--- title: "Your largest customer pays late: stress-testing the next payroll" canonical: https://www.billabex.com/en/blog/largest-customer-late-payment-payroll/ lang: en alternate: https://www.billabex.com/fr/blog/retard-client-principal-impact-paie.md updated: 2026-09-17 index: https://www.billabex.com/llms.txt --- # Your largest customer pays late: stress-testing the next payroll Your largest customer announces a one-week payment delay. The profit and loss account still shows a profit, and the cash forecast ends positive at the chosen horizon. Yet the next payroll may be underfunded for several days. The exposure comes from when funds are available, not just the total value of receivables. A useful stress test moves that receipt through the calendar and observes the lowest cash position before payroll. It does not predict the customer's solvency or replace your accountant's assessment. It identifies when a decision becomes necessary and which assumptions need confirmation before the period can be treated as funded. The example below concerns a French business, with practical lessons for European finance teams. ## Begin with funds actually available today Take the bank balance at a stated time and identify transactions not yet reflected in it. An issued supplier transfer may reduce available funds before it appears in the export being reviewed. Conversely, a receipt already in the account must not be added again merely because the associated invoice remains open. Document available credit separately: authorised limit, amount used, conditions and expiry. An overdraft request under discussion is not an agreed resource. Even an existing facility needs assessment against its actual availability and the business's constraints. Ask finance or the bank to confirm the position when the cash requirement is close. An [aged receivables balance](https://www.billabex.com/en/blog/excel-aging-balance-template-simplify-your-accounts-receivable-tracking-today/) helps identify the customer exposure but does not establish when funds will arrive. The difference between a receivable and available cash is precisely what the test should reveal. Do not automatically turn every overdue invoice into a certain receipt for the following week. ## Examine the dates around payroll in more detail A monthly table may be too broad for this question. Keep it for general planning, then inspect daily movements around material outflows. Include net salaries, payroll-related taxes and contributions on their actual dates, suppliers, rent, loan repayments and other commitments. Payroll-related payments do not necessarily all leave the bank on the same day. Bpifrance Création explains that a cash plan places receipts and payments in the period when they are expected to occur, including VAT for relevant transactions. Here we apply that principle to a finer calendar focused on a major receipt. The daily stress test is a proposed management practice, not a mandatory official template. [Source: Bpifrance Création, February 2025](https://bpifrance-creation.fr/encyclopedie/previsions-financieres-business-plan/previsions-financieres/plan-tresorerie-projet). Payroll should not become an unspoken balancing item used to keep the spreadsheet positive. For the general case of monthly paid employees in France, Service Public states that wages are paid once a month at the same period, subject to applicable provisions. Record the actual expected date with whoever prepares the salary transfers. [Source: Service Public, verified 24 October 2025](https://www.service-public.gouv.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F2308?lang=fr). ## A simulation with a positive closing balance and a payroll shortfall The following scenario is entirely hypothetical. On 18 September, the business has €18,000 available. It expects €4,000 from other customers on 22 September, pays €8,000 to suppliers on 23 September, expects €24,000 from its largest customer on 25 September and pays €22,000 in net salaries on 28 September. Another €5,000 is expected on 2 October. | Hypothetical date | Movement | Balance with main receipt on 25 September | Balance with main receipt on 2 October | | ----------------- | --------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------: | -------------------------------------: | | 18 September | Opening balance | €18,000 | €18,000 | | 22 September | Other receipts: +€4,000 | €22,000 | €22,000 | | 23 September | Suppliers: −€8,000 | €14,000 | €14,000 | | 25 September | Main customer: +€24,000 if received | €38,000 | €14,000 | | 28 September | Net salaries: −€22,000 | €16,000 | −€8,000 | | 2 October | Other receipts and delayed main receipt | €21,000 | €21,000 | Both scenarios end at €21,000 on 2 October. However, the delayed scenario has an €8,000 payroll funding gap in the absence of available financing. The negative balance represents a theoretical requirement to cover, not permission to exceed a bank facility. Only the stated movements are included. A real assessment needs every other outflow, fees and possible differences in timing within a day. A receipt and payment carrying the same date do not guarantee that funds will be available at the exact moment of the debit. ## Test a partial payment without treating it as certain The customer may propose €10,000 on 25 September and the remaining €14,000 on 2 October. In our simulation, cash before payroll becomes €24,000 and falls to €2,000 after salaries. The immediate €8,000 gap disappears under those assumptions, but the remaining margin is narrow. Before treating this as the chosen scenario, obtain a [specific, trackable payment promise](https://www.billabex.com/en/blog/verifiable-payment-promises/). Identify the invoices covered, the intended initiation or receipt date and the person able to confirm payment. The proposal still needs to be executed; it does not have the same evidential status as cash already credited to the bank. If the transfer covers several invoices, verify its [allocation to the correct documents](https://www.billabex.com/en/blog/one-payment-multiple-invoices/). Avoid counting the same commitment against an invoice and again against a consolidated statement. For the liquidity test, the money enters the calendar once, however complex the reconciliation becomes. ## Make the decision before the funding gap arrives The stress test should produce a dated action. Establish when funds must be secured to prepare payroll transfers, allowing for approvals and bank processing. That decision date may precede the date employees are paid. Waiting until the debit is due to investigate options leaves much less room to act. Give your accountant and bank a concise case: opening funds, verified outflows, the main customer receipt, available evidence, delayed scenario and funding requirement. Separate confirmed decisions from options still being discussed. A new source of cash belongs in the funded scenario only when its conditions and timing are established. Where a problem concerns a finance provider, France's Credit Mediation service is a route to assess according to the circumstances. Banque de France describes initial contact and eligibility examination within 48 hours, followed by five business days for financial institutions to reconsider their position. Those procedural steps do not guarantee funding before the next payroll. [Source: Banque de France](https://www.banque-france.fr/fr/a-votre-service/entreprises/saisir-mediation-credit). A European group should assess the corresponding local obligations and support mechanisms for each employing entity. Centralised cash visibility helps, but it does not make funds automatically transferable or freely available across all group companies. ## Keep the test after the immediate problem is resolved When the payment arrives, compare the actual date and amount with your assumptions, including any documentary dependency. Use the difference to improve the next test. Do not conclude that customer concentration is acceptable merely because this incident ended well. Another month may have a lower opening balance or more outflows close together. Repeat the scenario for the next payroll cycle using updated data. Agree a buffer with finance that reflects volatility and resources actually accessible to the business. No universal percentage replaces that assessment. If the business already cannot meet debts as they fall due, obtain prompt professional advice on its situation and required steps. [Billabex's payment promise tracking](https://www.billabex.com/en/product/payment-promises/) helps retain announced dates, amounts and follow-up milestones. Use those details as forecast inputs with their level of confirmation made explicit. Financing decisions and payroll planning remain management responsibilities based on funds the business can actually access. ## Sources - [Bpifrance Création: preparing a cash flow plan](https://bpifrance-creation.fr/encyclopedie/previsions-financieres-business-plan/previsions-financieres/plan-tresorerie-projet). - [Service Public: salary payment](https://www.service-public.gouv.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F2308?lang=fr). - [Banque de France: Credit Mediation](https://www.banque-france.fr/fr/a-votre-service/entreprises/saisir-mediation-credit).