How do I check how fast a big company pays its suppliers?
The short answer
Read its own reports. A company over at least two of £54 million turnover, £27 million on its balance sheet and 250 employees1 must publish its average days to pay and the share of invoices paid late1, twice a year5, on a GOV.UK search anyone can use. Not publishing on time is a criminal offence6 for the company and every director, though a director can defend it by proving they took all reasonable steps.
England and Wales only. WolfX is software, not a law firm.
What you can add
A £9,000-a-month customer: what 60 days ties up
Say you make packaging and invoice a large food manufacturer £9,000 every month, and its terms say 60 days. The money you are owed on an average day is each month's invoice × the days they take ÷ 30. The sum builds up to 60 days one yardstick at a time. Take a month as 30 days.
- Checking the report on GOV.UK (no fee shown)1£0.00
- Days 1 to 30, reaching the Fair Payment Code's Gold level: £9,000 × 30 ÷ 308£9,000.00
- Days 31 to 32, reaching the median large business: £9,000 × 2 ÷ 307£600.00
- Days 33 to 45, reaching the median large manufacturer: £9,000 × 13 ÷ 307£3,900.00
- Days 46 to 60, reaching the term you were offered: £9,000 × 15 ÷ 30£4,500.00
- Owed to you on an average day, on 60 days£18,000.00
Every day on the term ties up another £300, which is £9,000 ÷ 30. At the median manufacturer's 45 days you are owed £13,500 on an average day; at 60 days, £18,000, which is £9,000 more than at 30. The search shows no fee, and it shows which of these lines your customer has reached so far.
The road ahead
Seven steps. About 30 minutes.
Step 2: Read the late shares before the average
A report usually covers six months and shows the average days to pay; the share paid in 30 days or fewer, 31 to 60 and 61 or longer; the late share (not paid within the agreed terms); and the longest term3.
Read the 61-or-longer and late shares first. The average counts only invoices already paid, and the late share ignores how long the terms are3, so a long term paid on time looks clean.
Step 3: Compare it with the 2025 yardstick
In 2025 the median large business took 32 days to pay and paid 15% of invoices late, 14% by value7.
Manufacturing was slowest at 45 days; finance and insurance fastest at 217. The page also gives most other sectors, so set your customer against its own. If it sits well above, price that in.
A report is the company's own account. A director must approve it4, but the figures are not independently verified7.
Step 4: No report? Find out why
A missing report tells you nothing about speed. The company may be under the size tests, newly over them (it must pass on its last two balance sheet dates), or a small firm in a big group3. Or it may not have filed.
If you think a large company should have filed, tell the Department for Business and Trade3 at paymentpracticesreporting@businessandtrade.gov.uk. It will usually contact a business it thinks is in scope.
Step 5: Price the wait into your quote
Each day on a term ties up a thirtieth of a month's invoicing: £300 a day on £9,000 a month. Put what carrying that money costs you, such as your overdraft rate, in the price, and plan on the days the report shows, not only the days the contract says.
The report counts from the day your invoice arrives3, so a term that starts at their approval shows up as more days than its number.
Step 6: Ask for shorter terms or early payment
Ask before you sign for 30 days, the Gold level of the Fair Payment Code8. It is an award businesses apply for, not the report, so read the two together. What the law lets a buyer set is on its own page.
If the report says supply chain finance is offered3, ask what being paid early would cost you.
Step 7: Paid late anyway? Ask the Small Business Commissioner
If they pay late and you cannot settle it, the Commissioner may be able to help with a dispute with a larger customer9. Its service is free and entirely confidential. What it can and cannot do has its own page.
The letter
This page is about reading a published report, so there is nothing to send; the letter that asks for shorter terms is on the page about 60 and 90 days.
When not to bother
When it isn't worth it
- The customer is small. A company under the size tests1 does not have to report, so there is usually nothing to find. Read what a credit check can show instead.
- It's a council, an NHS trust or another public body. Read its six-monthly payments compliance notice11 instead. Interest starts after 30 days10 even if the contract says later.
- The first order is small and you can afford the wait. Run the search, skip the pricing, and do the whole check before the second order.
- You have already signed. The report cannot change an agreed term, but it shows how much cash to plan for and what to ask for at renewal.
The Wolf's note
An invoice they have not paid yet is not in the average. So read the late share first, with the terms beside it. Then price the days and ask for fewer.
Mr. Wolf · the AI inside WolfX
What comes next
Your next move
How do I check a new client can pay before I start work?
Only partly. Ten minutes on the free records shows who a client is, not whether it will pay.
6 min read · Letter included
When it first goes quiet
What is the Small Business Commissioner, and can it help me get paid?
Yes, if you have fewer than 50 staff and your customer is a larger private business.
6 min read · Letter included
What you can add
Can I charge interest to a council, the NHS or another public body?
Yes. A public body counts as a business: the same 8% over base rate and £40, £70 or £100 fixed sum apply, and a contract cannot delay interest past 30 days.
6 min read · Letter included
Don't want to do this yourself?
The Wolf does every step for you. He works out the sums, writes the letters and keeps track of every date. Nothing goes without your yes.