Late, or just not spotted? Match payments to invoices weekly before you chase anyone

By Jason Sibley

Most late-payment advice starts with the chase. I'd put one small job first. Once a week, check that the money you think is missing hasn't already landed in your bank account.

What the latest surveys say

Two recent surveys come from firms that sell related services, so read them with that in mind.

Coface is a trade credit insurer. Its 2026 United Kingdom Payment Survey surveyed 608 firms in July 2026. It reports that:

• 89% had experienced payment delays in the past year
• those delays averaged 34 days late, two days longer than last year
• average payment terms were 57 days
• 57% expect late payments to rise over the next 12 months, up from 37% last year

Coface also says customers blamed financial difficulties first (37%) and organisational issues second (26%).

The second survey was commissioned by Finexer, an open banking provider. It covered 418 senior leaders at UK organisations with 10 to 500 staff, in August 2026, as reported by Global Banking & Finance Review. Finexer's research found that 42% had a delay confirming whether a customer payment had arrived in the previous 12 months. This was the survey's most common payment problem. Meanwhile, 39% said staff had to trace, compare or re-enter payment information across several systems, and 38% rely on three or more separate systems or providers for banking and payment workflows.

Some 48% of those surveyed already use automated transaction matching. The release itself says such tools "do not, by themselves, guarantee the elimination of payment delays." I'd agree. A tool only works if someone looks at what it produces.

An insurer has a reason to talk about late payment, and an open banking firm has a reason to talk about confirmation delays. I wouldn't build a plan on any single percentage. Together, though, the surveys suggest customers are often late and plenty of businesses struggle to tell whether a payment has arrived.

Why this matters before you chase

Chasing a customer who has already paid costs you goodwill and time.

Some of what looks late is really unmatched. A payment turns up under a different name, covers three invoices at once or is a part payment you didn't expect. The surveys don't say how much "late" falls into this group, so I won't guess a number. Until you check, you don't know how big your own group is.

Coface's second most common reason for delay, organisational issues, suggests problems with the customer's paperwork and approvals too. That's another reason to chase accurately. Contact them about a real gap with the right invoice number and they can sort it. A vague "where's my money?" gives their accounts team more admin.

A 20-minute weekly match

Pick a regular slot and keep it. Monday morning is a sensible choice, with last week's payments in.

If your accounting software has bank feeds and matching, use that first. Our guide to AI for bookkeeping and invoices covers where it fits. Then follow the steps below for anything the software couldn't match, or if you don't use it.

Step 1: Export last week's bank transactions

Download a CSV of money received. Look for an export option on your online banking's transactions screen.

Step 2: Export your unpaid invoices

Get the list of unpaid and part-paid invoices from your invoicing tool or spreadsheet. You need invoice number, customer, amount and date.

Step 3: Match them up

Work down the unpaid list and look for each invoice in the bank transactions. Match on:

• the amount
• the reference
• the date

Treat the date as the loosest signal. Use it to rule things out, not to confirm them.

Watch for three awkward cases:

• part payments, where the amount is lower than the invoice
• one payment covering several invoices
• payer names that differ from the customer name on your invoice

Step 4: Make three piles

• Matched: exact amount, and a reference or name that agrees. Mark it paid.
• Possible match: something lines up, but not everything.
• Nothing received: no sign of it in the bank.

Look at the possible matches before anyone is contacted.

Let AI do the first pass

If your lists are long, an AI tool can do the first sort. Use only a tool your business has approved for business data. If you're unsure, read is ChatGPT safe for business data first. Remove account numbers and sort codes before you paste anything. You don't need them for matching.

Here's a prompt you can copy:

I run a small UK business and I invoice other businesses. Below are two lists. List A is money received into our bank account last week. List B is our unpaid invoices.

Please sort every invoice in List B into one of three piles:

1. Matched: only where the amount matches exactly and the reference or customer name clearly agrees.
2. Possible match: something lines up but not everything. This includes part payments, one payment that might cover several invoices, and payer names that differ from the customer name.
3. Nothing received: no sign of a payment in List A.

Rules:

- Never mark an invoice as paid unless the amount matches exactly.
- Give a short plain-English reason for each invoice and the pile you chose.
- Do not invent payments, invoice numbers, customers or amounts. Use only what I have pasted.
- If information is missing or unclear, write "OWNER TO CHECK" and say what is missing.
- List any payments in List A that you could not link to an invoice.
- Do not give financial, tax or legal advice.

List A (payments received):
[paste here]

List B (unpaid invoices):
[paste here]

Treat the answer as a first draft. Check the possible matches yourself and glance at a few "matched" ones too. You decide which matches to accept.

If you also keep a weekly cashflow sheet, the output feeds straight into it. Our weekly cashflow sheet guide shows how.

Then chase the right list

Chase only the "nothing received" pile.

For possible matches, a neutral question usually does the job: "Could you tell me which invoices your payment on that date covered?"

For the nothing-received pile, Get paid without the awkward chase covers what to say and when. Late payment rights you already have covers what you can rely on if a polite reminder doesn't work.

While you're at it, check your terms. Coface puts average terms at 57 days, and you may be offering something different. If customers are paying slower than your terms, fix your terms before Christmas rather than in January, when cash is tighter.

One last thing

This is general information, not financial or legal advice. For questions about debt recovery or how to treat unpaid invoices in your books, speak to your accountant, or a solicitor for anything legal.

At My AI Apprentice we run AI sessions for small businesses, including how to use tools like this sensibly with your own paperwork. No pressure either way.