Net 30 Blog | Business Credit Tips & Advice » Economy

New Mexico Businesses Tops in Late Payments, Hawaii a Close Second

Alex Coté — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 16:00:15 +0000

New Mexico businesses on average are the slowest at paying their invoices in the nation. According to Cortera’s monthly report on businesses accounts receivable debt past due by state for July 2011, New Mexico businesses are 23.16% past due making them the slowest in the country. New Mexico businesses have been in the top 5 slowest payers group for all of 2011. Alaska tops the most current list at only 7.15% past due – a position it has held for over a year. The top 10 lists are below.

Top 10 States with the most amount of businesses accounts receivable debt past due (July 2011)

State	% Business A/R Debt Past Due
New Mexico	23.16%
Hawaii	23.11%
Florida	22.85%
Wisconsin	22.62%
Colorado	22.05%
Washington	21.60%
Missouri	20.98%
Oregon	20.92%
Minnesota	20.42%
Connecticut	20.32%

Top 10 States with the least amount of businesses accounts receivable debt past due (July 2011)

State	% Business A/R Debt Past Due
Alaska	7.16%
West Virginia	9.38%
Utah	9.98%
Kentucky	10.65%
North Dakota	10.81%
Maryland	11.57%
Pennsylvania	12.31%
Rhode Island	12.85%
Ohio	13.06%
Virginia	13.22%

The Cortera Past Due by State Report tracks late payments of businesses within each state against agreed upon terms, measuring the percentage of late accounts receivable by state. This monthly report of accounts receivable (A/R) activities by state measures the payment activities of approximately 20 million public and private business locations.

Florida Businesses Tops in Late Payments for Second Straight Month

Alex Coté — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 20:43:37 +0000

For the second straight month Florida businesses on average are the slowest at paying their invoices in the nation. According to Cortera’s monthly report on businesses accounts receivable debt past due by state for October 2010, Florida businesses are 24.21% past due making them the slowest in the country. On a positive note, Alaska tops the most current list at only 6.51% past due – the only state below 10% past due. The top 10 lists are below.

Top 10 States with the most amount of businesses accounts receivable debt past due (October 2010)

State	% Business A/R Debt Past Due
Florida	24.21%
New Mexico	22.45%
Minnesota	22.44%
Oregon	22.30%
Illinois	22.04%
Hawaii	22.00%
Oklahoma	21.87%
Georgia	21.70%
Indiana	21.49%
Wisconsin	21.20%

Top 10 States with the least amount of businesses accounts receivable debt past due (October 2010)

State	% Business A/R Debt Past Due
Alaska	6.51%
Wyoming	10.52%
Utah	10.53%
Maine	10.56%
South Dakota	11.40%
Louisiana	11.70%
New Hampshire	11.94%
North Dakota	12.71%
Mississippi	13.41%
Vermont	14.05%

Hawks, Doves & The Turkeys in Congress

Alex Coté — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 20:04:56 +0000

In case you missed our annual customer conference, we have posted a series of videos from Dr. Chris Kuehl’s presentation on the state of the global economy on Cortera’s Facebook page. Below is the opening clip.

Click here to view them all.
Click here to get a demo of Cortera PULSE and spot the upside and downside in your customer portfolio, despite all of this mess.

Latest Supply Chain Index Steady at Lowest Levels in Over Two Years

Alex Coté — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 13:42:33 +0000

The June 2010 Cortera Supply Chain Index (SCI) remains in record low territory dropping to 6.79 days beyond terms (DBT), its second lowest level since the index was started in January 2007 and the third consecutive month below 7 days—all good news. The lower the SCI the better as business confidence rises and businesses pay their suppliers in a timely manner. The SCI measures the payment activities of approximately 300,000 businesses covering manufacturers, distributors & wholesalers, retailers, services, and transportation companies.

The June 2010 ISM Manufacturing Report on Business also showed healthy numbers with the eleventh consecutive month of expansion in manufacturing activity. However, it’s not all positive news as the ISM index dropped from 59.7 in May to 56.2 in June. Readings above 50 indicate an expansion; below 50, a contraction. One area to watch is the new orders component of the ISM index – it dropped from 58.5 to 65.7. While still in expansion territory this could indicate a more moderate pace in the second half of 2010. The Commerce Department also reported today that demand for durable goods dropped 1 percent in June—another sign that the recovery may be losing steam. We’ll be watching the SCI closely for any signs of weakness.

Small Business Index Hits Best Levels Since 2007

Alex Coté — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:56:30 +0000

As we do each month, today, we published our latest report of small business payment activities (see chart below). After watching as the gap grew between the payment habits of large and small businesses throughout the worst periods of the recession, both indices have now converged into a tighter pattern. The SBI peaked out in December 2008 at 12.66 days beyond terms and now stands at 7.02 days – the lowest level since we created the index back in August of 2007. This kind of improvement in paying behavior is typically a sign of confidence, as owners and managers feel more comfortable with the expectation of replenishing cash as new business comes in the door. The latest survey results from the NFIB also support a more confident outlook. In May, the NFIB Small-Business Optimism Index recorded another advance, rising 1.6 points to 92.2. The largest index component improvements were found in expectations of economic conditions (+8 points) and plan to increase inventories (+4 points).

Consumer, Business Delinquency Data Reveal Mixed View on Recovery, Stress

Alex Coté — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:26:52 +0000

Earlier this week, CNBC (via Reuters) published what looks to be great news when it comes to embattled consumers: Major credit card companies were reporting an improvement in delinquent payments. Simply put, their clients (aka The consumer), were suddenly paying their bills at a faster clip. And while reasons other than improved personal finances were floated (like the use of year-end bonuses to pay down debt), most reporters covering the story – and the companies reporting the good news – suggested this was indeed a sign of the long awaited consumer rebound.

Fast forward to today and Cortera’s related business view of debt and delinquencies – our Past Due by State Report – and the picture looks a little less rosy. Unless of course, you’re a business owner in Nevada.

According to our just published data, businesses in the top-ten most delinquent states look to be trending in the wrong direction, revealing a less than uniform impact of the supposedly improving economy. In fact, 9 of the top 10 most delinquent states showed delinquencies actually getting worse.

One of the nice exceptions is Nevada, far too long a poster child for delinquent businesses. As it turns out, Nevada businesses improved to the point that the state no longer makes the dubious top ten list. And that welcome surprise might be as much a sign of impending recovery as consumers suddenly finding the cash to pay down their personal debts.

So how is the recovery impacting debt, delinquencies and deadbeats in your neck of the woods? Is cash suddenly flowing quicker or is the stress still front and center? We’d love to hear from you.

Credit by association: Chamber members offer safest bets when it comes to commercial credit

Alex Coté — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 09:56:32 +0000

Visit your local chamber of commerce website and you are bound to see list of reasons to join – the benefits of membership. Among the most common cited: networking, advocacy and public policy, awareness and marketing, and of course, local credibility. And now we can add another to the list – one uniquely relevant to small businesses in today’s economic landscape: Attracting credit.

According to a Cortera study produced for the American Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE), chamber members consistently received better credit scores than other businesses in their region, their states, and across the country as a whole. The study covers 10 regional chambers to ensure both geographic and economic diversity. To a chamber, member businesses scored well above 600, compared to the national average of 557, even in hard hit states like Oregon and Florida.

When we asked the respective chamber execs why such a favorable discrepancy exists, some suggested it matched with the responsible corporate citizen profile of the average chamber member. Others pointed to a great sense of partnership and local commerce responsibility – local businesses helping each other out by paying their bills more rapidly and ensuring fluid cash flow for all. Still others pointed to the types of programs chambers put in place to ensure members were always up to speed on the best finance, accounting and credit practices. Whatever the answer, one thing is clear: When comes to credit in this era of risk adverse lenders and trading partners, chamber members enjoy a distinct competitive advantage.

Oregon businesses: “The check is in the mail”

Alex Coté — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 14:40:04 +0000

Good news, Nevada. You’re no longer the poster child for delinquent payments. While it’s a bit too soon to be popping the champagne – Nevada still ranks #1 in percentage of accounts 90+ days beyond term – Oregon businesses now own the dubious distinction of leading the nation in late payments. According to our latest Past Due by State report unveiled this morning, more than 20 percent of Oregon-based business accounts receivable are past due, the highest percentage of any of the 50 states. Alaska, in contrast, continues to enjoy the lowest percent of past due accounts, with just over 6 percent past due. The national average is hovering in a familiar range of just over 16 percent, which has been the norm over the past year.

Joining Oregon on the less-than-favorable top 10 list are Wisconsin (20.46 percent past due), New Mexico (19.79), Florida (19.72), Minnesota (19.64), Nevada (19.55), Michigan (19.15), New York (18.30), and Hawaii (18.05).

As the saying goes, “if I don’t get paid, you don’t get paid.” Timely payments are critical to ensuring fluid cash flow and therefore optimizing working capital. Unlike the larger credit story, where business owners can quickly point to banks and other lenders for their woes, we’re all in this one together. And at the risk of over simplifying, we all control our own interdependent destinies. Pick your suppliers, partners and even clients carefully, and make sure you take the time to assess and reassess risk when it comes to the payment behavior of those directly responsible for your cash flow. Or adopt a strategy of doing business exclusively with Alaskan companies.

The credit crunch: cause or symptom of slow small business growth?

Alex Coté — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:24:11 +0000

In case our posts haven’t given it away, we’ve been watching the small business credit crunch in earnest over the past year. While the central theme always seemed to be same – big lenders get increasingly stingy, leave Main Street mom-and-pops starving for credit – our own data and our conversations with credit pros suggested that there was more to the story. A lot more. In contrast to what we were reading in the papers or hearing from the White House, it appeared that while tighter credit conditions were indeed hurting small businesses, loans were not necessarily their primary concern. Or even the primary culprit in limiting growth. This week, on the heels of a report from the National Federation of Independent Business (the NFIB), it looks as though the mainstream media may finally have turned the page. And at long last, we’re starting to get the rest of the story. We are also seeing more commentary around the great recovery divide between big businesses and small business—we’ve been tracking a similar gap for many months now as the payment behavior of big businesses has returned to a somewhat normal level while small businesses are still feeling the pinch. A few of our favorites from the week:

BusinessWeek: A Lifeline of Credit for the Recovery

Business Outlook columnist Jim Cooper’s piece (and accompanying video interview) cites the prominent NFIB report claim that lack of demand, not credit, is hurting small businesses while offering evidence of improving credit conditions that should help growth initiatives once demand picks up.

Time: Small Business, Key to Recovery, is Still Hurting

Janet Morrisey’s piece, as the headline suggests, was decidedly less rosy. According to the article, small business sales have declined 3.8% in the first 10 months of 2009. Transportation and warehouse business, manufacturing, wholesale trade, and retail trade took the brunt of the declines, with sales plunging 16.7%, 13.8%, 10.4%. and 6.7% respectively in 2009. Morrisey quotes William Dunkelberg, chief economist with the NFIB, as saying, “Capital-spending plans are at 35-year lows and inventory-investment plans are at 35-year lows. They’re just not borrowing — they’re not asking for it.”

Small Business Trends: Small Businesses: We need customers, not loans

Anita Campbell, one of our favorite small business advocates and the colorful editor of Small Business Trends, wins the prize for best headline. Her piece focuses exclusively on the NFIB report, hitting on specific findings in employment, capital expenditures, access to credit, and sales.

Please send us your favorites. Have a good weekend and remember to buy local this holiday season – you might just solve the credit crunch.

The Main Street Credit Squeeze Continues

Alex Coté — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:46:23 +0000

The S&P is up over 50% since its March 2009 lows and yet for most of us, the leading indicators and large company earnings seem to defy the reality on Main Street. Newsweek offered a view on why such a gap may exist – and some indicators are emerging to focus on small business sentiment — but the fact remains that most prominent economic indicators fail to paint a true view of Main Street conditions. Last month we started publishing a small business index that takes a shot at filling the gap. Based on same criteria lenders and businesses use for determining credit viability, the SBI provides a view into the cash flow on Main Street. And just as Newsweek paints the picture of the Wall Street – Main St gap, the Cortera SBI™ shows increasingly divergent behaviors between the largest of businesses and the nation’s millions of small companies.

The result is a one sided recovery. The latest data shows that while big businesses have returned to their pre-recession levels of two years ago, small business still remain over 28% higher (paying bills later) than our October ’07 report numbers. Simply put, small businesses are still paying slower than big businesses in an effort to manage their cash flow. Without any additional forms of lending at their disposal, slowing payments is their last resort. The gap, while narrowing slightly in our October Report, still stands at over 38% slower for small businesses as compared to big businesses.