Invoicing and taking payment from customers

[billybob99]

Hey guys just a quick one, I saw on the .gov website the below:

Unless you agree a payment date, the customer must pay you within 30 days of getting your invoice or the goods or service.

It has been over 1 month already, but it says in their contract;

Unless otherwise stated in the order, we will pay the total sum at the end of the second month following the month in which we receive the invoice.

I sent the invoice on the 3rd of November, cheers.

 

[MOIC]

Expect the payment first week in January, or maybe February, depending on the interpretation of the "second month following the month . . ."

(Not sure about the .gov website you quoted being correct)

 

[simon field]

Unless you agree a payment date, the customer must pay you within 30 days of getting your invoice or the goods or service.

Got a feeling that's the 'default' in terms of litigation in a court with no clear evidence either way, but I could be wrong.

 

[Charlie B ACS]

Quite probably from the Late Payment of Commercial Debts regulations. However if you have agreed to 60 days from End of Month, in a contract, those are the terms.

 

[obscure]

Hey guys just a quick one, I saw on the .gov website the below:

Unless you agree a payment date, the customer must pay you within 30 days of getting your invoice or the goods or service.

It has been over 1 month already, but it says in their contract;

Unless otherwise stated in the order, we will pay the total sum at the end of the second month following the month in which we receive the invoice.

I sent the invoice on the 3rd of November, cheers.

So what is your question? You agreed a contract which includes an agreed payment date, so the 30 days mentioned on the .gov website is irrelevant and you are due to be paid on 31st January.

 

[smallclaimsassistance]

(Not sure about the .gov website you quoted being correct)

Completely agree. This...

Unless you agree a payment date, the customer must pay you within 30 days of getting your invoice or the goods or service".

...means nothing. Should customers pay you within 30 days of:

a) start of work;
b) completion of work;
c) receipt of invoice.

Which?

@billybob99
I wouldn't waste time with guidance like this. It's not reliable or enforceable. I would stick with your Ts and Cs (if you can, as opposed to relying upon your contracting party's), and if you don't have any, I would get some drafted.

Cheers

Dean

 

[nelioneil]

I think 30 days from invoice date is the most clear. As long as you bill straight away and don't leave it behind!

 

[LawHound]

You have agreed terms which mean as you submitted the invoice in November then the 2nd month after November is January. If no terms were in place at all and it was B2B then you could rely on the Late Payment Provisions i.e. 30 days.

It's poor practice to be doing ANY business without having your own clear terms in place. You should not be relying on others' poorly drafted terms (drafted unclearly and almost always in their favour). Cash flow on terms like the ones you have agreed in this case will be hard for most small businesses to fund whilst waiting for the payments, even worse when late as many will be.