GOV.UK
WATES CONSTRUCTION LIMITED
Company number: 01977948
Reporting period:
1 July 2021
to 31 December 2021
This report was filed on 28 January 2022
and approved by Philip Wainwright
Payment statistics
Average time taken to pay invoices: 25 days
Invoices paid:
- within 30 days: 84%
- in 31 to 60 days: 12%
- in 61 days or more: 4%
Invoices due but not paid within agreed terms: 25 %
Payment terms
Standard payment period for qualifying contracts
30 days
Standard payment terms
The standard terms vary according to the type of supply as follows:
Sub-Contractors – 45 or 30 days from assessment date. Applications are requested up to 5 days before the assessment date.
General Suppliers & Consultants – 30 days from date of invoice
Suppliers of major materials – 30 days from end of month of supply
Were there any changes to the standard payment terms in the reporting period?
No
Maximum contractual payment period agreed
60 days
Any other information about payment terms
For the six month reporting period to 31 December 2021, 96% of all invoices were paid within 60 days. This exceeds the Prompt Payment Code requirement of 95%. 68% of invoices were paid to smaller businesses within 30 days, meaning that our performance was below the 95% target for that measure.
We have been working hard during 2021 and 2022 with our suppliers to ensure accurate and adequate supporting detail is provided by them on their supplier invoices, whilst also improving the efficiency of our own processes and reporting systems and maintaining the legally-required controls that are necessary for us to avoid fraud and error. This has resulted in an improvement throughout the period, with 74% of invoices from small businesses paid within 30 days for the final quarter of 2021. We anticipate that we will continue to improve performance, enabling us to exceed Payment Practices Reporting targets in subsequent reporting periods.
Significant expenditure and resources have been incurred on modifying reporting systems and internal processes to identify the small companies for reporting and then ensure improvement during a period of disruption where Covid restrictions impacted on finance and other staff working in the office, at the same time as the Group was completing a core finance system migration and implementing the additional processing requirements required by the new Domestic Reverse Charge VAT legislation.
Dispute resolution process
Wates seeks to avoid disputes by discussing matters directly with the relevant supplier. All standard agreements set out a dispute resolution process. In the first instance contact is with the accounts payment team or commercial staff responsible for the matter. If it cannot be resolved at that level there is an escalated negotiation option involving a senior member of the business team. If the matter cannot be resolved at that senior level the preference is to refer to some form of ADR (mediation, expert determination, etc.) but adjudication or legal proceedings may be used.
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 Prompt Payment Code must commit to paying 95% of their invoices within 60 days.Yes – Prompt Payment Code
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.
No
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