Companies who constantly make late payments could face fines under new government plans to help improve the situation for small businesses.
Late payment remains one of the biggest gripes small business owners have, with almost nine in 10 stating they have experienced it in the last two years.
Various initiatives have been brought in over the last few years, such as the Prompt Payment Code, which names and shames big corporate which haven’t signed up to the code. However late payments are still causing many businesses big cashflow issues.
David Cameron announced that a consultation is to be called later this year, which will look for views on a number of questions such as how the Prompt Payment Code can be strengthened and whether more can be done to hold companies against it such as financial penalties.
Cameron said: “It's not right that suppliers are not getting paid on time for the work they do and the services they provide and I know that late payment can have devastating effects on our small and medium sized businesses”.
"The government has already taken steps to help address this issue but I am clear that more needs to be done to build a business culture across all sectors of the economy that sees the fair, prompt and reliable payment of suppliers become a core corporate responsibility which is taken seriously at the most senior levels”, he concluded.
Cashflow issues caused by late payments?
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Invoice finance is a business finance solution which provides money upfront for a company’s unpaid invoices.
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