MARCH 2025 INDUSTRY NEWS AND TRENDS
Late payments drain monthly cash flows for SMBs
A recent poll of 200 U.S. finance and accounting professionals found that timely payment was a bigger issue than expected for small, medium, and large businesses alike.
The poll, conducted by Creditsafe, a credit monitoring and risk management firm, found that 86% struggle with getting customers to pay on time, and that the issue affects up to 30% of their monthly invoiced sales. Delayed payment had the potential to drain monthly cash flows significantly, especially for smaller businesses in the survey.
U.S. private-sector job growth faltered in February
New data from payroll giant ADP shows that employment in the private sector increased by approximately 77,000 jobs in February, which is about half of the 142,000 jobs that economists had expected.
The downturn in hiring may be due to the new administration’s policy changes, which are creating significantly more uncertainty than usual in the business community, in addition to a slowdown in consumer spending. Job losses are disproportionately affecting the smallest businesses (19 or fewer employees) and those in the service sector, education, health services, and information.
SURVEY: Small businesses struggle with access to capital
A survey of 10,000 U.S. small businesses, conducted on behalf of Goldman Sachs, found that access to affordable capital is a key challenge, along with difficulties hiring.
Current interest rates place access to loans out of reach for more than half (53%) of small businesses. More than one-third (35%) applied for a business loan or line of credit in the past year and the vast majority (80%) said accessing affordable capital was difficult.
Hiring was another top challenge, with 89% of small businesses finding it difficult to recruit qualified employees.
