Late payment pressure eases

30 Jan 12

The pressure placed on businesses by payments being made late is easing, according to research from global information services company Experian.

The latest data shows that payment performance improved in the last quarter of 2011. Large firms were responsible for biggest improvement, as businesses with between 101 and 500 employees were three quarters of a day faster in paying their invoices than they were in quarter three 2011.

Commenting on the figures, Jason Mills, head of payment performance at Experian UK and Ireland said: "Payment performance is the timeliest indicator of the current health of any business, so the overall improvement suggests that during the last three months of 2011, pressure on cash flow and finances was more manageable for most businesses.

"Feedback from our larger customers demonstrates awareness and understanding of the struggles faced by some of their key SME suppliers so are prioritising payments to them, to better support them.

"The only firms to see an increase in their payment performance from Q3 to Q4 were firms with three to five employees. The increase, however, was very small and is a timely reminder for smaller firms to credit check potential new and current business customers for signs of possible non-payment before it is too late."

Easy Accountancy

Easy Accountancy is the UK’s only national specialist accountancy firm for freelancers, sole traders and small businesses

If you’ve just started out as a freelancer or run a small business, you’ll definitely need a small accountant and there are plenty of options out there! However, most accountants will charge you every time you get in touch with them; for every phone call, email or meeting.

We don’t want our clients to be scared to contact us and potentially lose out on valuable tax saving advice. It's even more important when you first start out as you really need to set your business up in the best way possible. As a start up you’ll probably have loads of questions and will really appreciate the fact you can call your accountant as many times as you like without the fear of racking up large bills.

Our low cost, all-inclusive fixed-fee accountancy service includes unlimited access to your own accountant throughout the year, so you never need to worry about picking up the phone and then receiving a bill afterwards for the privilege, and covers all your business and personal tax affairs needs. All clients additionally receive:

Help to run your business in the most tax efficient way possible
Help so you can understand the taxes you need to pay
Advice on the best ways to manage your business
Updates and reminders so you'll never miss a deadline
Help to ensure you maximise your tax allowances
Provide proactive tax advice throughout the year

We’ve saved our clients up to half on their accountancy bills – if you’d like a quote, click on the quote me button to the right of this page. Alternatively, call us on 0500 234111 / 01442 275767 or email jessica@easyaccountancy.co.uk

We also have a money-back service guarantee - all of your telephone calls and emails will be answered on the same day, or we will refund your monthly fee (another first within the accountancy world).

To appoint us as your accountants, please fill in our Client Agreement Form online.

If you are a contractor working through a limited company then visit SJD Accountancy (our sister company) who specialise in providing tax advice and accountancy services for Limited Company contractors. You can also keep up to date by following the SJD Accountancy Twitter

You may also find the following pages helpful: