STEPNELL LIMITED
Company number: 00402934
Reporting period:
1 April 2025 to 30 September 2025
Report filed on:
14 October 2025
Approved by:
T B Wakeford
Contracts and payments
Do any of this business's construction contracts with its suppliers include retention clauses? Yes
Payment statistics
Average time taken to pay invoices: 39 days
Total value paid:
- within 30 days: £18,552,791 (27%)
- in 31 to 60 days: £45,055,602 (66%)
- in 61 days or more: £4,844,559 (7%)
Invoices paid:
- within 30 days: 39%
- in 31 to 60 days: 56%
- in 61 days or more: 5%
Late and disputed:
- total value of payments due in the reporting period which have not been paid within the agreed period: £4,844,559
- payments due in the reporting period which have not been paid within the agreed period: 7%
- not made in the reporting period due to a dispute: 1%
Payment terms
Shortest standard payment periods
1 days
Longest standard payment period
60 days
Standard payment terms
Suppliers
Standard Terms: 30 days following the month of the invoice.
Subcontractors
Standard Terms: Our standard payment terms for subcontractors are 42 days.
Were there any changes to the standard payment terms in the reporting period?
No
Were suppliers notified or consulted about these changes before they were made?
N/A
Maximum contractual payment period agreed
60 days
No further comment provided
Any other information about payment terms
No further comment provided
Retention clauses
How does this business use retention clauses?
Retention clauses are included in standard payment terms.
Does this business only use retention clauses in construction contracts above a specific contract sum?
No
Does this business use a standard percentage rate in retention clauses?
Yes: 3%
Does this business apply retention clause practices that are no more onerous than those applied to it on the same project?
No
Releasing money under a retention clause
Process for releasing money this business has deducted or retained under a retention clause
Once a subcontractor has completed any necessary work to rectify any defects that have arisen in the defects liability period or once the defects liability has expired then the subcontractor applies for release of their retention being held by ourselves. Presuming there are no issues the job surveyor will certify the application and pass it through to finance for payment.
Is the money released in stages?
Yes:
Half of the retention balance is released on Practical completion of the job and half at the end of the defects liability period
Amount retained from suppliers in the reporting period
Amount retained stated as a percentage of the money retained from this business by its clients
90%
Amount retained stated as a percentage of the total construction payments made by this business
3%
Dispute resolution process
With regards to the supply of materials, disputes normally arise over delivered goods or pricing of those goods. If there is a query around goods that have been delivered(quantities or damage) then these are raised by our Regional Administrators directly with the supplier, with a note being sent through to finance notifying them of the query. Weekly reports are run from our ERP system that detail all invoices in query with suppliers and it is the job of our Purchase Ledger supervisor to chase down the Regional Administrator to pursue a resolution with the supplier . If the query is regarding pricing then this is passed through to our regional buyers who raise the query with the supplier. The purchase ledger supervisor uses the same report from our ERP system to chase down the buyers.
With regards to subcontractor queries these are dealt with by the job surveyor and are resolved directly with the subcontractor and the application is certified accordingly
Other payment information
Has this business signed up to a code of conduct or standards on payment practices? If so, which?
For example, signatories to The Fair Payment Code must commit to paying 95% of their invoices within 60 days.
No, this business has not signed up to a code of conduct or standards on payment practices.
Does this business offer e-invoicing in relation to qualifying contracts?
This is where suppliers can electronically submit and track invoices. It's not just allowing suppliers to email them an invoice.
Yes
Does this business offer supply chain finance?
This is where a supplier who has submitted an invoice can be paid by a third-party finance provider earlier than the agreed payment date. The business would then pay the finance provider the invoiced sum.
No
Under its payment practices and policies, can this business deduct sums from payments under qualifying contracts as a charge for remaining on a supplier list?
No
During the reporting period, did the business deduct sums from payments as a charge for remaining on a supplier list?
No