*:

1. Cash flow gap (49%)

2. Collections/payment predictability (27%)

3. Working capital needs (21%)

4. Ease of use (18%)

5. Reduce DSO (7%)

There is also a clear progression towards better behaviour from businesses with a welcome decrease in late payment, which fell from 45% in 2017 to 36% in 2021. The reduction in late payments signifies improvements in automation and businesses’ desire to promote their suppliers’ financial health.

Cedric Bru, CEO of Taulia, said: “The financial health of suppliers is paramount to building robust supply chains. These results speak for themselves when it comes to showing the progress being made around ensuring that suppliers get paid as they desire - early or on-time. This year has seen significant disruption to supply chains due to a wide range of external factors, but adequate financing shouldn’t be a barrier.

“By working together, those at every point along the supply chain can support the growth of their own business and that of others by offering choice, flexibility, and consistency when it comes to getting paid. We hope to see continued progress with this for every size of business and know that by providing the best technology, we can actively help to make these choices available to as many businesses as possible.”

About the research

Taulia has held an annual Supplier Survey each year since 2017, with reports published the following year. During this period, 79,918 survey responses have been collected globally. Survey respondents were contacted via email and varied across geography, job title, and industry.

To read the full report, https://taulia.com/resources/supplier-survey-reports/supplier-survey-5-year-review/

*Note: Respondents to this question were offered the choice of multiple answers, hence the >100% totals.

About Taulia

Taulia is a leading fintech provider of working capital management solutions. Taulia helps companies access liquidity tied up in their payables, receivables and inventory. A network of more than 2 million businesses use Taulia’s platform to determine when they want to pay and be paid. Taulia processes more than $500 billion each year and is trusted by the world’s largest companies including Airbus, AstraZeneca, and Nissan.