Payment-term inspections: 54.2% of establishments had anomalies in 2025, up from 42.3% a year earlier
The annual report of France's Payment Terms Observatory (24 September) counts 882 establishments inspected by the DGCCRF in 2025 and 1,290 companies whose Banque de France rating was downgraded for their payment behaviour.
According to the Banque de France release, the DGCCRF inspected 882 establishments in 2025, including 30 public companies, and found anomalies in 54.2% of cases, against 42.3% in 2024. That same year, 1,290 companies had their Banque de France rating downgraded because of how they pay. Late payments stood at 13.4 days at the end of the year, slightly above the European average, and without them SMEs and micro-businesses would have had 13 billion euros more cash. The report was handed to the minister for SMEs on 23 September.
For a network of domiciliation branches the message is twofold. On what the branch pays, the 60-day rule is checked more and more. On what it is owed, every unpaid domiciliation subscription weighs on the cash of a small business, and chasing it is a repetitive task that gets put off. A polite reminder, sent on time and in the same tone everywhere, is exactly the work an assistant can prepare.
For AppH
- AppH prepares reminders for customers' unpaid invoices in the branch's own tone, with the amount and the due date, so nobody has to write them one by one.
- A person stays in control: the branch reads and approves every reminder before it goes out, and decides what happens next in a dispute or with a customer in difficulty.
Against / the honest limit
- DGCCRF inspections look at whether the company that pays its suppliers respects the legal terms. AppH does not check the branch's compliance and gives no legal advice.
- A 54.2% anomaly rate concerns targeted establishments, not all companies, and the average improvement in payment terms is a separate figure. The release says nothing about domiciliation.
When inspections tighten, you do not win by adding one more tool: you win by no longer letting small reminders slide. The reminder can be automated; the decision to chase firmly stays human.
Reviewed by a human at AppH