Two fifths of businesses have exposed a late payer to Industry colleagues
The Better Payment Practice Group (BPPG) has found that more than two fifths of businesses have exposed a late payer to business colleagues. Micro businesses, those with 0 to 9 employees are most likely to report their bad paying customers to others.

The poll, which was held on this website, asked companies whether they had ever exposed a late payer to industry colleagues and 43% of the 649 respondents confirmed that they had. The survey also asked how many employees the business had. Businesses with 0 to 9 employees were most likely to have exposed a late payer, with 46% stating that they had done so. Small companies, with 10-49 staff, and medium companies with 50-249 staff, were close behind with 43% and 40% having exposed a late payer respectively. Large businesses, with over 250 employees were least likely to have reported a bad payer to industry colleagues, with only 35% of respondents admitting that they had done so. 

Stephen Alambritis, member of the Better Payment Practice Group and Head of Press & Parliamentary Affairs at the Federation of Small Businesses, said: “The survey highlights that paying late can damage your reputation, not just with existing suppliers, but also with prospective suppliers, which could have a serious impact on your purchasing power. Companies should protect their reputation by paying to agreed terms, while suppliers can help safeguard their cashflow by credit checking new customers before doing business with them, which can include speaking to other suppliers about their payment experience with the customer.”

Further advice on credit checking can be found by looking at this web site.

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