Businesses in the creative industries

Creative industries hampered by late payments in 2018




Almost half of businesses in the creative industries (48%) were paid late in 2018, according to a recent study.

Research by business finance company MarketInvoice revealed that although such firms were typically smaller companies working in TV, film, design and publishing, the problem can leave the industry £1.1bn out of pocket at any given time. 

The terms of an invoice can often dictate a long payment period of up to 120 days, resulting in cash flow gaps in the interim. 

The study found that in 2018, a typical invoice worth £38,137 was being settled 13 days beyond payment terms.

Phil Dean, managing director at creative agency Certain, said: “As a business that’s growing, you inevitably become short of cash because you’ve got to fund that growth and clients aren’t always brilliant payers. 

“In our world, it’s not a problem doing the work, it’s actually getting paid.” 

By utilising invoice financing, SMEs which sell goods or services to other businesses can upload or sync their invoices to MarketInvoice’s platform and sell them to investors to unlock access to funding.

Anil Stocker, CEO at MarketInvoice, said: “MarketInvoice exists to support businesses’ cash flow.

“This enables companies to gear for growth, take advantage of new opportunities and, fundamentally, achieve their ambitions.”  

The MarketInvoice study analysed 15,736 invoices between 2012 and 2018, from 501 companies in the creative industries.

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