Small Business Accounts Receivable Statistics 2026
Last updated: · Figures are refreshed quarterly.
In Intuit QuickBooks’ 2026 Small Business Late Payments Report, 59% of small businesses have invoices overdue by 30 or more days, up from 47% the year before, and businesses with unpaid invoices are owed $17.7K on average. In the Federal Reserve Banks’ 2025 Report on Employer Firms, 51% of small employer firms cited uneven cash flow, a category that includes collecting on receivables, as a financial challenge. The strain reaches owners directly: 47.7% of US small business owners in a Patriot Software survey have skipped or delayed their own paycheck.
Small business receivables, by source.
Each figure below is quoted from a third-party source, named with its publisher, report title, date and a link.
- $17,500Small businesses with unpaid invoices were owed $17,500 on average.Source: Intuit QuickBooks, “2025 US Small Business Late Payments Report”, published May 28, 2025. January 2025 survey wave; 2,487 US small businesses with 0 to 100 employees.The 2026 edition reports $17.7K on average.Source: Intuit QuickBooks, “2026 Small Business Late Payments Report”, 2026.
- 56%56% of small businesses surveyed reported being owed money from unpaid invoices.Source: Intuit QuickBooks, “2025 US Small Business Late Payments Report”, published May 28, 2025. January 2025 survey wave; 2,487 US small businesses with 0 to 100 employees.
- 59%59% of small businesses have invoices overdue by 30 or more days, up from 47% the year before.Source: Intuit QuickBooks, “2026 Small Business Late Payments Report”, 2026.
- 94% and 51%94% of small employer firms experienced at least one financial challenge in the prior 12 months, and 51% cited uneven cash flow, a category that includes collecting on receivables.Source: Federal Reserve Banks, “2025 Report on Employer Firms” (Small Business Credit Survey), published March 2025. Fielded September 4 to November 4, 2024; 7,653 responses.
- 47.7%47.7% of US small business owners have skipped or delayed their own paycheck.Source: Patriot Software, “47.7% of Small Business Owners Have Skipped or Delayed Their Paycheck, New Survey Finds”, published June 17, 2026. 1,000 respondents who were current small business owners, managers or recent former owners; vendor-run online survey.
- 45%45% of US small business owners forgo their own paychecks due to cash flow shortages.Source: PYMNTS, “Study Finds Cash Flow Crisis Deepening for Small Businesses Amid Tariffs and Consumer Pullback”, March 18, 2025, citing a PYMNTS Intelligence report produced with American Express, published about September 2024.
- Intuit QuickBooks, “2025 US Small Business Late Payments Report”, published May 28, 2025. January 2025 survey wave; 2,487 US small businesses with 0 to 100 employees.
- Intuit QuickBooks, “2026 Small Business Late Payments Report”, 2026.
- Federal Reserve Banks, “2025 Report on Employer Firms” (Small Business Credit Survey), published March 2025. Fielded September 4 to November 4, 2024; 7,653 responses.
- Patriot Software, “47.7% of Small Business Owners Have Skipped or Delayed Their Paycheck, New Survey Finds”, published June 17, 2026. 1,000 respondents who were current small business owners, managers or recent former owners; vendor-run online survey.
- PYMNTS, “Study Finds Cash Flow Crisis Deepening for Small Businesses Amid Tariffs and Consumer Pullback”, March 18, 2025, citing a PYMNTS Intelligence report produced with American Express, published about September 2024.
Numbers in superscript on other pages link to these sources.
Notes on these figures
Figures are quoted from the sources as published. Survey methods differ from source to source, including who was surveyed, how many people responded and when each survey ran. All sources are third parties, not AR Collector AI.
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