Abstract:

Data on payment terms in business-to-business transactions show that average payment terms in Europe are more than 50 days. This means the need to credit your contractor and the risk of not receiving payment at all. Entrepreneurs suffer losses due to late payments, and some companies are forced to restructure their companies or declare bankruptcy because of this. The article discusses an important problem concerning the impact of delayed payments on the business of entrepreneurs and the available instruments for hedging against late payments from the contractor. This is an important issue for the economy, because delays in payment cause payment gridlocks, in which many entrepreneurs may participate. The aim of the article is to deepen the knowledge of the tools available to entrepreneurs to protect themselves against late payment by the counterparty and the instruments that can help to recover an already delayed payment in a faster time. It should be noted that both legal regulations and the practice of using specific tools are changing in this respect.