I doubt they'll be too hard line on one late payment, depending on the finance company. And the facts you had never been late before and have now paid immediately are in your favour.
We used to have a silly car payment scheme where we could only pay by cheque at a post office. We forgot a couple of times to take the cheque in, as all our other bills had reminders or were paid automatically (plus the fact I just forgot!
). They just rang us and asked why they hadn't received it, we said "Oops", paid it, and that was that!. No demerit points or credit black marks at all!
But if you are worried about your credit rating ring the company and ask about their policy on late payments. You may find they are reasonably forgiving, up to a point. Just be aware not to make a habit of forgetting, and all should be OK, as long as they are a reasonable company to deal with.
Cheers
Mick
but I agree that they probably won't do much. Although I think that even if you forget and pay them back quickly, you should still NOT get in the habit of that because who knows.... 
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