Summary
- Large UK companies must publish how long they take to pay suppliers, twice a year. You can search these reports on gov.uk for free.
- A credit report tells you whether a company might fail. It doesn’t always tell you whether it’ll pay you in 30 days.
- The best predictors of slow payment are operational: approval steps, PO numbers, invoice portals and payment run dates. Ask about them before you sign.
- Write what you learn into the contract: terms, interest, invoicing schedule and a credit limit.
Why big customers are often the slowest payers
Big companies aren’t usually short of cash. They’re slow because of process and leverage. Invoices go through several approvals, need a purchase order number, and often have to be uploaded to a supplier portal. Payment runs happen on fixed dates, so an invoice that misses one waits for the next.
The official numbers show the average is reasonable, but the spread is wide. In the 2025 reporting year, the median large business took 32 days to pay and paid 15% of its invoices late, according to the government’s 2025 payment practices statistics. That’s a median across thousands of reports, so plenty of companies are far slower.
Size also gives them leverage. A large customer can ask for 60 or 90-day terms, and a small supplier keen to win the deal often says yes.
How to check before you sign: three steps
1. Look up their payment practices report
Large companies and LLPs must report on their payment practices at least twice a year. A business counts as large if it meets two of three thresholds: £54 million turnover, £27 million on the balance sheet or 250 employees. You can search the reports on gov.uk by company name, and download them all if you want to compare.
Look for two numbers: the average time they take to pay suppliers, and the share of payments they don’t make within the agreed terms. Then look at the last three or four reports to see which way they’re heading.
Check you’re looking at the right company. The entity on your contract may be a subsidiary with its own report, and its figures can differ from the group’s.
Here’s a rule of thumb for reading what you find:
| What the report shows | What it suggests | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Average 30 days or under, under 10% paid late | A reliable payer | Standard terms are fine |
| Average 31-45 days, or 10-25% paid late | Process-driven delays | Plan your cash flow for 45 days, and ask about their payment runs |
| Average over 45 days, or 25% or more paid late | A slow payer | Negotiate terms, a deposit or milestone billing before you sign |
The 25% line isn’t arbitrary. Under the Commercial Payments Bill, reporting 25% or more of invoices paid late is likely to trigger an investigation by the Small Business Commissioner, according to Crowell’s summary of the bill.
Smaller customers don’t report, so for them, go straight to steps 2 and 3.
2. Run a credit check, and know what it tells you
A business credit report shows the company’s credit score, any county court judgments, late or missing filings, and payment performance shared by other suppliers. Capitalise’s guide to customer credit checks explains how to read the score. As Experian puts it, use the score as a starting point, not the full decision.
A large customer will usually have a strong score. That tells you they’re unlikely to fail. It doesn’t tell you their invoices clear in 30 days, which is why step 1 matters more for big names.
If you use CreditSafe, Trove can pull a report as soon as a new customer appears in Xero, and flag changes in their rating next to what they owe you. Here’s how the CreditSafe integration works.
3. Ask the questions that reveal how they really pay
Most slow payment from big customers comes down to paperwork. Ask your contact, or better, their accounts payable team, these questions before you sign:
- Do you need a purchase order number on every invoice, and who issues it?
- Do invoices go through a supplier portal such as Coupa or SAP Ariba?
- How many people approve an invoice before it’s paid?
- When are your payment runs, and what’s the cut-off for an invoice to make one?
- Who’s my contact in accounts payable if an invoice is queried?
- What are your standard payment terms, and can they be shortened for a supplier our size?
If you can, ask another of their suppliers how long they wait. One honest answer from someone who invoices them every month beats any score.
If they use a portal, here’s how to automate invoice uploads to Coupa and SAP Ariba. If they insist on PO numbers, here’s what to do when a Xero invoice is waiting for a PO.
Turn what you find into contract terms
What you learn only helps if it changes the contract. Depending on what you found, you can:
- Shorten the terms, or agree 30 days with a clear due date rather than “end of month plus 60”.
- Ask for a deposit or milestone billing on large projects, so you’re never owed the whole amount at once.
- Invoice to their payment run. If they pay on the 25th with a cut-off on the 15th, invoice by the 14th.
- Set a credit limit, and agree what happens when it’s reached.
- Keep your right to late payment interest. The Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act already lets you claim interest and fixed compensation on late B2B invoices. Here’s what you can legally charge on a late invoice.
The rules are likely to tighten. The Commercial Payments Bill, introduced to Parliament on 19 May 2026, would make payment terms over 60 days void in most cases and stop contracts from excluding statutory interest. It isn’t law yet, so for now, what’s in your contract is what counts.
Keep checking after you sign
A customer’s payment habits change. Their next payment practices report comes out within six months, so put a reminder in your calendar to look again. If you use credit monitoring, a downgrade is often the first sign something has changed.
Then watch how they actually pay you. If the first two invoices land late, raise it at once, while the relationship is new. Trove tracks every customer’s payment pattern from Xero, chases on a schedule you set, and can run a CreditSafe check when a customer’s overdue balance crosses a level you choose.
Frequently asked questions
Can I see how long a specific company takes to pay its suppliers?
Yes, if it’s a large company. Search its name on the government’s payment practices service. Each report shows its average time to pay and the share of payments it doesn’t make on time.
Do small companies have to report their payment practices?
No. Only companies and LLPs that meet two of the three size thresholds report. For smaller customers, use a credit report and a reference from another supplier.
Is a good credit score enough to offer 30-day terms?
Not on its own for a large customer. A good score says they’re unlikely to fail. Their payment practices report and their invoice process tell you how fast they’ll pay.
What if a big customer insists on 90-day terms?
Ask for something in return: a deposit, milestone billing or a higher price that covers the cost of waiting. Check whether the Commercial Payments Bill has passed by the time you sign, because it would cap most terms at 60 days.
Trove runs a free 30-day trial and takes about five minutes to connect to Xero. You can start a free trial here or book a demo if you’d like to see it first.
