The North East BIC has been recognised with a government-backed award that underlines its long-standing commitment to paying suppliers promptly and supporting small businesses at the heart of the regional economy.
Administered by the Office of the Small Business Commissioner on behalf of the Department for Business and Trade, the Fair Payment Code promotes best practice in payment performance and encourages businesses to pay suppliers fairly and quickly.
The Gold Award, presented to the BIC, is the highest level of accreditation and is reserved for organisations that pay at least 95% of all invoices within 30 days.
For the BIC, the accolade is formal recognition of a payment culture it has practiced for many years as part of its mission to support enterprise growth in the region.
Colin Turnbull, Finance Director at the North East BIC, said: “Cash flow is one of the biggest challenges facing small businesses and in our work in the business community we see first-hand the impact late payments can have on their ability to invest, recruit and grow.
“Many firms have strong ideas, skilled teams and healthy order books, but delayed payments can change everything.
“That’s why we’ve always been committed to paying suppliers promptly. Supporting businesses isn’t just about providing advice, funding and workspace, it’s also about being a good customer.
“We’re proud that this award recognises an approach we’ve had for many years and demonstrates our commitment to leading by example when it comes to supporting small businesses.”
According to the Small Business Commissioner, 15% of small and medium-sized businesses identified cash flow and late payments as a major obstacle to running their business in 2023, with delayed payments disrupting the cash flow cycle and potentially leading to business failure.
Laura White, Founder of Laura White PR, which provides communications support to the BIC, said: “Prompt and reliable payments make a huge difference to small businesses. When you have confidence you’ll be paid on time, you can focus on delivering great work for clients rather than spending valuable hours chasing invoices and worrying how you’ll pay your household bills.
“The respect the BIC shows its suppliers helps to build brilliant working relationships and demonstrates it really walks the walk when it comes to supporting local businesses. This award also highlights to other organisations how prompt payments are one of the most simple and effective ways they too can support the region’s small businesses.”
The Gold Award was achieved following rigorous independent assessment of the BIC’s payment performance across its established network of business centres in Sunderland, Washington and Darlington.
To secure accreditation, it provided evidence covering more than 4,100 payments made over the previous year. The results showed that 98% of invoices were paid within 30 days and 99% were paid within 60 days, comfortably exceeding the threshold required.
As part of its commitment to maintaining its gold status, the BIC has amended supplier contracts to state that if an invoice is not paid within 30 days, interest will be paid for every day the payment is overdue. It will also extend its payment commitments to suppliers of three centres it has recently been appointed to manage by Sunderland City Council: Sunderland Software Centre, Evolve Business Centre and Washington Business Centre.
The Fair Payment Code awards are valid for two years and are subject to ongoing scrutiny by the Office of the Small Business Commissioner.
The BIC now hopes its achievement will encourage more organisations to adopt prompt payment practices and help create a stronger, more resilient business community across the region.
