Verzögerter Zahlungseingang durch fehlerhafte oder unklare Schlussrechnungen

Definition

Australian guidance on invoicing best practices emphasises that vague terms and unclear invoices lead to disputes and delayed payment; businesses that set clear, specific terms and issue accurate invoices are more likely to maintain steady incomings.[4] Under Australian Consumer Law and ACCC pricing guidance, businesses that apply card surcharges must display total prices including all unavoidable fees, and card surcharges must not exceed the cost of acceptance.[6] Catering contracts often apply a fixed credit card surcharge (e.g. 2% of the total function cost) and then bill additional consumption, incidentals and breakages post-event on an itemised invoice that is charged to the client’s card a few days after the event.[3] If this final invoice contains errors (wrong guest numbers, missed adjustments, incorrectly calculated surcharge) or does not clearly present all included fees, corporate clients may dispute the charge or delay approval. Each dispute can extend Days Sales Outstanding significantly. Industry practice shows payment terms for hospitality are often “immediate” or short, but in reality, unclear invoices push payment well beyond 14–30 days.[4] For a caterer doing regular corporate events, even a small proportion of invoices being delayed by 2–4 weeks materially impacts cash flow.

Why This Matters

The Pitch: Catering players in Australia 🇦🇺 regularly wait 15–30 extra days for cash because of disputed or unclear final invoices. Automation of tax-compliant invoice generation, clear surcharge display and digital delivery can cut time-to-cash by 7–15 days per invoice.

Affected Stakeholders

Finance managers, Accounts receivable clerks, Event sales managers, Corporate client accounts payable teams

Related Business Risks