Aycliffe Today Business Aycliffe Today Business Issue 29 | Page 28

The magazine for Aycliffe Business Park | 29 Teesside’s only business publication Business. Business. Serving the Teesside Business Community www.teesbusiness.co.uk | [email protected] | ISSUE 8: WINTER 2016 COMPLIMENTARY PD Ports CEO David Robinson gives Tees Business an exclusive guided tour of Teesside’s gateway to the world... NORTHERN SKILLS GROUP Middlesbrough College launches new training arm… CRACKING GOOD NEWS! SABIC investment breathes new life into industrial icon... A FINE VINTAGE Serving the Teesside Business Community We talk to long-established Tees financial firm... www.teesbusiness.co.uk | [email protected] | ISSUE 9: SPRING 2017 COMPLIMENTARY Business. PORT POWERHOUSE ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: ERIMUS INSURANCE BROKERS / HARRY PEARSON / WYNYARD PARK / ENDEAVOUR PARTNERSHIP MANDALE GROUP / TEES COMPONENTS / CORNERSTONE BUSINESS SOLUTIONS / VITAL FIRE SOLUTIONS APPLIED INTEGRATION / BESPOKE FINANCIAL / SIRIUS MINERALS / BOHO FIVE / MIDDLESBROUGH FC PLUS all the latest news from the business communities of Middlesbrough, Stockton, Redcar & Cleveland and Hartlepool OFFICIAL MEDIA PARTNERS: + Serving the Teesside Business Community COMPLIMENTARY www.teesbusiness.co.uk | ISSUE 10: SUMMER 2017 TEESSIDE’S 20 BEST RESTAURANTS CRACKER BACKER 2020 VISION Middlesbrough Council’s shooting for the top with new investment wave APPLIED INTEGRATION Emergency? You need the leading systems integrators FIND OUT WHY UTILITY ALLIANCE ACKLAM HALL Hartlepool firm soars in just two years IS A GRADE 1 LOCATION... Special feature on thriving business estate ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: ACKLAM HALL / SABIC / BOHO FIVE / CORNERSTONE BUSINESS SOLUTIONS / SANDERSON WEATHERALL MILL VOLVO / ESCS / ENDEAVOUR PARTNERSHIP / MANDALE GROUP / CALM DIGITAL AUTO EXECUTIVE / PARK ELECTRICAL / BESPOKE FINANCIAL / TEES VALLEY INNOVATION PLUS all the latest news from the business communities of Middlesbrough, Stockton, Redcar & Cleveland and Hartlepool Business leaders give their verdict MIDDLESBROUGH SNOW CENTRE There’s no business like snow business THE APPLIANCE OF SCIENCE Applied Integration launches new cutting edge firm SABIC site director John Bruijnooge on Teesside successes and threats RIVERSIDE PARK + The great late payment debate HEALTH AND HISTORY WE TAKE TIME OUT WITH RESTAURANT BOSS OFFICIAL MEDIA PARTNERS: The businessman behind Acklam Hall reveals his motivation ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: MANDALE GROUP / UTILITY ALLIANCE / MILL VOLVO / ENDEAVOUR PARTNERSHIP / SABIC / DODDS BROWN BOHO FIVE / CORNERSTONE BUSINESS SOLUTIONS / SANDERSON WEATHERALL / NORTHERN GUILD BOB LITTLE & CO / UCS TECHNOLOGIES / VISTECH SERVICES / SOLUTIONS RECRUITMENT BESPOKE FINANCIAL / NORDIC / MI SUPPLIES / MIDDLESBROUGH COMMUNITY LEARNING PLUS all the latest news from the business communities of Middlesbrough, Stockton, Redcar & Cleveland and Hartlepool OFFICIAL MEDIA PARTNERS: Aycliffe Today’s sister publication, which has doubled in size since its launch in February 2015, is circulated to the business communities of Middlesbrough, Stockton, Hartlepool, Redcar & Cleveland, Billingham, Wynyard, Yarm, Stokesley and Sedgefield every quarter. We’re now working on our autumn 2017 issue, due out in September, with space available from £245 (quarter page), £395 (half page) and £645 (full page). SME packages also available from just £99 a month. Call: 01642 450255 Email: [email protected] www.teesbusiness.co.uk /TeesBusiness @Tees_Business + MEET THE MAN BEHIND THE MAN BEHIND PSYCHE With Endeavour Partnership’s Nick Dent... Getting paid on time can be a constant battle for businesses, large and small. It’s an all too common story and can cripple a small business. But what can you do about it? New Government legislation came into force in April with a new ‘Duty to Report’ clause meaning larger companies have to report bi-annually how they pay small businesses, including the average time they take to pay suppliers. rate between 1 July 2017 and 31 December 2017, on which date it will be reviewed again. There must be a business to business transaction. You cannot claim statutory interest if there is a different rate of interest in a contract. The waiting game So you’ve provided your services, issued your invoice and the payment date has passed but you haven’t received any money. What next? As soon as another business is late in paying for goods and services then a supplier can claim interest and debt recovery costs on the amount payable. Even if the suppliers invoice does not stipulate payment terms, the law says that a payment is late after 30 days. This is from the date that the customer receives the invoice or from the date that you deliver the goods or provide the service (if this is later). This applies both to public authorities and to business transactions. Longer periods for payment can be agreed but they must be fair to both parties. The interest you can charge if another business is late paying for goods or a service is calculated at 8% plus the Bank of England base rate. The Bank of England base rate is currently 0.25%. There is a ‘reference rate’ that is fixed for every six months. Currently, for the purpose of calculating interest, the base rate will be deemed to be 0.25% until 30 June 2017 irrespective of whether this rate is increased or decreased in the intervening period. Whatever the rate is on 30 June 2017 will then be the reference What to do next As a supplier, there is no obligation to send a new invoice for the interest that has accrued but it is sometimes a good idea to do so. However, interest does increase on a daily basis so this could become a repetitive task. All calculations should be that of simple interest and not compound interest. Communication with late payers is key, and we’d recommend this 3-step method: 1. State agreed payment dates on all invoices and your intention to exercise the right to charge interest, penalties and reasonable costs on late payments. 2. If the invoice is not paid by the agreed date, inform customers of the interest, penalties and costs that they are now accruing. 3. Once the payment has been received, issue a bill to the payer informing them of how the interest was calculated and how much was paid. This communication is an effective tool for ensuring timely payment with the minimum of friction between supplier and customer, and no undue surprises for the customer. To read more on this subject and for further advice, visit our website www. http://blog.endeavourpartnership.com/the- great-late-payment-debate