For small and medium‑sized businesses, late payments are no longer just an annoyance, they are a survival issue. In Europe, average payment periods now stretch beyond 60 days ( source ), and for SMEs with thin cash buffers, that two-month wait is often the difference between hiring and halting, growing or going under. One of the fastest, least bureaucratic ways to pull cash forward is early payment discounts. Done well, they turn slow‑paying customers into a predictable cash