New Zealand small business payment times & late payment statistics

Small businesses in New Zealand waited an average of 24.6 days to be paid in September 2026, with invoices settled 4.6 days late on average. Across the July to September 2026 quarter, the period Xero headlines in its own commentary, the average wait was 25.4 days, with invoices 5.2 days late. Explore payment times, debtor days and late payment trends by industry and region, monthly from January 2017 to September 2026. Data: Xero Small Business Insights, analysed by Paidnice.

Updated with September 2026 data
Time to be paid
24.6days
-0.7 days vs a year ago
Paid late by
4.6days
-0.5 days vs a year ago
Sales growth (y/y)
+5.6%
+5.1% a year ago
Jobs growth (y/y)
+1.9%
-1.2% a year ago
Wages growth (y/y)
+0.1%
+2.6% a year ago

New Zealand small businesses are among the faster paid in this five-country dataset, and lateness is near its lowest level since records began in 2017. The gap between sectors is still wide: manufacturers wait 2.9 times as long as hospitality businesses to see their money.

How long does it take to get paid in New Zealand?

Monthly averages, January 2017 to September 2026. Pick a metric, zoom the range, and overlay industries or regions to compare against the national line.

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Time to be paid and late payment days are seasonally adjusted. Sales, jobs, and wages are year-over-year growth. Shaded marker: COVID-19 pandemic onset (March 2020).

Context:

How long do New Zealand small businesses wait to be paid by industry?

Debtor days by sector, September 2026. Click a column heading to sort.

Industry Time to be paid Paid late by Change vs a year ago
Manufacturing 35.1 days 9.3 days 0.0d
Health Care and Social Assistance 28.5 days 9.3 days +3.0d
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services 28.4 days 6.7 days -0.1d
Construction 24.2 days 6.2 days -1.5d
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing 23.1 days 2.7 days -1.5d
Administrative and Support Services 22.0 days 3.3 days 0.0d
Other Services 21.4 days 3.3 days -2.1d
Retail Trade 20.6 days 3.4 days -0.5d
Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services 17.7 days 6.4 days +1.6d
Accommodation and Food Services 12.0 days 2.2 days -2.0d
Slowest paid: Manufacturing Manufacturing businesses waited 35.1 days on average in September 2026, 10.5 days longer than the national average.
Fastest paid: Accommodation and Food Services At 12.0 days, Accommodation and Food Services collects 23.1 days faster than Manufacturing.
Most overdue: Manufacturing Invoices in Manufacturing run 9.3 days past their due date on average, the worst of any sector.

Which New Zealand regions wait longest to be paid?

Small businesses in Hawke's Bay waited longest to be paid in September 2026, at 29.0 days on average, and those in Manawatu-Whanganui were paid fastest, at 19.7 days.

How long businesses wait to be paid across New Zealand's regions, September 2026. Click a column heading to sort.

Region Time to be paid Paid late by Change vs a year ago
Hawke's Bay 29.0 days 7.4 days +1.0d
Marlborough, Nelson & Tasman 28.5 days 4.6 days +1.1d
Auckland 28.0 days 4.8 days -0.6d
Taranaki 25.6 days 3.0 days +0.8d
Wellington 25.2 days 5.9 days -0.8d
Northland 24.8 days 4.4 days +2.1d
Southland 24.8 days 3.2 days +0.4d
Canterbury 22.3 days 3.9 days -0.3d
Bay of Plenty 21.2 days 3.3 days -1.3d
Waikato 21.1 days 3.5 days -1.6d
Otago 20.8 days 4.0 days -0.9d
Manawatu-Whanganui 19.7 days 2.6 days -1.2d
Slowest: Hawke's Bay Businesses in Hawke's Bay waited 29.0 days on average to be paid in September 2026.
Fastest: Manawatu-Whanganui Manawatu-Whanganui leads at 19.7 days, 9.3 days ahead of Hawke's Bay.

Is late payment getting worse in New Zealand?

Average days from invoice to payment, every month since January 2017, with the record months marked.

2017201820192020202120222023202420252026 23d29d avg 25.2d COVID-19 Slowest: 29.2 days Apr 2020 Fastest: 22.6 days Oct 2021 Now: 24.6d
Right now
24.6 days
September 2026
Five-year average
24.7 days
now 0.1d faster
Fastest month
22.6 days
October 2021
Slowest month
29.2 days
April 2020
Overdue range
3.5–9.7 days late
now 4.6 days

The cost of money. The RBNZ Official Cash Rate stood at 2.75% in September 2026. The cost of credit shapes how aggressively customers stretch their payables; use the context panel under the explorer chart above to overlay the full rate history.

Frequently asked questions: New Zealand payment times

How long do small businesses in New Zealand wait to be paid?
As of September 2026, small businesses in New Zealand waited an average of 24.6 days from issuing an invoice to receiving full payment (-0.7 days vs a year ago). This is the actual observed payment time across anonymised Xero invoices, not the stated payment terms.
How late are invoices paid in New Zealand?
Invoices in New Zealand were paid an average of 4.6 days after their due date in September 2026 (-0.5 days vs a year ago). The historical range runs from 3.5 days (June 2026) to 9.7 days (April 2020).
Which industry waits longest to be paid in New Zealand?
Manufacturing has the longest wait, at 35.1 days on average in September 2026. Accommodation and Food Services is the fastest paid, at 12.0 days. Measured by days past the due date, Manufacturing fares worst at 9.3 days late on average.
Which region has the slowest payment times in New Zealand?
Hawke's Bay is currently the slowest, with businesses waiting 29.0 days on average to be paid. Manawatu-Whanganui is the fastest at 19.7 days, a gap of 9.3 days.
Are payment times in New Zealand getting better or worse?
Payment times are improving. The average wait of 24.6 days in September 2026 compares with 25.3 days a year earlier and a five-year average of 24.7 days.
Where does this data come from?
All figures come from Xero Small Business Insights (September 2026 release), which aggregates anonymised 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 New Zealand?
New Zealand has no statutory late payment interest rate for business-to-business invoices. You can charge late fees or interest only if your terms of trade provide for them, and the amounts should be reasonable. Paidnice applies these charges automatically in Xero once they are in your terms.
Does the New Zealand government have payment time rules?
There is no reporting regime like Australia’s for private businesses. New Zealand government agencies, however, have committed to prompt payment targets for domestic supplier invoices, and eInvoicing adoption is being encouraged partly because it speeds up payment.

Methodology, definitions & sources

Time to be paid Average days from invoice issue to full payment, calculated from invoices marked fully paid in the month, weighted by invoice value and firm-level sample weights, and seasonally adjusted. Invoices without payment terms are excluded.
Late payments Average days an invoice is paid beyond its due date, seasonally adjusted. An average of 4.6 days late means the typical invoice dollar arrives 4.6 days after the agreed terms.
Sales, jobs & wages growth Year-over-year growth rates from anonymised, aggregated small business accounting data. These show the demand backdrop against which payment behaviour moves.

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.

Citing this page? You're welcome to use these statistics with attribution: New Zealand small business payment statistics, analysed by Paidnice. https://www.paidnice.com/accounts-receivable-statistics/new-zealand

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