Published on: 3 February 2022
In an FSB members’ survey carried out before Christmas, close to one in three of respondents had seen late payment of invoices increase over the last three months, with a further 8% experiencing other forms of poor payment practice. Only 6% said that a change in payment terms has been agreed over that period. As a result, approaching one in ten say late payment is now threatening the viability of their business which suggests that 440,000 could be forced to close this year due to late payment alone.
“Late Payment was destroying thousands of small businesses even before the pandemic hit – the pandemic has made matters worse,” said FSB National Chair Mike Cherry. “Policymakers need to understand that late payment is the issue that keeps thousands of entrepreneurs up at night, and one that has worsened in lockstep with lockdowns. We need to see words turned to action.”
If you want to ensure that your suppliers are playing their part to keep small firms afloat, you can subscribe to the following data sets:
Payment Practices and Reporting Regulations compliance
Prompt Payment Code signatories and suspensions
Welsh Government Ethical Employment in Supply Chains Code of Practice Signatories
Real Living Wage Accredited Employers
