Ok - so you've probably already guessed the answer to this question: it's me!
And some of you may recall my sharing previously how I became the first sole trader / freelancer to be recognised by this new certification scheme when it was first launched, back in 2024/5: https://thirdsectorexpert.blogspot.com/2025/02/winning-gold-for-getting-money-out-of.html
What's the fuss about the Fair Payment Code?
So - a bit of context and background as to why I think this is important, and I'm sharing this news with you here:
- it's estimated that our wider economy is about £11BILLION a year worse off, because companies don't pay their suppliers on time;
- and about 14,000 business are forced to close each year, because their customers don't pay them on time. With UK Government statistics estimating an average of 16 jobs in every company, that's nearly 250,000 jobs being lost each year simply because businesses don't want to pay their suppliers when they've agreed to.
So anything that can help encourage more businesses to pay their suppliers on time is therefore a good thing for everyone.
Over the years, this has meant that there have been campaigns like 'Pay On Time' and the Prompt Payment Code - and the latest of which is the new Fair Payment Code (FPC) from the Office of the Small Business Commissioner (OSBC):
https://www.smallbusinesscommissioner.gov.uk/fpc/
Surely the Fair Payment Code only applies if you're a big business?
The Code was originally developed as a standard to encourage businesses to pay their suppliers on time - and with bigger businesses having bigger contracts, it's understandable that the OSBC would be targeting these to sign up to it.
But let me offer you some perspective on this. Of all the business that employ people (I'm initially excluding sole traders and self-employed in this):
- less than 1% are 'large' (employing more than 250 people)
- over 80% are 'micro' (employing 1 - 9 people)
So big businesses do have a disproportionate impact, but it can be seen that it's us far smaller business who collectively are doing all the 'heavy lifting' in the wider economy?
Why did I want to get recognised by the Fair Payment Code (again)?
While it may not be overly onerous for me to be able to (re) apply to be recognised by the FPC, it's still time that I could be spending on other things (like writing my next book, or catching up with building a Lego set). And the nature of my business means that I don't have a heavy reliance on suppliers furnishing me with regular supplies of raw materials to make widgets with. So on the face of it, it seems that there's little (if any) business case for me having to applied in the first place, right?
On the face of it, yes. Being certificated by the Code (and then re-recognised by it) hasn't done anything that's improved (or changed) how my suppliers work with me, and to the best of my knowledge it's not made me any more appealing when I'm bidding for contracts to deliver either.
But there's a lot I do in my business which goes against conventional and accepted wisdom - and a lot of this is based on my idea that if we don't set an example where we might be able to, then how can we credibly challenge the behaviours of others on the same to do better themselves?
Why have I always paid on time (and sooner)?
As a sole trader, my cash-flow can often be 'tight', and I don't have a finance department or accountant to take care of invoicing and payments. But I know how much I appreciate being paid on time, which is why when I first set my business up at the start of 2005 I made a pledge to always seek to pay every invoice within 1 (business) day of receiving it - because if I can't manage to do so, how can I look any client in the eye and ask them to do the same?
And that's the reason why I wanted to get this recognition of being (re)certified against the FPC - if I, as a sole trader with no finance team or accountants, can manage to pay nearly every invoice I receive within 1 day, then why can't larger businesses who have access to more and better resources than me?
If our examples like these as sole traders are able to be amplified enough, then my hope is that this may start to embarrass larger businesses so that they too can achieve the gold standard in the certificate like I have (most businesses recognised by it are only able to achieve the lesser silver and bronze levels, meaning that their suppliers still have to wait up to 2 months to get paid after they submit their invoices!).
A final challenge
So if you're reading this, and aren't certificated against the Fair Payment Code - why not?
