Tag Archive for prompt payment code

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Liz Barclay answers your questions about late payment

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By Small Business Team on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs

Join Small Business Commissioner Liz Barclay for our next Twitter Q&A this Thursday, September 9 between 4pm and 5pm GMT. Liz will answer your questions about poor payment practices affecting your business.

Former campaigning journalist and BBC broadcaster Liz Barclay a long history of campaigning for social justice when it comes to consumer rights and personal finance.

What can I do to speed up invoices being paid?What if it’s a large company who’s my sole customer?What steps can I take without going to court?How can the Small Business Commissioner help me and my firm?

Late payment putting British SMEs out of business

The Federation of Small Businesses estimates that 50,000 SMEs are forced out of business each year because of late paymentSmall business are currently chasing more than £50bn of late paymentsThe 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 owedThe Government’s own figures are that £23.4bn is owed in outstanding invoices to UK businesses

To join in, just follow @smallbusinessuk and get involved by tweeting your question with the hashtag #AskSBCommissioner.

Remember,

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Hot Business News Today

Liz Barclay answers your questions about late payment

by  •  • 0 Comments

By Small Business Team on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs

Join Small Business Commissioner Liz Barclay for our next Twitter Q&A this Thursday, September 9 between 4pm and 5pm GMT. Liz will answer your questions about poor payment practices affecting your business.

Former campaigning journalist and BBC broadcaster Liz Barclay a long history of campaigning for social justice when it comes to consumer rights and personal finance.

What can I do to speed up invoices being paid?What if it’s a large company who’s my sole customer?What steps can I take without going to court?How can the Small Business Commissioner help me and my firm?

Late payment putting British SMEs out of business

The Federation of Small Businesses estimates that 50,000 SMEs are forced out of business each year because of late paymentSmall business are currently chasing more than £50bn of late paymentsThe 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 owedThe Government’s own figures are that £23.4bn is owed in outstanding invoices to UK businesses

To join in, just follow @smallbusinessuk and get involved by tweeting your question with the hashtag #AskSBCommissioner.

Remember,

Read more...

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Big companies must pay small business suppliers within 30 days

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Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Large companies will have to settle 95 per cent of invoices from small business suppliers within 30 days from July 1, halving the late-payment window.
The government has cracked down on large companies that take too long to pay invoices in order to ease cash flow problems for thousands of smaller businesses.
Despite almost 3,000 companies signing the Prompt Payment Code poor payment practices are still rife, with many payments delayed well beyond the current 60-day target required for 95 per cent of invoices.
>See also: Small businesses spend hour and a half each day chasing late payments
Currently, £23.4bn worth of late invoices are owed to firms across Britain, impacting on businesses’ cash flow and ultimate survival.
Company directors, chief executives and finance directors will be required to personally sign the code to ensure responsibility for payment practices is taken at the highest level of an organisation.
Bosses will also have to acknowledge suppliers can charge interest on late invoices, and the code – overseen by the Office of the Small Business Commissioner on behalf of the business department – has allowed breaches to be investigated based on third-party information.
Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, told The Times that

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Paul Uppal steps down as Small Business Commissioner

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Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
Paul Uppal has left his role as Small Business Commissioner due to a conflict of interest.
According to The Times, Uppal was told that the business department felt his involvement in establishing a bank redress scheme was a conflict of interest. The department indicated that his departure was not related to performance but to an unspecified breach of terms of his appointment.
Uppal has been helping the banking industry and small business groups to set up the business banking resolution service. The aim of the service is to help SMEs with unresolved complaints to get an independent view of their dispute.
He stepped down on the evening of Friday 11 October.
Getting more powers to help small businesses
The role of Small Business Commissioner was established in 2016 as a mediator of payment disputes between small and large companies. Since taking the position, Uppal has introduced a practice of naming and shaming companies that treat suppliers poorly. He was also going to be given powers to fine companies guilty of late payment and force them to deal with him directly, as well as taking over the running of the Prompt Payment Code.
Mike Cherry, the chairman of the Federation

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4 ways to protect your small business against late payments

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Originally written by Tim Vine on Small Business
Poor payment practices continue to be a widespread issue. In 2018, Dun & Bradstreet found that small businesses were owed an average of £80,141, nearly a quarter more than in 2017 and worryingly, 17pc were owed between £100,000 and £500,000.
These numbers potentially have meaningful consequences for businesses and the wider economy. Overdue invoices can dramatically impact the cash flow of SMEs, as many of these companies lack the deep financial reserves or access to capital which can bridge the gap in payments for large businesses.
Essentially, today’s income is tomorrow’s payroll.
Any delay can have a cascading effect that strains the finances of the supplier and keeps their own vendors from getting paid on time. In fact, 31pc of respondents said that cash flow difficulties were the most serious consequence of late payments and 28pc admitted that they’ve had to delay payments to their suppliers as a result. A quarter have had to cease the supply of goods and services to customers who didn’t pay on time, and potentially lose a business relationship.
‘48pc of SME say that overdue payments put their business at risk of failure’
Perhaps the most disturbing figure uncovered was that 48pc of

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Insolvency: government initiatives have failed small businesses

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Insolvency is making an unwelcome return to the headlines. The number of individuals who were declared insolvent last year reached its highest level since the aftermath of the financial crisis. According to the Insolvency Service, 99,196 people in England & Wales were declared insolvent in 2017 – up by 9.4 per cent on the year
The post Insolvency: government initiatives have failed small businesses appeared first on Small Business.

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