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Dive Brief:

Dive Insight:

Days sales outstanding , or the average number of days it takes a company to get paid for a sale, is a measure of cash flow health that is closely watched by CFOs and accounts receivable professionals.

On the other side of the table are companies that are vetting invoices before paying them, sometimes declining for good reason to pay based on a variety of administrative or business concerns. These include incorrect purchase order numbers, missing tax information or regulatory discrepancies, disagreements over billed amounts, or suspicious vendor information, according to Basware.

It’s up to businesses to manage their deals and address any true problems driving genuine rejections to avoid long-term damage to relationships between the buyer and suppliers, Kurtz said in an emailed response to questions. “While rejection can result in a delay, it doesn’t mean the supplier won’t eventually be paid,” Kurtz said.

But the spike in rejections suggests that increased rejections are not driven by simple administrative mistakes but rather by some companies that are seeking to renegotiate agreements or blocking payments to stockpile cash, Basware asserts. “It’s a sign that businesses are under significant stress,” Kurtz said.

The findings were included in Basware's Invoice Rejection Analysis , which examined volumes and rejection rates across 272 million invoices throughout 2024 and Q1 2025.