What to do when your business income is delayed
When payments don’t come on time, the problem in chain reaction that follows: salaries, rent, taxes, suppliers all need money from founder.
Here’s what to do when income is delayed.Invoices sit approved, payouts marked as “processing,” and the calendar starts shifting while the cash doesn’t.
Step 1. Prioritise payments
List what must be paid this week and what can wait:
- salaries,
- VAT,
- HMRC liabilities go first.
If you can’t meet tax payments in full, contact HMRC and request a Time to Pay arrangement. They let you spread the payment over several months if your cash flow is temporarily tight.
It’s an official program - https://www.gov.uk/difficulties-paying-hmrc
If payroll is an issue, talk to your accountant. Many payroll tools in the UK (like Xero, Sage, QuickBooks) allow partial salary runs, you can pay part now and complete the rest once funds arrive. It’s better than silence and keeps the team confident.
Step 2. Reduce non-critical costs
Review every outgoing expense. Anything that doesn’t stop your business from operating can be paused.
- Postpone ad campaigns or lower budgets for a week.
- Pause software subscriptions that aren’t used daily.
- Move contractors from hourly work to fixed deliverables.
These actions free liquidity without cutting what keeps the company alive.
Step 3. Use available public support
Many local councils and UK government programmes offer temporary support for small businesses.
If advertising or equipment spending is essential to keep customers coming, Digital Enterprise programme provides funding to help small businesses upgrade software or equipment.Businesses in some regions can also access Digital Technology Grants that support investment in digital infrastructure.
If energy bills are affecting liquidity, review the Energy Bills Discount Scheme - it helps non-domestic consumers manage electricity and gas costs, and for overall funding visibility, platforms like DigitalBoost of the list active UK programmes for small and growing businesses.
These are independent public resources. Ampere does not provide or administer grants, but helps businesses align their payments and income through clear financial infrastructure.
Step 4. Manage liquidity
When revenue slows, most owners think of cutting more but liquidity comes from structure.
- Keep income and expense accounts separate.
- Track when each payment is due and align it with expected inflows.
If you have predictable monthly income, for example, from App Store or Google Play you can move it forward instead of waiting 35+ days. Ampere advances up to 85% of confirmed app revenue the same day it’s reported. The rest arrives when Apple or Google pays.
One predictable delay becomes a predictable transfer.
Ampere Factoring to get your App Store & Play Market revenue today, not in 40 days.
If your business isn’t app-based, Ampere also offers business loans with approval funds approximately within 2 days, directly to your business bank account.
Step 5. Prepare for next time
If payment delays keep repeating, treat them as part of your cycle.
- Keep a small cash buffer for fixed costs.
- Automate invoice reminders and shorten payment terms where possible.
- Track clients and payout platforms that cause regular delays.
The more visibility you have, the fewer surprises you’ll face.
A 2025 internal review by Ampere’s business intelligence team analysed more than 2,000 SME payment accounts across the UK and EU. The findings were simple: companies that had clearer visibility of incoming and outgoing payments through tagged transactions, multi-currency accounts, and factoring tools reacted faster to cash flow delays and avoided unnecessary borrowing.
In the same dataset, businesses using structured payment categories reported closing their books up to 37% faster and keeping a steadier operational rhythm, even when income was delayed. When a business knows exactly when and how its funds move, decision-making becomes calmer and planning becomes real.
Predictable cash flow is the structure. Ampere helps build that structure.
