In Episode 10 of The Wait Watchers Show (the first of 2026), we host a very special edition on March 24th 2026, the day the UK government announces its plans for the toughest crackdown on late payments in over 25 years.

In this exclusive 30-minute interview with Good Business Pays Founder - Terry Corby, the Minister for Small Business & Economic Transformation, Blair McDougall answers questions about their ambitious plans to toughen the laws around late payment culture.

Key points covered include:

• UK is backing small businesses with the toughest laws on late payments in the G7
• Sweeping new powers for the Small Business Commissioner, including multi-million-pound fines to hold big businesses and persistent offenders to account
• Measures will help tackle cost of living for entrepreneurs and SME owners by ensuring they are paid on time and prevent the abuse of retention payments in construction

Small businesses will be paid on time – that’s the clear message from government today as it cracks down on late payments, with the largest set of reforms in over a generation.

The Small Business Commissioner will be given sweeping new powers to investigate poor payment practices, adjudicate payment disputes, and fine the worst offenders – with fines worth tens of millions for firms that persistently pay late or fail to comply with the new laws.

The measures will tackle a problem costing the UK economy £11 billion every year and ease the cost of living for entrepreneurs and SME owners who are often forced to wait months – or even years – to receive money they have already earned and having to chase endlessly to receive it.

Some 38 businesses shut their doors every single day because they are not paid on time – the equivalent of 266 a week, and well over a thousand in any given month.

Every small business owner, including tradespeople, freelancers, family firms and the self-employed, have to waste time and money chasing unpaid invoices when they could be growing their business.

These measures, which will be the toughest in the G7, build upon and strengthen legislation on late payments, first laid out in the 1998 Late Payment of Commercial Debt Act, over 25 years ago. They go further than any previous government and will boost our economy and give small businesses better cashflow.

The changes will include a new 60-day cap on payment terms on all large firms when paying smaller suppliers. New mandatory interest on late payments will also be introduced, with a requirement for all commercial contracts to include statutory interest set at 8% above the Bank of England base rate.

For example, if a small business is owed £10,000 by one of its customers and is paid 60 days later than the agreed payment date, they will be owed £10,293.15 including mandatory interest (£10,000 plus £193.15 interest plus £100 compensation).

The Government also propose to ban the withholding of retention payments under the terms of construction contracts, consulting on its implementation. This will prevent small firms losing retentions to insolvency or non-payment.

For more information, including company payment data, resources and campaign information, visit goodbusinesspays.com

The first in the new season of our Wait Watchers Show live podcasts. In this episode, presented by Good Business Pays CEO Terry Corby, the show features discussion on the thorny topic of payment culture, hearing from Sam Robinson of EY-Parthenon and Liz Barclay, Small Business & Entrepreneurship Lead for the Institute of Directors. All three share their views on:

• current state of payment culture in the UK
• potential implications for big business of the proposed changes in payment regulations (consultation now over
• Views on what levers of change work well (or not) in driving a change in payment culture

For more information, including company payment data, resources and campaign information, visit goodbusinesspays.com

In episode 8 of The Wait Watchers Show, Good Business Pays Founder & CEO Terry Corby interviews Emma Jones CBE, in her new role as the UK Small Business Commissioner. In this episode, Emma talks about the proposed plans for toughening regulations and reporting around B2B payment practices, new official government research into the effects of late payments on small businesses, and her plans and vision for the next two years as the Commissioner role is given greater powers to fine late-paying companies.

For more information, including company payment data, resources and campaign information, visit goodbusinesspays.com

If you work in finance or procurement in a large company in the UK, or if you are a Director (executive or non-executive) then you you will hopefully be aware that reporting your company payment performance to suppliers is a statutory duty. Reports must be submitted to the Department for Business and Trade every six months.

However, thousands of large companies do not report at all - that amounts to more than a third of companies that should be reporting by law. If they don't, then the company AND its Directors are liable to legal action.

Many Directors and staff will not be aware of this - and in the past six months, the Department for Business and Trade has stepped up its Enforcement Programme to tackle companies that are not compliant.

This episode of The Wait Watchers Show, presented by Terry Corby, Founder of Good Business Pays, explains the UK Government's Enforcement Programme to ensure people are aware of the very active programme the Department for Business and Trade is currently driving and what it could mean for businesses and their Directors if they do not comply with this statutory duty.

For more information, including company payment data, resources and campaign information, visit goodbusinesspays.com

This session was Chaired by Terry Corby, Founder & CEO of Good Business Pays and held on Orbit Stage 5 at Accountex London on Thursday 14th May 2025.

The expert panel members included Liz Barclay (UK Small Business Commissioner); Chip Mahan (Global Head, Fintech Banking and Payments, Sage); and Adeel Hyder (Managing Director, SME Banking, Starling Bank).

Many SMEs are still grappling with manual processes and outdated systems, leaving them exposed to late payments and cash flow challenges. To thrive, businesses need to embrace digital tools, automation, and modern accounting platforms that streamline invoicing and payment collection. Legacy providers often hinder progress, so switching to agile, integrated solutions is key. Flexibility at checkout – including multiple payment options like Apple Pay and BNPL – helps reduce friction and accelerate payment. Meanwhile, optimising websites and mobile payment experiences prevents customer drop-off, and in sectors like construction, strong, clear contracts are essential to protect against disputes and ensure timely payment.

For more information, including company payment data, resources and campaign information, visit goodbusinesspays.com

Good Business Pays research is revealed in this episode that shows almost half of Accounts Payable professionals in the largest companies in the UK are not confident about the accuracy of the supplier data held in their company ERP and Procurement/Finance systems. Getting accurate data about all aspects of your suppliers across multiple ERP and data sources is vital to support an efficient P2P (procure to pay) process.

Good Business Pays has teamed up with Previse to solve this issue with Supplier Track - a new way to analyse and report of complex and multiple supplier and payment systems to provide a single golden thread or source of truth about your supply chain. In this episode, Alan Marsh from Previse explains how.

For more information, including company payment data, resources and campaign information, visit goodbusinesspays.com

This is Episode 5 of the monthly live podcast from Good Business Pays on The Alchemie Network. It's called The Wait Watchers Show and is meant to be a lively debate and discussion show for and with procurement leaders across the globe.

This show is presented by Terry Corby, Founder & CEO of Good Business Pays. It introduced a panel of speakers including Liz Barclay (the UK Small Business Commissioner), Craig Beaumont (Executive Director at The Federation of Small Businesses), Sam Robinson (Director) and Charlie Hunt (Senior Manager) of the Cashflow & Working Capital Practice at EY Parthenon (Ernst & Young)

For more information, including company payment data, resources and campaign information, visit goodbusinesspays.com

Good Business Pays TV presents a series of views from the leaders of the top UK business organisations. Here they share their views on what they think about the supplier payment culture in big businesses, how it affects small businesses and who in large businesses they think is responsible for payment culture.

Good Business Pays Founder & CEO, Terry Corby interviews:

• Martin McTague (National Chairman, Federation of Small Businesses);
• Kitty Ussher (Chief Economist, the Institute of Directors);
• Elise Peraud, (Chief Operating Officer, NEDonBoard, The Institute of Board Members);
• Jamie Radford (Founder & CEO, AP Association);
• Liz Barclay (UK Small Business Commissioner);
• Philip King (Director, Good Business Pays & Former UK Small Business Commissioner);
• Alex Till (National Enterprise Network);
• Tony Robinson OBE (Micro-Business Alliance).

For more information, including company payment data, resources and campaign information, visit goodbusinesspays.com