# Late payments now cost you 4.1% of revenue

> New PYMNTS research shows the best finance teams line up cash before they need it, and chasing overdue invoices is quietly eating real money.
- Title: Late payments now cost you 4.1% of revenue · Pymnts | Shortify
- Summary: New PYMNTS research shows the best finance teams line up cash before they need it, and chasing overdue invoices is quietly eating real money. Working capital…
- Keywords: b2b payments, working capital, cfo, cash flow, treasury, business, finance, Late, payments, cost, revenue, Pymnts
- Source: Pymnts — https://pymnts.com/back-office/cfo/2026/late-b2b-payments-tax-4-1-percent-of-corporate-revenue
- Author: PYMNTS
- Published: 2026-09-14T08:00:34+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: b2b payments, working capital, cfo, cash flow, treasury, business, finance
## Two companies, opposite positions
One firm taps working capital after a cash shortfall. Another secures it to fund expansion or lock in inventory. Same tools, completely different economics.

> One is responding to events. The other is preparing for them.
## Top CFOs borrow early
Eighty percent of top performers use working capital solutions for planned growth. Among bottom performers, 67% reach for them in emergencies.

> The best CFOs use working capital before they need it.
## Too many suppliers costs days
Companies with under 50 active suppliers ran a 23-day cash conversion cycle. Those juggling more than 100 sat at 49 days.

> Supplier complexity is becoming a balance sheet issue.
## Payments are financing now
Top performers treat virtual cards as working capital instruments. The payment method itself decides when cash leaves and when the supplier gets paid.

> blurring the traditional line between treasury and accounts payable
## AI is table stakes
Seven in 10 Growth Corporates already use AI on working capital efficiency. Adoption alone does not produce better cash performance.

> AI is becoming table stakes, not the differentiator.
## Chasing invoices is leakage
Growth Corporates lose roughly 4.1% of revenue chasing overdue B2B payments. Judge collections and automation spend by revenue preserved, not headcount cut.

> reframing receivables friction as an economic problem rather than an administrative one
## Key takeaway

Working capital is a planning tool, not a rescue rope. Set it up before the shortfall, and count late payments as lost revenue, not paperwork.