Big customer paying slowly? How to check its payment record on GOV.UK

Late payment is easing overall, but not for everyone. In comments reported by Business Money on 26 October 2026, Dun & Bradstreet said the share of UK payments running more than 30 days late fell to 12.4% over the 12 months to September, down from 14.7% a year earlier. It also said, as reported by Business Money, that larger firms "continue to pay their suppliers much more slowly than smaller businesses", with almost 19% of payments from larger firms running more than 30 days late, compared with under 12% for SMEs.

If one of your customers is a large company, you do not have to guess how it pays. The government publishes its payment record.

What the payment practices reports are

Under the payment practices reporting rules, the UK's largest companies and LLPs must report on their payment practices, policies and performance, broadly every six months. The reports are published through a government service and are free for anyone to search on GOV.UK: Check when large businesses pay their suppliers.

GOV.UK says a large business, for this purpose, is a company or limited liability partnership that has at least two of the following:

• £54 million in turnover
• £27 million on its balance sheet
• 250 employees

What a report tells you

According to the government's guidance on the duty to report, each report includes statistics on:

• the average number of days taken to make payments in the reporting period
• the percentage of payments made in 30 days or fewer, between 31 and 60 days, and in 61 days or longer
• the percentage of payments due in the period that were not paid within the agreed payment period

It also includes a description of the business's standard payment terms, its maximum contractual payment period, and its process for resolving disputes about payment.

How to use it

These are practical tips rather than legal requirements:

• Search for the exact company. The guidance says reports are made for each individual company or LLP, not for a group. Our guide to checking a company on Companies House helps you find the right legal name.
• Check before you agree terms. If a customer's report shows long average payment times, factor that into the payment terms you agree and how much work you take on before you are paid.
• Quote their own terms when you chase. If an invoice is overdue, a polite reminder that refers to the customer's published standard payment terms and its dispute process can help it reach the right person.
• Follow its dispute process. If the customer says there is a problem with the invoice, the report tells you how it says it resolves payment disputes.

If it is still not paid

Once an invoice is overdue, start with our checklist on what to do first when an invoice is overdue. You may also have the right to charge interest for late payment, and you can check what you are owed for free. Changes to the late payment rules for large customers are also going through Parliament in the Commercial Payments Bill.

This post is general information, not legal advice about your situation.

How InvoiceCollect helps

InvoiceCollect chases limited companies and LLPs in England and Wales. It chases the debtor company for 4 weeks by email and text on working days, never more than once a day, plus a posted letter to their registered office. Interest and compensation are added where the legal conditions are met, never on a genuinely disputed invoice. Your customer pays you directly and there is no commission. We are not a law firm. Start your chase.

Sources: Business Money, Dun & Bradstreet pre-Budget comment (26 October 2026); GOV.UK, Check when large businesses pay their suppliers; GOV.UK, Duty to report: guidance to reporting on payment practices and performance.