The UK Government has published guidance to help large businesses report on how quickly they pay their suppliers.
At the same time, regulations have been laid in parliament confirming that from April 2017, large companies and limited liability partnerships will have to publically report twice a year on their payment practices and performance, including the average time taken to pay supplier invoices.
Recent findings from the payment processor Bacs show that nearly half of the UK’s small-to-medium sized businesses experience late payment, with £26.3 billion owed to them in total. The regulations laid in Parliament aim to tackle this by increasing transparency and helping small businesses make informed decisions about who they do business with.
Failure to report will be a criminal offence and the newly published guidance aims to help large businesses and limited liability partnerships prepare for these measures coming into force.
“The UK is home to a record 5.5 million small businesses and the industrial strategy will help address many of the challenges they face getting finance and scaling up,” explained Small Business Minister Margot James. “It’s completely unacceptable that small and medium-sized businesses are owed £26.3 billion in late payments, which hampers their ability to grow and has no place in an economy that works for all.”
“Large businesses have an important role to play and the guidance published today will help them fulfil their responsibilities and improve payment practices across the board,” she added.
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