Are you risking your reputation by paying late?
Research conducted by the Better Payment Practice Group (BPPG) reveals that 85% of UK companies believe that late payment is unethical.

The survey, conducted on the BPPG’s website, www.payontime.co.uk, asked businesses whether they thought paying suppliers late was an unethical practice. Of the 1,652 businesses that responded, 1,409 believed this to be the case.

The BPPG is reminding businesses that, as well as being ethically wrong, the practice of deliberately paying later than agreed terms can prove detrimental for sound economic reasons:

• A late paying business is weakened because it develops a bad reputation;
• Relations with suppliers can be damaged by late payment and may ultimately lead to the loss of a valued supplier;
• Late payment is often taken as an indication that a business is in difficulties - if this impression is created, a supplier may offer less attractive credit terms;
• Late payment weakens the economy as a whole because it constricts growth.

Peter Rowe, BPPG member and Director General of the ICM commented, “The BPPG would like all firms to be responsible about paying suppliers on time. This is crucial if the UK’s payment culture is to continue improving.

“Businesses need to remember that prompt payment can be as beneficial to them as it is to their suppliers. The way businesses manage their purchasing and sales relationships can have a direct effect on their profit margins, as a commitment to prompt payment can result in more co-operative partnerships and a better service from suppliers, with more attractive credit terms.”

Those businesses which have a prompt payment record are invited to become a signatory to the Better Payment Practice Code, enabling them to use the BPPG’s logo as a declaration of their commitment to paying suppliers on time. Businesses can sign up to the code by clicking here.

You can keep up to date with the Better Payment Practice Campaign by sending us an email