Hardly a month goes by without a new government or industry scheme aimed at preventing late payment - since the EU Late Payment Directive was introduced, we've seen the voluntary Prompt Payment Code, proposals to name and shame poor performers on a public database, the Supply Chain Finance Scheme to raise funds against outstanding invoices, and several suggestions of new conciliation schemes.
Read more: Is 'Quick and Cheap' Best for Preventing Late Payment?
The smallest firms in the UK are being paid late, in some cases by over a year, due to a lack of urgency and a sense of awkwardness about chasing clients for payment, new figures suggest.
A survey carried out by online accounts software provider FreeAgent revealed that just one in seven micro-businesses that issue invoices have never had to deal with an instance of late payment.
Read more: 'Awkwardness Not Urgency' Sees UK's Smallest Firms Paid Late by a Year
Snoop Dogg has issued a legal claim against brewers Pabst for monies he believes are owed after his licensing deal went sour according to an article on the Associated Press. Snoop, whos real name is Calvin Broadus Jr, signed a three year deal with Pabst in 2011 to be the face of their new Blast drink and received a cool $250,000 down payment. With a further $20,000 due for every tenth mention of the beer on social media, at his concerts or during TV appearances.
The granting of royal assent to the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 should be good news for creditors, particularly those who are left owed money by a business customer who has gone into corporate insolvency.
That is because there are several measures included in the legislation that should leave more money in the pot to pay creditors what they are owed, even after the administrators take out their fee; and there may also be the option to pursue a company's former directors personally for redress.
Read more: Small Business Act 2015 Steers Insolvency in Creditors' Favour
One of the biggest obstacles to recovering an outstanding debt has always been if a company ceases trading - this is basically a dead end, as once the company ceases to exist, it's impossible to continue chasing the individuals who ran it. Or is it?
Under the terms of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015, which received royal assent on March 26th 2015, new rules will apply to disqualified directors, and particularly to any losses incurred by creditors due to director misconduct.
Last week, the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 gained royal assent, meaning broadly speaking, the various measures that have already been outlined by BIS, the Insolvency Service and other government departments should be brought into law without any major changes.
What does this mean for creditors? Actually there are some broad sweeping measures, and some more specific ones, which should combine to tip the balance more fairly in the direction of creditors.
Read more: Looking at the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015
In a frankly astounding turn of events, Debt Guard Solicitors have proposed introducing a right for big businesses to opt out of paying on time.
Read that again, because it's an almost unbelievable statement - a commercial debt recovery firm suggesting that big brands should have the opportunity to simply opt out of being punished for late payment.
Where do small businesses turn for help when they suffer due to late payment? Under new government plans, there could soon be a Small Business Conciliation Service tasked with tackling that precise problem.
That's not its official name as yet - and in fact, you could be forgiven for thinking you already know of a 'conciliation service' for small business disputes, in the form of mediation.
Read more: 'Small Business Conciliation Service' - Mediation by Any Other Name
