Australian businesses are paying their invoices in near-record time but New Zealand businesses are doing even better.The latest Dun & Bradstreet trade payments analysis shows that Australian businesses took an average of 44.8 days to settle invoices during the September quarter.The result compares with 44.9 days in the June quarter and 45.1 days in the September quarter last year.Dun & Bradstreet said it was the lowest September quarter result in the history of the survey."Record low interest rates, steady if not spectacular economic growth and solid company profits are encouraging firms to lessen the time taken to pay their bills," said D&B economic adviser Stephen Koukoulas.Seventy-two per cent of invoices were paid within 30 days in the September quarter - the highest proportion in the history of the survey.Twenty-four per cent of invoices were paid within 31 to 60 days. Only eight per cent of invoices were unpaid after 60 days.The best payers are in the agriculture and fishing sectors, while the worst are in mining, utilities and communications.D&B reported that average trade payments days in New Zealand fell to 34.9 days, which was also near historical lows.Koukoulas said: "Historically, New Zealand firms pay their invoices more quickly than Australian firms pay theirs. It is not clear why this gap exists, given that over the medium term the economic performance and level of interest rates in the two countries have been similar."One issue that may account for the difference is that agriculture, which has the quickest invoice payments times, is a larger part of the New Zealand economy than in Australia."