Late Payments

They don’t just affect your cash flow — they impact your reputation.

Whether it’s a vendor invoice that slipped through the cracks, another payment reminder email, or just a growing stack of bills piling up, these moments add up. Missed payments can strain relationships, delay services, and leave you feeling reactive instead of in control.

If you’re always paying suppliers late, it’s not because you don’t care — it’s because running a business while juggling admin, finances, and operations is chaotic. And when your treasury is disorganized, due dates get lost, and payment systems fall apart.

You don’t need to “work harder” or feel guilty. You need a reliable system.

Where to Start: A simple payment system

You don’t need complex software or fancy automation to fix this — just a clear routine. Here’s how to get started without overwhelming yourself:

  1. Make a list of your recurring bills and vendors.

    Start by collecting all invoices, payment cycles, and due dates in one place. A simple Excel or Google Sheet is more than enough to plug in and track your payments. Include columns for vendor name, invoice number, issue date, due date, amount due and payment status (e.g., pending, paid, overdue). This gives you a clear picture of what’s coming up and helps you prioritize what needs to be paid first.

    If your invoices are physical, a labeled folder works fine (but it is highly recommended to create digital copies for these, and in some cases, required — depending on your bookkeeping method). If digital, we recommend using a shared drive (like Google Drive or Dropbox), especially if your team helps manage finances. Organize invoices by month and by status, move them around folders if the status changes.

  2. Pick a fixed day each week to check and schedule payments.
    Even 30 minutes a week can help you stay ahead of reminders and avoid surprises. Keep this day as a rule in your calendar

  3. Use a simple tool or shared sheet to track what’s paid and what’s pending.
    It can be the same one in point 1, just add some columns to control what might be urgent, what is paid and what can be left for next week

  4. Review your cash position weekly.
    Knowing what’s coming in and going out helps you make smart timing decisions. Take 10–15 minutes each week to look at what cash is available in your accounts and compare it to what’s expected to come in (e.g., outstanding customer payments) and what’s going out soon, in your shared tracking sheet. This helps you understand if payments need to be delayed, rescheduled, or prioritized differently. You don’t need a fancy report—just update your spreadsheet and note your balances.

Need help putting this into place? That’s where we come in!

Let’s build your payment system together.