Originally written by paulchristensen on Small Business
Yesterday the government announced a raft of new local lockdown restrictions in Liverpool. These follow on from local lockdowns across the north of the country, and likely precede harsher measures in the next week or so to be imposed on London.
It is clear that the government remains committed to keeping the “R” rate low, and prioritising protecting the NHS’ capacity over any resultant economic harms. That’s its trade off to make – but if it is a trade-off it insists on making, then small businesses need the government’s support more than ever.
These hyper-localised lockdowns have a huge impact on the small business community. For a large number of SMEs, their suppliers and customers are geographically proximate to their base of operations. This means that the viability of their business is tied to the health of the local economy, and, critically, to individuals and businesses producing and buying goods and services.
>See also: HSBC will not accept any more Bounce Back Loan applications
Think about a medium-sized grocer that supplies a number of large corporates in Liverpool. With profits already damaged by the downturn in orders from cruise lines and shipping companies, they are having to extend
Tag Archive for Late Payment
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Businesses could be facing fines for paying their suppliers late
by Anna Jordan • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
The Small Business Commissioner may be able to issue fines to companies who pay their suppliers late.
This proposal is part of a new consultation looking to extend the Small Business Commissioner’s powers, which in the past have been criticised for falling short.
If granted, businesses will be made to be pay suppliers as a lump sum or as part of a payment plan, or the Small Business Commissioner could impose further penalties.
The government may also allow the Commissioner to force firms to share information during an investigation and launch probes into suspected bad payment practices, even if no one has reported them.
Payment problems have worsened since COVID-19 surged in the UK as businesses are desperate to hold on to cash.
Larger companies have been made to publish their data in the past but critics have slated it, saying that the figures are very difficult to understand.
The current Small Business Commissioner, Paul Scully, says that £23.4bn is owed to small and medium-sized businesses, with a cost of £4.4bn a year just to collect the money owed.
Click here to take part in the consultation. It’s open until December 24th 2020.
Good news for supermarket suppliers
UK supermarkets have made
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Local lockdowns only make the problem of late payment worse
by paulchristensen • • 0 Comments
Originally written by paulchristensen on Small Business
Yesterday the government announced a raft of new local lockdown restrictions in Liverpool. These follow on from local lockdowns across the north of the country, and likely precede harsher measures in the next week or so to be imposed on London.
It is clear that the government remains committed to keeping the “R” rate low, and prioritising protecting the NHS’ capacity over any resultant economic harms. That’s its trade off to make – but if it is a trade-off it insists on making, then small businesses need the government’s support more than ever.
These hyper-localised lockdowns have a huge impact on the small business community. For a large number of SMEs, their suppliers and customers are geographically proximate to their base of operations. This means that the viability of their business is tied to the health of the local economy, and, critically, to individuals and businesses producing and buying goods and services.
>See also: HSBC will not accept any more Bounce Back Loan applications
Think about a medium-sized grocer that supplies a number of large corporates in Liverpool. With profits already damaged by the downturn in orders from cruise lines and shipping companies, they are having to extend
Hot Business News Today
Businesses could be facing fines for paying their suppliers late
by Anna Jordan • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
The Small Business Commissioner may be able to issue fines to companies who pay their suppliers late.
This proposal is part of a new consultation looking to extend the Small Business Commissioner’s powers, which in the past have been criticised for falling short.
If granted, businesses will be made to be pay suppliers as a lump sum or as part of a payment plan, or the Small Business Commissioner could impose further penalties.
The government may also allow the Commissioner to force firms to share information during an investigation and launch probes into suspected bad payment practices, even if no one has reported them.
Payment problems have worsened since COVID-19 surged in the UK as businesses are desperate to hold on to cash.
Larger companies have been made to publish their data in the past but critics have slated it, saying that the figures are very difficult to understand.
The current Small Business Commissioner, Paul Scully, says that £23.4bn is owed to small and medium-sized businesses, with a cost of £4.4bn a year just to collect the money owed.
Click here to take part in the consultation. It’s open until December 24th 2020.
Good news for supermarket suppliers
UK supermarkets have made
Hot Business News Today
Pay us within one month if you take COVID-19 cash, say small businesses
by Anna Jordan • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) wants policymakers to ensure that large firms who receive Government COVID-19 financial help pay their small firm suppliers within one month.
As part of its current calls, the FSB wants to make any big corporation that receives state or Bank of England-backed finance to sign a supplier charter committing to this payment term.
It also wants it to work with the BoE to shore up supply chain finance and ensure said finance is used to pay small businesses swiftly.
The latest data from pay.uk shows that the latest sum of late payment due across the country rose 80 per cent to £23.4bn at the end of 2019.
Almost two thirds of small businesses (62 per cent) have been subject to late or frozen payments during the pandemic.
FSB’s new report, ‘Late Again: how the coronavirus pandemic is impacting payment terms for small firms’, reveals that only one in ten small business have agreed changes to payment terms with clients. That means that most of the recent examples of poor payment practices have not been formally signed off by creditors or debtors.
Despite efforts by the Government to improve procurement practices since the fall
Hot Business News Today
Pay us within one month if you take COVID-19 cash, say small businesses
by Anna Jordan • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) wants policymakers to ensure that large firms who receive Government COVID-19 financial help pay their small firm suppliers within one month.
As part of its current calls, the FSB wants to make any big corporation that receives state or Bank of England-backed finance to sign a supplier charter committing to this payment term.
It also wants it to work with the BoE to shore up supply chain finance and ensure said finance is used to pay small businesses swiftly.
The latest data from pay.uk shows that the latest sum of late payment due across the country rose 80 per cent to £23.4bn at the end of 2019.
Almost two thirds of small businesses (62 per cent) have been subject to late or frozen payments during the pandemic.
FSB’s new report, ‘Late Again: how the coronavirus pandemic is impacting payment terms for small firms’, reveals that only one in ten small business have agreed changes to payment terms with clients. That means that most of the recent examples of poor payment practices have not been formally signed off by creditors or debtors.
Despite efforts by the Government to improve procurement practices since the fall
Hot Business News Today
One in five small businesses fell into their overdrafts last year
by Anna Jordan • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
Almost one in five small businesses have struggled with no cash in the bank, according to new research by Fluidly. The survey of 19,799 companies found that those having to use their overdrafts rose from 13.9pc in March 2019 to 17.8pc in January 2020.
Late payments, Brexit and economic uncertainty appear to be taking their toll as many businesses went into their overdrafts in nine of the 11 months tracked.
Plymouth was the worst-hit region at 35.7pc, followed by Southampton (34.3pc) and Peterborough, where around a third of businesses (32.8pc) have had to resort to their overdraft to survive.
RegionCompanies in overdraft at the end of the month (pc)
Plymouth35.7pc
Southampton34.3pc
Peterborough32.8pc
Shrewsbury31.1pc
Preston29.7pc
Stoke-on-Trent27.4pc
Manchester26.5pc
Bristol26.4pc
Milton Keynes26.1pc
York26pc
>See also: What are the best alternatives to a business overdraft?
Food and drink makers (34.7pc), product manufacturers (33.3pc) and farmers (32.6pc) have fared the worst over that 11-month period. This suggests that sectors investing large amounts upfront are suffering more.
IndustryCompanies in overdraft at end of month by industry (pc)
Food and drink manufacturers34.7pc
Product manufacturers33.3pc
Farmers (agriculture)32.6pc
Post and telecommunications31.7pc
Motor sales and repair31.3pc
Retail and trade30.8pc
Land transport30.4pc
Hotels and restaurants30pc
Construction29.5pc
Travel agents29pc
Last month, research from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) found that a growing proportion of finance applications (37pc) were being driven by
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What small business needs from new chancellor Rishi Sunak
by Caroline Plumb • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Caroline Plumb on Small Business
Very little in life surprises these days. Yesterday’s Cabinet reshuffle was a case in point. A few short weeks from the Budget and we have a new chancellor, Rishi Sunak. Really?
Rather than being shocked, instead I wondered more about what this means – in keeping with my company’s core way of thinking, “So what, now what?”.
So, does Sajid Javid’s resignation signal reforms more likely to favour businesses like mine and yours? As the news broke, the pound rose significantly with growing belief in the City a radical spending programme would ensue, less constrained by a chancellor keen to establish his fiscally prudent credentials.
It’s about time small businesses felt protected and valued by a government that has relied heavily on them and the self-employed to ensure years of austerity measures didn’t result in mass unemployment.
There are clearly areas where the Budget next month could move to allay concerns held by restaurateurs, recruiters, retailers and every other real business owner. Fail to do so and I fear the mental health, wellbeing and future financial security of business owners will be at risk.
As someone who started my first business aged 21 in 2000 with no prior
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Small businesses spend hour and a half each day chasing late payments
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Small business are currently chasing more than £50bn of late payments, according to research.
Digital banking platform Tide revealed that the average UK SME is chasing five outstanding invoices at any one time, using up an astonishing 1.5 hours a day, with an average of £8,500 being owed.
If you are self-employed and working alone, you have an average of four outstanding invoices at any one time, amounting to almost £1,000.
And businesses with anything between 10 and 50 employees have an average of eight invoices outstanding, racking up £13,000 being owed on average.
Businesses in London have the toughest time in terms of late payments, with SMEs in the capital having an average of seven invoices outstanding, spending over two hours a day chasing.
London is closely followed by Scotland, with businesses there having an average of six unpaid invoices, eating up an hour and a quarter each day chasing.
The South West has the easiest time of it, with businesses there waiting on just three invoices to be paid.
Getting worse
The late payments crisis appears to be getting worse with a quarter of SMEs reporting things are worse than a year ago. Although the government pledged to clamp
Hot Business News Today
Labour to stop rollout of Making Tax Digital to all small businesses if it wins
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Labour will stop the rollout of Making Tax Digital to all VAT-registered small businesses if it wins the general election.
Currently, MTD only applies to VAT-registered small businesses with turnover higher than £85,000. However, HM Revenue & Customs is planning to extend MTD to all VAT-able small businesses in its drive to find more revenue.
Rebecca Long-Bailey, shadow business secretary, told Radio 4’s Today programme: ““We’re going to scrap quarterly reporting for companies with turnover under £85,000.”
Long-Bailey was speaking on the morning Labour published its 20 Pledges to Business document, which encapsulates Labour’s thinking when it comes to helping small businesses, which Long-Bailey describes as “the lifeblood of our economy and our communities”.
>See also: Business rates reform key, says Labour business chairman Rachel Reeves
Although most of the 20 pledges have been announced elsewhere, those of most interest to small business are:
Reform business rates
Introduce statutory annual revaluations to stop small businesses facing periodic and unmanageable rate hikes
Guarantee a fair and transparent appeals process
Exclude new investment in plant and machinery from future business rates valuation to encourage investment
Establish a £250bn UK National Investment Bank
The National Investment Bank and a network of regional and national development banks will