[Azure]

Apparently the accounts receivable is a huge problem for thousands of small businesses in Canada.

I'll give an example of how it can happen in my industry. Customer purchases kitchen cabinets. Everything is according to spec except for a few small issues, which take some time to be resolved. When they are resolved customer just conveniently doesn't pay the outstanding amount on their bill despite repeated efforts to get them to do so.

When pushed to pay their bill, they respond saying it took too long to fix the issues and they refuse to pay whatever is owed.

Obviously a company with better customer service will be able to minimize the issues and be on top of collecting payment, but the issue is still there, even if not as large.

How do you deal with this? And as a customer, is it right to just refuse to pay?

A lot of times a small business will not have the resources available to legally go after someone. Small claims court can also be a PITA.

IMO, as long as the work is completed as originally agreed upon, you are obligated to pay your bill. Asking for a discount because of certain issues is understandable, but if the company doesn't give it, that doesn't mean you can just not pay the bill. If you don't like how the work was handled, don't recommend the company to anyone else. If it is bad enough they won't stay afloat long.