Small businesses are starting to drop clients who ask for special discounts or miss payment deadlines, according to a recent report.

The average number of days it takes for retailers to collect on accounts due has increased 40 percent since October, to 18.82, according to Sageworks, a financial research firm. According to the Wall Street Journal, trends like this are leading many small businesses to drop problem clients so they can concentrate on loyal customers who do make their payments on time.

"That is a scary thing to do in an economy like this," Valarie Zeithaml, a marketing professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, told the newspaper. "But to have to continue to have a customer that's losing the company money with every transaction is not a good strategy either."

According to the report, one website development firm in Richmond, Virginia recently eliminated 5 percent of its clientele and is saving 20 percent of its labor hours while revenue is set to rise 10 percent.

Moves to end relationships with troublesome clients may be part of broader cost-cutting measures at many firms. A recent survey by business technology firm CDW found that 61 percent of small businesses have reduced their operating expenses during the recession.