intelligent

The late payment of invoices is a welldocumented and recurring issue for small businesses . Recent research by Tide reveals that more than 60 % of small businesses regularly have invoices paid late , with almost 16 % of those saying they regularly have invoices paid over four weeks late .

This creates a cash flow issue and puts small businesses in danger of collapse , particularly in the current turbulent climate . When it comes to failed payments 42 % of small businesses say the biggest problem they pose is awkward conversations with customers , 29 % citing the cash flow impact and 27 % the cost of recovering payments . With this issue front of mind , Tide and GoCardless have collaborated to come up with an invoice payment service that gives small business owners control over when they are paid , helping them to get paid faster , as well as cutting the stress and wasted time out of chasing payments .

The service , built on Direct Debit , is simple to use , benefitting both the business owner and customer . Tide members will be able to schedule the collection of payments from their customers when the invoice is due and track the progress of these payments with low , per-transaction fees . Tide members ’ customers will be protected by the Direct Debit guarantee .

Oliver Prill , Tide CEO , said : “ We are extremely excited to be working with GoCardless to provide such an important service to Tide members . Being able to set up Direct Debit payments for invoices will be game changing for our members , making the payment process quicker and smoother for both the small business owner and customer .

“ Tide ’ s mission is to help small business owners save time ( and money ) on their banking and admin and launching this service couldn ’ t be truer to that mission . Business owners should be spending time growing their businesses and building relationships with customers , rather than chasing them for payment . We look forward to rolling out this service with the GoCardless team and giving time back to our members .”

Hiroki Takeuchi , CEO , GoCardless , added : “ Our mission is to take the pain out of getting paid so that businesses can focus on what they do best . This is more important than ever in today ’ s economic climate and our partnership with Tide will help make this a reality for many more small businesses .” �