Netherlands businesses paying off bills faster

Companies are taking less time to pay their bills than any other time in the last decade. It takes an average of 43.4 days for a company to repay a bill, which is the lowest in the last 13 years, according to the data on payment behavior from the rating agency Graydon. In recent times the payment behavior of firms tended to deteriorate. In 2009, at the peak of the economic crisis, it took firms an average of 48 days to pay an invoice. In 2003, the average was at almost 52 days. The government has shown the worst repayment time average, with the figure of 46.6 days. The hospitality industry is one of the few where payment behavior worsened compared to the previous year. The improvement stems from the recovery in the economy and confidence of businesses in their spending, according to Graydon. The improvement is especially noticeable in business services and agriculture, where the average repayment time is below 40 days.