Among all German Federal Laender, companies from Bavaria pay their invoices most punctually: About 81% of all invoices are paid there on the day they fall due. Particularly much time is needed by companies in Berlin to pay their invoices: not even 75% of all invoices are paid on time.
These are the findings of the “DunTrade” study carried out by D&B Germany which is a provider of business information. In the course of this study, more than 500 million pieces of information are evaluated. By the way, the data received disprove the assumption that in the east of Germany the payment behaviour was particularly dissatisfying.
Next in the list of most punctual payers are companies from Baden-Württemberg and Schleswig-Holstein which pay about 80% of their invoices on time followed by companies from Saxony which come 4th.
Other East German Laenders have a good payment culture as well: apart from Saxony companies from Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt pay their invoices significantly more punctually than those in some West German Laenders. Creditors from Brandenburg or Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania have to wait particularly long periods of time for their money.
The study also shows that companies use free supplier credits in order to increase their own liquidity. According to estimates by D&B, the damage done to the economy by defaulters goes into the billions of Euros in Germany. This affects in particular small and medium-sized entities. Furthermore, bad payment behaviour may also be an early sign of an imminent insolvency. Therefore creditors should become particularly cautious in such situations. 