Australian businesses are finishing the year in good shape, with late payment times down nearly ten per cent on the previous quarter. That's according to the latest analysis by illion - the credit bureau formerly known as Dun & Bradstreet.The illion report shows the average late payment time for an Australian business was 12.6 days during the September quarter, down from 13.9 days or 9.1 per cent in the previous corresponding period. In addition to reducing the length of time for overdue bills, the data shows more businesses are also settling their invoices on time, demonstrating a broad shift in payment behaviour. Total outstanding debt to the end of September stood at A$27.9 billion, with 66.9 percent of bills being paid according to invoice terms. Compared to the beginning of the year, that represents an additional $6.1 billion of capital being injected back into the supply chain sooner. Simon Bligh, illion's chief executive officer, said the drop in late payments was a positive sign for the business community. "Payment behaviour helps us track the health of business in real time," he said."If a company's annual report is like the yearly medical check-up, then payment data is like Fitbit data. Timely payments are a crucial sign of business health. They are critical to small businesses running on slim margins, reducing the risk of job cuts and business failures," Bligh said.  The issue of late payments has been a hot topic this year, with the Small Business Ombudsman releasing the results of an inquiry into payment behaviour in March, and the Business Council of Australia issuing its Australian Supplier Payment Code in May.  Stephen Koukoulas, illion's economic adviser, said the issue was particularly apparent in Canberra.  "The ongoing high level of late payments in the ACT is linked to the structure of its economy, where the government sector, which is a large part of the ACT economy, is historically slower than other sectors to pay suppliers."