Payment practices reporting: 2,117 large UK firms past the proposed 60-day line

Payment practices reporting is how large UK companies and LLPs tell the government, twice a year, how they pay suppliers. On 2 November 2026, research firm Whito published an analysis of the latest 2026 reports on the government's payment practices register. The headline figure: 2,117 of 5,703 large UK firms (37%) said they had agreed at least one supplier contract with payment terms longer than 60 days, the maximum proposed in the Commercial Payments Bill. That is Whito's finding from the firms' own statutory reports. It is not a finding that any named firm is breaking a law. The Bill is still before Parliament.

What Whito counted

Whito (Jacob Whitmore, 2 November 2026) used the free government register at check-payment-practices.service.gov.uk. It took each firm's latest report whose reporting period ended in 2026, then kept the 5,703 firms that gave a usable maximum contractual payment period in days. Of those:

• 2,117 (37%) reported a maximum term of more than 60 days
• 731 went past 90 days
• 580 reached 120 days or more
• manufacturing was the most exposed sector in Whito's table: 678 of 932 manufacturers (73%)

Whito names no firm on that page and says every figure comes from the firms' own reports. You can look up any company on the register yourself. Our guide to checking how fast a company pays walks through that search, and our payment check tool is there when you want an estimate of late payment interest.

What the Commercial Payments Bill would change

GOV.UK's Commercial Payments Bill overview says the bill will improve payment practices by, among other measures, imposing maximum payment terms of 60 days, with strictly limited exemptions, and mandating interest on late payments at 8% above the Bank of England base rate. It also strengthens the Small Business Commissioner and reporting duties for large businesses.

The Bill is not yet law and has no start date in that overview. Our report on the Commercial Payments Bill clearing the Lords covers the parliamentary stage we last summarised. Separate voluntary codes, such as the Fair Payment Code, sit alongside the statutory register; Whito notes that some firms that name a payment code in their report still show a maximum term over 60 days, which can reflect a single special contract rather than every supplier's terms.

What this means if you invoice large customers

• Look up your biggest customers on the payment practices register. Check maximum term and average days to pay.
• Do not count on the Bill as live law. Today your contract decides when you are paid.
• Long maximum terms in a report are not, by themselves, evidence that a firm is breaking a statute. Whito is clear on that limit, and so are we.

This post is general information about published research and a government bill overview. It is not legal advice about your invoices or contracts. If a payment is disputed or you are unsure of your rights, take independent advice.

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: Whito, The 60-Day Line: 2,117 Large UK Firms Agree Supplier Terms Past the Proposed Cap (2 November 2026); GOV.UK, Commercial Payments Bill overview; GOV.UK, Check when large businesses pay their suppliers / payment practices register.