Late Payment Statistics 2026: Freelancers & Small Business

Curated from primary surveys and industry reports. Every number links to its source. Last updated July 2026; reviewed annually.

Freelancers

• 85% of freelancers have invoices paid late at least some of the time. Source: Remote, 2025 Late Payment Report

• 21% are paid late (or not at all) more often than on time. Source: Remote, 2025

• 29% of freelance invoices are paid at least one day late; over 75% of those arrive within 14 days of the due date. Source: Clockify

• 39 days: average time from invoice submission to funds availability. Source: Jobbers, Global Freelance Payment Delay Report

• 8-12 hours per month spent chasing late payments. Source: Agiled, Late Payment Statistics

• $6,000: average amount owed to a freelancer in unpaid invoices; 71% have experienced a stalled payment at least once. Source: Clockify

• Female freelancers are paid late 31% of the time vs 24% for male freelancers. Source: Bonsai

Small businesses (B2B)

• 55% of all B2B invoiced sales in the US are overdue. Source: Kaplan Group, B2B Payment Delay Statistics

• 43% of the total value of credit-based B2B sales was overdue (Atradius, 2025). Source: Kaplan Group

• 56% of US small businesses are owed money from unpaid invoices, averaging $17,500 per business. Source: QuickBooks, 2025 Small Business Late Payments Report

• 47% of businesses have invoices overdue by more than 30 days. Source: QuickBooks, 2025

• Businesses with a higher volume of overdue invoices are 1.4× more likely to report cash-flow problems. Source: QuickBooks, 2025

• The average small business spends 15 days per year chasing late payments. Source: Agiled

By industry

• Construction & trades has the longest average collection period of any sector: 67 days, with roughly 60% of invoices paid late and more than 2/3 of contractors paid late. Source: Resolve, construction payment statistics

What actually reduces late payments

Surveys and practitioner reports consistently point to the same levers: upfront deposits, shorter terms (net 7/14 instead of net 30), late-fee clauses that are actually enforced, and systematic reminders on a fixed schedule. See our reminder templates and step-by-step playbook.

Compiled by DunPilot, the collections copilot for freelancers. Cite freely with a link back to this page.