When a customer takes 60 or 90 days to pay an invoice that should have been settled in 30 days, there is another way of looking at the transaction.

You are effectively providing the customer with finance, usually without charging them for it.

Late payment remains a significant problem for smaller businesses, although the latest Government statistics provide some encouraging evidence. Large businesses paid 15% of invoices late during 2025, compared with 25% in 2018. Their average payment time has also fallen from 35 days to 32 days over the same period.

Nevertheless, even a relatively small number of late invoices can create serious cash-flow problems.

Businesses should therefore consider measuring debtor performance rather than simply looking at the total amount outstanding.

Your accounting records should be capable of answering some straightforward questions. Which customers regularly pay late? How much cash is tied up in overdue invoices? How long does it normally take customers to pay? Is the position improving or deteriorating?

Then consider the commercial response.

Invoices should be issued promptly and clearly state the payment terms. Customers approaching their credit limit may need to be contacted before further work is undertaken. Regular late payers might justify different payment arrangements, deposits or staged payments.

There are also statutory remedies. Businesses can, in qualifying circumstances, claim interest and debt recovery costs on late commercial payments. GOV.UK confirms that where a payment date has not been agreed, a commercial payment will generally become late 30 days after the customer receives the invoice or the goods or services are supplied, whichever is later.

Government reforms are also intended to strengthen the late-payment regime, including proposals for maximum payment terms and stronger powers for the Small Business Commissioner.

The practical lesson, however, does not require new legislation.

A profitable business can still run short of cash if customers do not pay promptly. Debtor days should therefore be treated as a management figure rather than something that is examined only when cash becomes tight.

For many businesses, broadband has gradually become as important as electricity. Cloud accounting, video meetings, online backups, customer management systems and increasingly artificial intelligence applications all depend on reliable connectivity.

The Government’s latest Project Gigabit progress report, published on 22 September, says gigabit-capable broadband is now available to more than 88% of UK homes and businesses. Around four million premises remain without coverage, while the Government has a target of reaching 99% by 2032.

For businesses, however, the question is not simply whether faster broadband is available. It is whether better connectivity could allow the business to work differently.

A business that has tolerated a slow connection for several years may have adapted its working practices around that limitation without realising it. Large files may be stored locally, backups carried out overnight and staff discouraged from working remotely. Video meetings may be unreliable and cloud-based applications frustratingly slow.

If substantially faster broadband is now available, some of those assumptions may be worth reconsidering.

Start by looking at what your business actually needs rather than simply buying the fastest package available. How many people use the connection simultaneously? Which systems depend upon it? How disruptive would an outage be? Do you need a backup connection?

There may also be opportunities to reduce other costs. Improved connectivity could make cloud-based software more practical, support flexible working or reduce dependence on locally maintained servers and other equipment.

The latest Government figures also mean businesses previously unable to obtain a satisfactory connection should periodically check availability. Infrastructure is continuing to expand, so an answer received a year or two ago may no longer apply.

Broadband is easily treated as another monthly overhead. Increasingly, however, it is part of the infrastructure on which the whole business depends.

It may therefore deserve the same periodic review as insurance, banking, software and other essential business services.

Recent employment figures suggest that the number of people on UK payrolls is continuing to fall.

That does not necessarily mean your business should reduce its workforce. However, it does provide a useful reminder to look at one of the largest costs faced by many businesses.

The important question is not whether other employers are recruiting or reducing staff. It is whether your current workforce is right for your business.

Look beyond the monthly payroll

Start by considering what has happened to employment costs over the past couple of years.

Pay rises are only part of the picture. Employer’s National Insurance, pension contributions, benefits, training and other employment costs all contribute to the real cost of employing someone.

Compare this with what is happening to turnover, gross profit and productivity.

For example, if staffing costs have increased by 10%, but turnover has increased by only 3%, it is worth investigating why.

There may be a perfectly reasonable explanation, particularly if you have recruited ahead of anticipated growth. But it is better to understand the figures than simply allow costs to increase unnoticed.

Should every vacancy be replaced?

When someone leaves, there can be an automatic assumption that a replacement is needed.

Before recruiting, consider whether the job still needs to exist in exactly the same form.

Could responsibilities be reorganised? Could repetitive administrative work be automated? Has technology changed the amount or type of work required?

Conversely, be careful about delaying recruitment purely to save money. Existing employees working excessive hours can lead to falling productivity, poor customer service and eventually the loss of good staff.

Model the cost before deciding

Recruitment decisions should form part of your financial planning.

If you are considering employing an additional person, calculate the full annual cost and estimate the additional sales, capacity or efficiency that the appointment needs to generate.

The same principle applies if you are considering reducing staffing levels. A reduction in payroll costs may look attractive, but not if it prevents the business from delivering work or growing sales.

Use your figures to make the decision

Your accounting records contain much of the information needed to undertake this review.

Comparing staffing costs with turnover and gross profit over time can reveal trends that are difficult to spot when looking only at the bank balance or monthly payroll.

If your staffing requirements are changing, talk to us before making significant decisions. We can help you examine the numbers, model alternative scenarios and understand the financial implications before you commit.

Many successful small businesses have one person at their centre.

The owner knows the customers, agrees prices, deals with suppliers, manages the bank account, supervises employees and makes most of the important decisions. Often, this is one of the reasons the business has succeeded.

But it can also become a weakness.

If too much depends on one person, the business may struggle to grow and could face serious problems if the owner is unexpectedly unavailable.

Look at what depends on you

A useful exercise is to imagine that you could not work for the next four weeks.

What would happen?

Could someone else prepare quotations, authorise payments, deal with important customers or make purchasing decisions? Would employees know what needed to be done without continually contacting you?

The answers can identify areas where the business is particularly dependent on you.

This does not mean handing over control. It means creating a business that can function without requiring your involvement in every decision.

Introduce systems gradually

Start with activities that happen regularly.

Documenting important procedures, allocating responsibilities and giving employees appropriate authority can gradually reduce dependency on the owner.

Technology can also help. Good accounting, customer management and workflow systems make information available to other people rather than leaving it in the owner’s head.

The objective should be to make the business easier to manage rather than introduce unnecessary bureaucracy.

Measure what is happening

One reason owners are reluctant to delegate is the fear of losing control.

Good management information can help.

Regular information about sales, margins, cash flow, costs and other key performance indicators allows you to see what is happening without personally supervising every activity.

This can become increasingly important as a business grows.

Think about the eventual value of the business

Owner dependency can also affect what happens when you eventually want to sell.

A purchaser may be reluctant to pay a substantial price for a business if important customer relationships, knowledge and decision-making disappear when the owner leaves.

Reducing owner dependency is therefore not simply about making life easier today. It can help create a stronger and potentially more valuable business for the future.

If your business depends heavily on you, consider discussing the issue with us. The financial information we already prepare may help identify where greater delegation, better systems and improved management information could make a difference.

Running a limited company brings with it a considerable amount of administration. The government is now considering whether some of the UK’s corporate reporting requirements can be simplified.

A consultation launched in September 2026 looks at modernising corporate reporting, reducing duplication and making reporting requirements more proportionate.

For smaller businesses in particular, the proposals could eventually be significant.

Reducing the burden on growing businesses

One issue being considered is whether the current reporting framework creates unnecessary barriers as businesses grow.

Companies can face additional accounting, reporting and audit requirements as they pass particular size thresholds. Although these requirements may be appropriate for larger organisations, the government is considering whether the system could be made simpler and more proportionate.

Among the possibilities under consideration are changes affecting the reporting requirements of small and medium-sized companies and the circumstances in which companies require an audit.

Moving further towards digital reporting

The consultation also considers greater use of digital reporting and communications.

Most businesses already maintain at least some of their accounting records electronically, while communication with shareholders, customers and advisers is increasingly digital.

The government is considering whether company reporting requirements should better reflect the way modern businesses actually operate, including greater use of electronic communications.

Wider changes are being considered

The review extends beyond the preparation and filing of annual accounts.

The consultation considers financial and non-financial reporting, corporate governance and remuneration reporting.

Potentially more fundamental changes are also being examined, including whether the existing rules surrounding distributable profits and capital maintenance remain appropriate.

Changes in these areas could eventually affect decisions made by directors about dividends and the financial position of their companies.

Nothing has changed yet

Importantly, these are proposals rather than new rules.

The consultation is open until 30 November 2026. Businesses therefore do not need to change their accounting or company reporting procedures at this stage.

Nevertheless, the consultation provides a useful indication of the government’s direction of travel. The objective is to make corporate reporting simpler, more digital and more proportionate while retaining appropriate safeguards for shareholders, creditors and others relying on company information.

We will monitor the proposals and keep clients informed of changes that could affect their businesses.

In the meantime, directors should continue to comply with the existing accounting, filing and audit requirements applying to their companies.