MIL-OSI: Microbusinesses at Risk: 1 in 4 Report Not Receiving Payments or Waiting Over a Year to Be Paid, Wave Survey Finds

In our recent survey for all-in-one money management solution for small businesses Wave, we found that over 70% of microbusinesses have struggled, waiting up to six months for payments. The study, conducted in July 2021, asked 1008 US microbusiness owners about the challenges they have been facing in a changing, post Covid-19 market. The study also found that 25% of respondents had waited in excess of a year for payments, with others waiting longer still. In addition “Nearly two in five respondents (38%) say they use their personal checking account for business expenses, while 29% say they do not separate personal and business finances at all—a practice that can lead to missed deductions and complex tax filings. More than one in five (22%) say they use a pen and paper to track their finances, and 14% use an Excel spreadsheet. Fourteen percent don’t follow up with customers on outstanding invoices, and 13% admit they forget to send or are delayed in sending out invoices in the first place. More than one in five (21%) don’t log or track receipts, and over one in 10 (11%) rely on high interest financing to fund their business.”

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Author Notes:

Jeffrey Henning

Jeffrey Henning, IPC is a professionally certified researcher and has personally conducted over 1,400 survey research projects. Jeffrey is a member of the Insights Association and the American Association of Public Opinion Researchers. In 2012, he was the inaugural winner of the MRA’s Impact award, which “recognizes an industry professional, team or organization that has demonstrated tremendous vision, leadership, and innovation, within the past year, that has led to advances in the marketing research profession.” In 2022, the Insights Association named him an IPC Laureate. Before founding Researchscape in 2012, Jeffrey co-founded Perseus Development Corporation in 1993, which introduced the first web-survey software, and Vovici in 2006, which pioneered the enterprise-feedback management category. A 35-year veteran of the research industry, he began his career as an industry analyst for an Inc. 500 research firm.