Ian Carrotte, of credit-checking agency ICSM, said that the number of agreed payment plans was rising and warned they could "skew the figures".

"A payment plan agreed for a large debt can completely blow your cashflow out of the water and can be almost as detrimental as a full-on bad debt, depending on the terms agreed," he explained.

"Ensuring the debtor can afford the payments sometimes means ridiculously extended credit terms.

He said that interest costs should always be built into any plan if absolutely essential, adding that he was "amazed" at the number of printers that leave debts for a long time before acting.

"I often find that I am quietly asking myself why on earth our client offered credit in the first place. Usually, had they looked, the warning signs would have been there. Why aren’t all printers credit checking?"