A long-standing advocate for the call to tackle late payments has come up with a possible solution to the UK’s late payments culture.
Edgar Blazier, founder and director of consultancy firm SYTECH, in Stoke-on-Trent, is proposing a 10-year plan that he says will ensure all businesses make accurate information on supplier payment publicly available as part of the annual accounts published on Companies House.
Edgar has spoken out as Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce has today launched a campaign encouraging small businesses to share their experiences of late payments as the Government consults on proposed new legislative measures.
His plan calls for resetting late interest liability calculations on a net monthly basis, rather than 30 days, basing calculations on the invoice date rather than the date received, and fixing the interest rate annually on 1 April to avoid continuous fluctuations.
Edgar suggests that all purchase accounting software calculate interest liability at the time of payment and accumulate for the current financial year on the supplier record, with figures rolled over and rates fixed annually.
He said: “Late payments are more than just an inconvenience – they threaten the survival of thousands of UK businesses every year.
“We firmly believe that it’s time for a practical, long-term solution; our proposed 10-year plan which introduces transparency, consistency and real enforcement measures will protect suppliers, hold directors accountable, and finally shift the culture of late payment in the UK.”
- Businesses are being encouraged to shared their experiences of late payments with Staffordshire Chambers to feed into its late payment reform. People should email declan.riddell@staffordshirechambers.co.uk
- Daily Focus has created a poll to gauge how many businesses are affected by late payments. Click here to go to it.
- The Department for Business and Trade consultation can be found here: https://ditresearch.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0v37vzvBpfM5Exw
