If your business has ever struggled because of late payments, we need to hear from you.
Staffordshire Chambers is gathering real-life stories and evidence from local businesses to respond to the Department for Business & Trade’s (DBT) consultation on tackling late, long and disputed business-to-business payments. Your experiences will help shape the case for meaningful change – and ensure that the voice of Staffordshire businesses is heard loud and clear. If you would like to share your views, please email me on declan.riddell@staffordshirechambers.co.uk
The Department for Business & Trade (DBT) has opened a consultation which is seeking views on a package of proposed legislative measures to address late, long and disputed business to business payments.
There are some truly jaw dropping statistics which relate to the issue of late payments:
- Over 28% of businesses are affected by late payments.
- Businesses are owed circa £26 billion in late payments at any given time.
- 22% of surveyed businesses said they spent staff time chasing late payments equating to 133 million hours of staff time across the economy each year.
- 14,000 businesses close each year because of late payments.
Late payments continue to be a major challenge for UK businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Despite numerous campaigns and government initiatives aimed at tackling the issue, the problem persists. It undermines cash flow, stifles growth and threatens the very survival of businesses.
Late payments can damage every aspect of a business. When cash flow is disrupted, companies may struggle to pay their own suppliers, invest in new opportunities, or even meet staff payroll costs. This creates a domino effect throughout the supply chain and weakens the wider economy. For some businesses, late payments can mean the end of the road, with livelihoods lost, jobs cut, and communities affected.
There are a number of reasons why late payments continues to be an issue. Larger companies may impose extended payment terms on smaller suppliers, knowing they lack the influence to push back. Some businesses may lack efficient invoicing or payment systems. In times of financial strain, some firms delay payments to preserve their own cash flow, which has a knock-on effect, down the chain.
One of our Chamber members has developed a pragmatic solution to address the issue of late payments, with companies adding their payment track record to accounting software packages. With director awareness of total contingent late interest liability in the public domain, it may prompt businesses to take account of potential reputational damage by taking voluntary action to avoid late payment. You can hear more about this at our next Money Matters forum on Friday 10th October – click here to book your place:
👉 Money Matters Forum – Staffordshire Chambers Member Zone
We’re keen to get more information about the impact of late payments on local businesses here in Staffordshire, as part of our response to the DBT consultation. If your business has been affected by the issue of late payments, please send me the details, as this will help to build anecdotal evidence for our response:
📩 declan.riddell@staffordshirechambers.co.uk
I would also encourage you to share your feedback with the consultation, which can be opened here:
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