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Almost four out of 10 transport SMEs has to turn down work

Date: Tuesday, June 27, 2017   |  

More than a third (39%) of SME transport businesses have had to turn down contracts in the last year, new research has suggested.

According to a survey by Hitachi Capital Invoice Finance, predominant causes for the companies having to turn down work in the last year includes unfair payment terms (36%), lack of management time (30%) and that certain jobs wouldn’t pay enough (38%).

In addition, 47% claimed that they have lost out on up to £10,000 worth of revenue in the last year thanks to having to reject work, with ‘start-up’ businesses faring even more badly; 28% have lost £20-30,000.

Hitachi added that 27% of the 501 businesses surveyed have turned down seven or eight contracts in the last year.

Despite these figures, there seems to be a positive outlook emerging with 60% of the 501 companies surveyed claiming that Brexit will not affect the amount of work they will have to reject in the coming years.

“SMEs are unfortunately having to decline contracts and orders due to unfair payment terms and unreasonable asks, not because they can’t deliver the work. Bad payers and unrealistic contractual terms can have a huge impact on any business, especially those that are relatively small or in start-up,” said Andy Dodd, managing director at Hitachi Capital Invoice Finance. “This is often part of a wider problem – not all business owners have the time and resource to chase up invoices or can risk working with an unreliable supplier.”