If you are in Marketing you need to be aware of this.

The forthcoming Payment Practice Legislation doesn't just effect Finance Departments. If you are responsible for your brand reputation then you need to understand what this legislation is all about.

The Government has said that

"Every year, thousands of businesses experience severe administrative and financial burdens, simply because they are not paid on time. Late payment is a key issue for business, especially smaller businesses as it can adversely affect their cash flow and jeopardise their ability to trade. In the worst cases, late payment can lead to insolvency."

Qualifying businesses will have to report on their payment practices, including how long they take to pay suppliers.

The information provided by business will be made available to the press and public via a Government website with the clear aim of naming and shaming businesses who are placing their suppliers under pressure by simply being unable or unwilling to pay on time.

However you look at this the only way to protect your brand is to ensure all supplier invoices are paid on time. If you don't, the Press and Public could easily come to one of the following conclusions:

1. You are incompetent - You don't have the physical ability to pay suppliers on time.
2. You are financially struggling - Otherwise why are you not paying on time?
3. You are deliberately not paying on time - You have internal reporting reasons why you are withholding payment

The Brand damage could be catastrophic.

So what exactly needs to be reported and what is the reporting deadline? What measures can you take to improve payment performance to ensure that public reports show you in a good light?

Purchasing Insight, supported by Canon, are holding a free Webinar on Thursday 30th March 2017 at 3pm to explain the new legislation. You can register here:

https://purchasinginsight.com/webinar-preparingforpaymentpracticeandperformancereporting

Presented by Pete Loughlin, this webinar will help you to prepare for Payment Practice and Performance Reporting by explaining what needs to be done by when and also some measures that can be taken to improve payment performance. 

For more information or to receive a copy of the government paper please contact me at [email protected]