# Canada small business payment times and late payment statistics Small businesses in Canada waited an average of 29.5 days to be paid in June 2026, and invoices were paid 11.4 days after their due date on average. Across the April to June 2026 quarter, the period Xero headlines in its own commentary, the average wait was 29.0 days, with invoices 11.3 days late. Source page: https://www.paidnice.com/accounts-receivable-statistics/canada ## Headline numbers - Small businesses in Canada waited an average of 29.5 days to be paid in June 2026, against 27.6 days a year earlier. - Invoices in Canada were paid an average of 11.4 days after their due date in June 2026, against 10.6 days a year earlier. - Small business sales in Canada grew 3.8% year on year in June 2026. Canadian small businesses face the longest overdue times of the five countries we track: invoices settle 11.4 days past their due date on average, up 0.8 days on a year ago. Ontario businesses wait 11.5 days longer than those in British Columbia to be paid. ## Which Canadian provinces wait longest to be paid? Small businesses in Ontario waited longest to be paid in June 2026, at 33.5 days on average, and those in British Columbia were paid fastest, at 22.0 days. - Ontario: small businesses in Ontario waited 33.5 days on average to be paid in June 2026 (+5.5 days on a year ago). - Maritime Provinces (NB, NS, PEI): small businesses in Maritime Provinces (NB, NS, PEI) waited 31.0 days on average to be paid in June 2026 (-2.1 days on a year ago). - Alberta: small businesses in Alberta waited 29.6 days on average to be paid in June 2026 (+3.8 days on a year ago). - British Columbia: small businesses in British Columbia waited 22.0 days on average to be paid in June 2026 (-13.6 days on a year ago). ## Is late payment getting worse in Canada? Payment times in Canada are getting slower. The average wait was 29.5 days in June 2026, against a five-year average of 28.1 days. The fastest month since January 2017 was January 2021 at 25.7 days, and the slowest was July 2018 at 34.5 days. Invoices were paid 11.4 days late, 0.8 days more than a year earlier. Days paid late have ranged from 8.4 to 16.8 days. The Bank of Canada target overnight rate stood at 2.25% in June 2026. ## Frequently asked questions ### How long do small businesses in Canada wait to be paid? As of June 2026, small businesses in Canada waited an average of 29.5 days from issuing an invoice to receiving full payment (+1.9 days vs a year ago). This is the actual observed payment time across anonymized Xero invoices, not the stated payment terms. ### How late are invoices paid in Canada? Invoices in Canada were paid an average of 11.4 days after their due date in June 2026 (+0.8 days vs a year ago). The historical range runs from 8.4 days (May 2021) to 16.8 days (July 2018). ### Which province has the slowest payment times in Canada? Ontario is currently the slowest, with businesses waiting 33.5 days on average to be paid. British Columbia is the fastest at 22.0 days, a gap of 11.5 days. ### Are payment times in Canada getting better or worse? Payment times are getting slower. The average wait of 29.5 days in June 2026 compares with 27.6 days a year earlier and a five-year average of 28.1 days. ### Where does this data come from? All figures come from Xero Small Business Insights (June 2026 release), which aggregates anonymized data from hundreds of thousands of small businesses using Xero. Payment metrics are calculated from invoices marked fully paid in the month, weighted by invoice value, and seasonally adjusted. Paidnice presents the data with independent analysis; the underlying dataset is published by Xero. ### Can I charge late payment interest in Canada? For most business-to-business invoices in Canada there is no statutory late payment rate; interest and late fees must come from your contract terms, and annualized rates need to be stated clearly. In construction, prompt payment legislation (federally and in provinces such as Ontario) sets deadlines for paying contractor invoices. ### Why are Ontario payment times so slow? Ontario recorded the longest payment time of the tracked provinces, at 33.5 days in June 2026. Its economy is weighted toward industries with longer invoice-to-payment cycles, and larger corporate supply chains tend to stretch terms further. British Columbia is at 22.0 days. ## Methodology - Time to be paid: average days from invoice issue to full payment, from invoices marked fully paid in the month, weighted by invoice value, and seasonally adjusted. Invoices without payment terms are excluded. - Late payments: average days an invoice is paid beyond its due date, seasonally adjusted. - Source: Xero Small Business Insights, June 2026 detailed results for Canada (https://www.xero.com/ca/resources/small-business-insights/), monthly from January 2017. Paidnice's analysis is independent of Xero. This page reports how long small businesses wait to be paid, from Xero Small Business Insights. How long large companies take to pay their suppliers is a different measure from government payment filings, and it is on the payment times pages. ## Cite Canada small business payment statistics, analyzed by Paidnice. https://www.paidnice.com/accounts-receivable-statistics/canada ## Related - [Accounts receivable statistics for all countries](https://www.paidnice.com/accounts-receivable-statistics) - [DSO calculator](https://www.paidnice.com/calculators/days-sales-outstanding) - [Net 30 calculator](https://www.paidnice.com/calculators/net-30-calculator)