There were 167,176 overdue invoices on the books of around 25,00 mostly small businesses in Northern Ireland in the first quarter of this year, a new report reveals.
Late payments are a significant cause of company insolvencies, and mounting arrears can quickly turn day to-day cash flow issues into a wider crisis,according to R3, the UK’s trade body for restructuring, turnaround and insolvency professionals.
But the north actually bucked the overall UK trend by being one of the few regions to record a decline in the number of overdue invoices over the three-month period (down by nearly 11% from 187,500 in the first quarter of 2025).
Scott Murray, chair of R3 in Northern Ireland
And quarterly insolvency-related activity in the region – including administration and voluntary and compulsory liquidations – increased by 8.2% from 61 cases last year to 66 cases in the first quarter of 2026. This was down by 35% on the final quarter of 2025, when there were 102 instances.
Scott Murray, chair of R3 in Northern Ireland and managing director at Keenan CF, said: “This report highlights an early warning sign for local businesses, with a substantial number of companies being affected by late payments.
“Although Northern Ireland saw a decline in numbers of overdue invoices, day-to-day cash flow remains under real strain and businesses should remain vigilant.
“Late payments are a significant contributor to business failure, and mounting arrears can quickly turn manageable cash flow issues into a wider crisis, particularly for small and medium sized companies.”
He added: “With businesses also facing higher energy and fuel costs linked to global uncertainty, our members expect pressure to intensify as the year progresses.
“With this in mind, business owners should prioritise credit control and seek professional advice early if they begin to struggle, rather than waiting until problems become unmanageable.”
According to the Department for Business and Trade, late payments cost the UK economy £11 billion a year and leads to the closure of 38 businesses every day.