Have you ever had a problem with late payments? Have you ever wished someone would do something to stop big businesses imposing 60 or 90 day terms on their suppliers? Now’s your chance to have your say on what should change! The Government has announced new steps to tackle the problem, and is asking for late payment evidence and the views of people who’ve been affected.

The Government’s Small Business Minister, Kelly Tolhurst launched the call for evidence on the 4th October, with new measures to finally solve the problems caused to small companies by late payments by larger businesses.

The FSB has suggested that solving late payments could add £2.5billion to the UK economy and keep an additional 50,000 businesses open each year. Given that a quarter of UK businesses have said that late payments could threaten their survival, it’s essential that serious thought and attention is given to the subject.

The new proposal includes:

1. The call for evidence to ‘consider the best way company boards can put in place responsible payment practices throughout the supply chain’
2. ‘Promotion of innovative technologies to help small businesses manage their payments processes’.
3. The Government has committed to pay 90% of undisputed invoices within 5 days.

The FSB has called for a ‘tough and transparent ‘ compliance regime to be implemented, and we would wholeheartedly agree. We have seen too many times over the years when small businesses have been adversely affected by the lengthy payment terms imposed on them by their larger customers.

If you’re worried about the impact on your business of late payment, whether from larger businesses or not, there are steps you can take. Have a read of our earlier blog post ‘Late Payments – Our Top 10 Tips‘ and please get in touch if you’d like to know more.

No-one sets up in business to subsidise another, and if customers are allowed to pay outside of the agreed payment terms, that’s exactly what’s happening!

You can find out more from the original announcement: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ending-late-payments-to-small-businesses