30 days terms as standard

 

Prompt Payment Code promotes 30 days terms as standard

 

30 days terms as standard

All to often I meet business owners, who are scratching around for cash flow because big business has delayed payment of their invoice, either by simply extended the agreed terms or by burying the small business owner in red tape. It is therefore, nice to see that those businesses signed up to the Prompt Payment Code beginning to go back to 30 days terms (thats payment in 30 days from the date of the small business invoice) with currently a maximum of 60 days.

These recent moves also come alongside a reporting requirement which requires big business to report payment practices every six months, and although the code is currently voluntary there are a number of major suppliers on the list, for a full list of Prompt Payment Code volunteers follow the link.

The business minister Matthew Hancock had these words to say to the Payment Code volunteers:

“As a Code signatory, you will be aware that late payment is a significant problem for UK businesses. In January 2015, BACS reported that over £32 billion was owed in overdue payments to the UK’s small and medium sized businesses. These debts hamper their cashflow and in the worst case threaten their survival. The Government is absolutely clear that large companies should lead by example in paying their suppliers promptly and fairly, with 30 day terms the norm and 60 days the maximum. This is why the Government has driven forward a comprehensive package of measures to tackle late and unfair payment, including legislating to allow for the introduction of a new mandatory obligation on all large companies to report publicly on their payment performance from April 2016.

4 debt collection tips

If your business is struggling to get late payments in, there are a number of different things you can do to help ensure full and prompt payment:

1. Ensure you have a signed contract for services or products.

2. Ensure that you get delivery notes or satisfaction notes signed for each delivery or access point to your service.

3. Do NOT be afraid of asking for your money.

4. Buy in a system that manages your credit risk, your paper work chain, and gives you access to solicitors and if needed bailiffs (for more information as Carl about collecting your money)

Author: Carl Bradshaw FInstSMM. Follow on Twitter @CarlBradshaw, Google+, or public updates on Facebook catch up with what I’m reading on Pinterest.

By , MentorNW

Source: Business Blog
Title: 30 days terms as standard
Original Page Link: 30 days terms as standard