Payments in the final quarter of 2010 bucked the slowly improving trend for the year by rocketing 16pc to an average of 25.7 days late, the information services company said.
Payments are "timely" indicators of company health and banks will scrutinise the data to inform lending decisions. They may respond by tightening credit conditions for small companies further.
Jason Mills, from Experian, said: "More businesses – even financially strong ones – struggled with short-term cash flow issues towards the end of last year. These businesses are likely to have been affected to some degree by the bad weather, with many companies unable to operate at full efficiency as employees struggled to get into their offices."
Large companies turned the screws on suppliers, paying their bills 36.7 days later than agreed terms, up from 35.9 days in the final quarter last year. But small companies recorded the largest increase in their late payments, taking on average more than 22 days to settle invoices – three days longer than the same period last year.
Andrew Cave, spokesman for the Federation of Small Businesses, said: "Late payment is the elephant in the room and it's why so many businesses are forced to go to the banks for funding, in forms of overdrafts, Loans or credit cards. It is used as a safety valve by businesses in trouble. The first thing they will do is delay payments. If it's building up that's a concern."
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