Invoice Error and Dispute Statistics
Last updated: 2026-10-28 · 9 sourced statistics
How often are invoices wrong? We found no official or other reliable published figure for a universal invoice error rate, and the figures that circulate could not be traced to a primary source. What does exist is UK government research on why invoices get paid late. In a survey of 300 UK businesses in January 2024, 24% of those with business customers named administrative errors, such as failing to log invoices or invoicing errors, as a main driver of late payment in their sector. Among businesses that gave the share of their supplier invoices paid late, 36% blamed administrative errors, 31% disputed invoices and 23% invoices that got lost or failed to deliver. This page sets out those figures with who was asked and what was measured, the UK's plans for a deadline on invoice disputes, and one labelled vendor benchmark for accounts payable exceptions.
Key takeaways
- We found no reliable published universal invoice error rate; the figures below measure reported causes of late payment, not the share of invoices containing errors.
- 24% of UK businesses with business customers named administrative errors, such as unlogged invoices or invoicing errors, as a main driver of late payment in their sector; 36% among large businesses (DBT survey of 300 firms, January 2024).
- Of UK businesses that gave the share of their supplier invoices paid late, 36% cited administrative errors, 31% disputed invoices and 23% technical issues such as lost invoices (DBT, 2024).
- 72% of businesses responding to the UK consultation supported a 30-day window for disputing invoices; the government said in March 2026 that it intends to introduce a time limit (DBT, 2026).
- The average accounts payable invoice exception rate was 18.4%, a vendor benchmark that is not an invoice error rate (Ardent Partners, 2025).
At a glance.
Every figure on this page in one table, each linked to its named source. Scroll down for the full context behind each number.
| Figure | What it measures | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24% | 24% of surveyed UK businesses with business customers (274 of the 300 interviewed) named administrative errors or failings, including failing to log invoices or invoicing errors, as a main driver of late payments in their sector. | UK Department for Business and Trade, Late payments research: understanding variations in payment performance and practices (IFF Research) | 2024 |
| 36% | Large businesses (250+ employees) in the same survey were more likely to name administrative errors as a driver of late payments: 36%. | UK Department for Business and Trade, Late payments research: understanding variations in payment performance and practices (IFF Research) | 2024 |
| 36% | Among the 138 surveyed UK businesses that gave the share of their supplier invoices paid late, 36% said administrative errors or failings (including failing to log an invoice or invoicing errors) were a main reason they paid late. | UK Department for Business and Trade, Late payments research: understanding variations in payment performance and practices (IFF Research) | 2024 |
| 31% | 31% of those same 138 businesses said disputed invoices were a main reason they paid supplier invoices late. | UK Department for Business and Trade, Late payments research: understanding variations in payment performance and practices (IFF Research) | 2024 |
| 23% | 23% of those 138 businesses put paying suppliers late down to technical issues, including invoices getting lost or failing to deliver. | UK Department for Business and Trade, Late payments research: understanding variations in payment performance and practices (IFF Research) | 2024 |
| 18% | 18% of surveyed UK businesses with business customers said some businesses pay late on purpose as a form of free finance (30% in the goods sector). | UK Department for Business and Trade, Late payments research: understanding variations in payment performance and practices (IFF Research) | 2024 |
| 17% | UK businesses with business customers said a mean of 17% of payments arrived late, ranging from 11% in insurance to 21% in the goods sector; on the paying side, a mean of 7% of supplier invoices were paid late. These are late-payment shares, not error rates. | UK Department for Business and Trade, Late payments research: understanding variations in payment performance and practices (IFF Research) | 2024 |
| 72% | 72% of businesses responding to the UK government's 2025 late payment consultation agreed with a 30-day deadline for raising disputes over invoices; the government's March 2026 response says it intends to introduce a time limit for raising disputes. | UK Department for Business and Trade, Time to pay up: government response to the 2025 late payment consultation | 2026 |
| 18.4% | Vendor survey: the average invoice exception rate for accounts payable departments was 18.4%, and Best-in-Class teams (the 20% with the lowest processing costs and shortest cycle times) had exception rates 47% lower than the rest of the market. Ardent does not define an exception, so this is not an invoice error rate. | Ardent Partners, The State of ePayables 2025 (Payables Place, Part Nine) | 2025 |
The statistics
24% of surveyed UK businesses with business customers (274 of the 300 interviewed) named administrative errors or failings, including failing to log invoices or invoicing errors, as a main driver of late payments in their sector.
Large businesses (250+ employees) in the same survey were more likely to name administrative errors as a driver of late payments: 36%.
Among the 138 surveyed UK businesses that gave the share of their supplier invoices paid late, 36% said administrative errors or failings (including failing to log an invoice or invoicing errors) were a main reason they paid late.
31% of those same 138 businesses said disputed invoices were a main reason they paid supplier invoices late.
23% of those 138 businesses put paying suppliers late down to technical issues, including invoices getting lost or failing to deliver.
18% of surveyed UK businesses with business customers said some businesses pay late on purpose as a form of free finance (30% in the goods sector).
UK businesses with business customers said a mean of 17% of payments arrived late, ranging from 11% in insurance to 21% in the goods sector; on the paying side, a mean of 7% of supplier invoices were paid late. These are late-payment shares, not error rates.
72% of businesses responding to the UK government's 2025 late payment consultation agreed with a 30-day deadline for raising disputes over invoices; the government's March 2026 response says it intends to introduce a time limit for raising disputes.
Vendor survey: the average invoice exception rate for accounts payable departments was 18.4%, and Best-in-Class teams (the 20% with the lowest processing costs and shortest cycle times) had exception rates 47% lower than the rest of the market. Ardent does not define an exception, so this is not an invoice error rate.
Source:Ardent Partners, The State of ePayables 2025 (Payables Place, Part Nine)2025
When these numbers don't apply
Aggregate statistics hide a lot. Read these caveats before quoting a figure as if it describes your specific situation.
- We found no reliable, published universal invoice error rate. None of the figures here is the share of invoices that contain errors, and none should be quoted as one.
- Seven figures come from one UK government study: 300 telephone interviews with micro to large businesses in five sector groups (goods, construction, pharmaceutical, insurance, services), run by IFF Research for the Department for Business and Trade between 3 and 31 January 2024. The sample came from a commercial business database, larger firms were deliberately over-sampled, and results were not weighted, so the report says they cannot be considered representative of the business population.
- The study asks why payments are late, not how many invoices were wrong. Bases differ: the 24%, 18% and 17% figures are of the 274 businesses with business customers (the 24% and 18% answer a question about the main drivers of late payment in their sector), while the 36%, 31% and 23% supplier-side figures are of the 138 businesses that gave the share of their supplier invoices paid late. Read each statement's wording before comparing them.
- The 72% consultation figure is the share of businesses responding to a public consultation (over 850 formal responses), not a representative sample.
- The Ardent Partners exception rate is a vendor survey of accounts payable departments. Ardent's free article does not state its sample size or define an exception, so exceptions may include problems other than errors on the supplier's invoice.
- Since financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2025, UK companies covered by the Payment Practices Reporting regulations must state the percentage of payments not made within the payment period as a result of a dispute (SI 2024/444). These are individual company filings; we found no official aggregate, so no national dispute rate is quoted here.
- Widely repeated figures on invoice error rates, duplicate payments and the cost of correcting an error could not be traced to a free primary source, so they are not on this page.
How we compiled this data
Reviewed 2026-10-28. We looked for an official or otherwise traceable figure for the share of invoices that contain errors and found none, so the page reports what the available sources actually measure: reasons for late payment and disputes. The UK figures come from the Department for Business and Trade's late payments research (IFF Research, 300 telephone interviews, 3 to 31 January 2024, published 19 September 2024); each figure and its base was checked against the gov.uk executive summary and the full report PDF on the review date, which corrected the base of the supplier-side figures to the 138 businesses that gave the share of supplier invoices they pay late. The 72% figure and the government's intention to set a dispute time limit were checked in the March 2026 consultation response. The status of the Commercial Payments Bill was checked on the UK Parliament bills service, and the dispute reporting duty in the Reporting on Payment Practices and Performance (Amendment) Regulations 2024 on legislation.gov.uk. The one vendor figure (Ardent Partners, 18.4%) is stated on Ardent's own free article dated 22 January 2026. Earlier figures on error rates, processing costs, expense reports and duplicate payments were removed because they could not be traced to a free primary page.
We hand-collected each figure from its original publisher rather than recycling secondary round-ups, cross-checked the headline numbers against the source documents in 2026-10-28, and link every statistic to the report it came from so you can verify it yourself. Where a publisher issues annual updates, we cite the report edition and flag the year inline.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a reliable invoice error rate?
Not one we could verify. We found no official statistic for the share of invoices that contain errors, and widely quoted error-rate figures could not be traced to a primary source. The best available data asks businesses why payments are late: in UK government research, administrative and invoicing errors, disputed invoices and lost invoices were among the most common reasons.
How often do invoice errors cause late payment?
In a 2024 UK government survey of 300 businesses, 24% of those with business customers named administrative errors, including failing to log invoices or invoicing errors, as a main driver of late payment in their sector. Large businesses said so more often (36%). The survey was not weighted and is not representative of all UK businesses.
Why do businesses pay supplier invoices late?
Among the 138 surveyed UK businesses that gave the share of their supplier invoices paid late, 36% cited administrative errors, 31% disputed invoices and 23% technical issues such as invoices getting lost or failing to deliver. Separately, 18% of businesses with business customers said some customers pay late on purpose.
Is there a deadline for disputing an invoice?
Not a general statutory one in the UK yet. 72% of businesses responding to the 2025 consultation supported a 30-day window, and the government said in March 2026 that it intends to introduce a time limit for raising disputes. The Commercial Payments Bill, introduced in Parliament in May 2026, includes a clause on late raising of disputes; on 28 October 2026 it was still before the House of Commons and not law. Construction contracts already have their own payment notice rules.
What is a normal invoice exception rate in accounts payable?
Ardent Partners' vendor survey put the average at 18.4% of invoices in 2025, with Best-in-Class teams 47% lower. Ardent's free article does not define an exception, so the figure is not a pure invoice-error rate.
How can I reduce disputes on the invoices I send?
Match the invoice to what the client agreed: their purchase order or contract reference, the agreed rate and quantities, correct legal names and a unique invoice number. Then confirm the client has logged it, since unlogged and lost invoices are among the reasons UK businesses gave for paying late.
Put these figures to use
- Invoicing hub: Guides and templates for writing, sending and following up on invoices.
- Invoice number generator: Create sequential invoice numbers with a prefix, optionally including the year or month.
- Client contract clauses that get you paid: Payment terms, late fees and kill fees with sample wording, so invoices match what was agreed.
- Late payment culture by country: How payment-term rules differ in the EU, UK, France, Germany, the US and Japan.
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