Following the announcement in the Chancellor’s Spring Statement that the government is looking at ways of tackling late payment, it has announced the launch of a consultation paper. The government is looking for input on its plans to address late payment amongst businesses awarded government contracts. Do you have any thoughts?

Where it can’t assist, to continue signposting businesses to alternative lenders, Nat West has announced MarketInvoice as the ninth addition to its Capital Connections panel. Being an online invoice discounter, MarketInvoice adds a new service to Nat West’s expanding panel.

Figures from UK Finance, the finance industry’s trade body, reveal that 2017 was a record year for businesses accessing Asset-Based lending. Looking closer at the figures, smaller businesses though really took advantage of this growing source of alternative finance. But is that the case in the first quarter of 2018?

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Here we are with the 200th episode of the Business Finance Bulletin – another milestone achieved in bringing you the latest small business finance news and tips.

We start this episode by taking a look at the 2017 corporate insolvency figures released by the Insolvency Service. Whilst the whole year makes sombre reading in terms of an increase in the number of businesses entering insolvency proceedings, the last quarter of the year though does make better reading.

One tool the government has in its toolbox to help tackle late payment is the Duty to Report requirement imposed on larger business in April 2017. We take a look at the payment practices of these firms as revealed in the first six monthly report.

When it comes to business planning, many business owners shy away from preparing a Business Plan because they are unsure what to include. To close this Bulletin, we share a quick content guide focused on four key areas.

If you would prefer to listen to the podcast version you can click below or download to listen to later via our Soundcloud, Stitcher or itunes channel.

For many small businesses, banking and bookkeeping are their least favoured tasks. To open this Bulletin, we look at a new mobile-only bank, CountingUp, which has opened its virtual doors with a small business banking solution combining banking and bookkeeping in one app.

The availability of unsecured business loans from alternative finance providers has been a major boost for growing businesses. One such provider was Ratesetter, until their surprise announcement that they are pulling out of the unsecured business loan market.

Finally, to close this Bulletin, we look at the continued fallout from the Carillion collapse. Focus is now turning to the impact late payment is having on small businesses. In the Carillion case, questions are being asked as to what is the point of voluntary programmes, such as the Prompt Payment Code, when larger companies can easily ignore it? Is it finally time to get tough on late payment?

If you would prefer to listen to the podcast version you can click below or download to listen to later via our Soundcloud, Stitcher or itunes channel.

If you are one of the estimated 20% of small businesses which have run in to cash flow problems due to late payments, then help may finally be at hand.

The government has finally launched the complaint handling service of the Small Business Commissioner to ensure fair payment practices for small businesses. This follows the appointment of Paul Uppal to the role of Small Business Commissioner in October 2017.

The Commissioner’s website has also gone live, providing guidance on payment issues including how to take action if a payment is overdue.

Margot James, Small Business Minister, says that £14 billion is owed to UK small businesses and estimates that taking action on late payment could potentially deliver a £2.5 billion annual boost to the economy.

The Small Business Commissioner’s website provides guidance on how to ‘check, chase, and choose’ in respect of dealing with unfair and late payments, that is:

– check if the right information has been provided to the right people in order for an invoice to be paid
– chase effectively when a payment is overdue
– choose how to take further action, including the option of submitting a complaint to the Small Business Commissioner

You can visit the Small Business Commissioner website here.

Despite confidence levels amongst many small businesses being muted, we open our latest Bulletin with a look at news from Hitachi Capital Business Finance that SMEs are seeing opportunities coming out of Brexit. Also, the latest Lloyds Bank research reveals that confidence is up in terms of production output across the regions. So not all bad news.

Dealing with late payment is bad enough but when late payment turns into no payment then that can be a bitter pill to swallow. That’s where trade credit insurance comes in and we have news of a new streamlined policy from Atradius designed for small businesses.

To close we take a look at the latest statistics from the Finance and Leasing Association which reveal that the industry continues to see strong growth in leasing and HP when it comes to purchases of plant and machinery and business equipment.

If you would prefer to listen to the podcast version you can click below or download to listen to later via our Soundcloud, Stitcher or itunes channel.

After a long wait, the government has announced the appointment of the Small Business Commissioner. How will the new Commissioner, Paul Uppal, help small businesses, particularly when it comes to late payment?

Starling Bank, the mobile-only bank account provider, has announced the forthcoming launch of its mobile account service for businesses. They are looking for small business owners who are prepared to take part in the initial trial and help shape its look. Could that be you?

Carrying too much working capital can strangle growth. A new survey from Lloyds Bank has calculated how much cash businesses have tied up in surplus working capital. The amount, if released, could free businesses to fund their own growth plans.

If you would prefer to listen to the podcast version you can click below or download to listen to later via our Soundcloud, Stitcher or itunes channel.

Late payment is a continual challenge for small businesses and a recent survey carried out by Zurich lays the blame at the door of the larger businesses. We share the findings of this latest research and what you can do to combat suffering from late payers.

With many people being uncertain about the current performance of the UK economy, one measure of confidence is the amount businesses are borrowing from the banks. I lift the lid on the latest Bank of England bank borrowing figures to see what businesses are up to.

To close this Bulletin, we share some recent experiences which highlight why you need to keep a close eye on your credit file. Lenders place a lot of emphasis on a clean report so it pays to keep your file in order.

If you would prefer to listen to the podcast version you can click below or download to listen to later via our Soundcloud, Stitcher or itunes channel.

The British Business Bank, which was established to improve small business access to finance, has issued its latest Annual Report. In our latest Bulletin, we take a look at the progress the Bank has made over the last 12 months.

Alternative lenders are being increasingly quirky in how they tap into new markets to offer finance. We look at the news of a link-up between Funding Circle and takeaway app Just Eat which aims to boost takeaway owner’s access to finance.

The Federation of Small Businesses has always championed ways of tackling late payment and so it comes as no surprise that it has launched a service to help small businesses get paid on overdue invoices.

If you would prefer to listen to the podcast version you can click below or download to listen to later via our Soundcloud, Stitcher or itunes channel.

With the government keen to boost exports, UK Export Finance has announced a new support initiative to help improve the flow of finance to exporters. To open the Bulletin, we look at how it will work and which other businesses will benefit.

Access to finance remains a hot topic. We share findings and suggestions from a new report, ‘Banking Small Businesses’, which it’s hoped will be picked up by government and banks to boost small business funding opportunities.

Whenever we feature the problems surrounding late payment, it’s rare that there is any good news. Whilst a recent survey undertaken by BACS, the payment service provider, has its fair share of gloomy statistics, there is at least one glimmer of hope in terms of reducing late payments.

If you would prefer to listen to the podcast version you can click below or download to listen to later via our Soundcloud, Stitcher or itunes channel.

The government is keen to be seen to be playing its part in tackling late payment and we start this Bulletin with an announcement that a large number of government’s key suppliers have signed up to the Prompt Payment Code.

With banks increasingly reluctant to hand out overdrafts, how are businesses managing cashflow? It seems the gap is being filled by businesses increasingly turning to invoice discounting. We look at the latest figures which confirm the switch to this alternative source of finance.

Lenders seem to want to see mountain of paperwork when they are reviewing your finance request. One request is sight of your Tax Returns but want exactly do they want? To close this episode, we go through the three pieces of information lenders want to see.

If you would prefer to listen to the podcast version you can click below or download to listen to later via our Soundcloud, Stitcher or itunes channel.