Source: https://tendernation.io/tools/payment-time-checker

Free payment check

# Does this buyer pay on time?

Check how quickly a public body or large company pays its suppliers, from official payment reports.

Public body or company name

CheckTry:Kent County CouncilMinistry of DefenceCapita

## How fast public bodies pay

From 0 payments compliance notices published by 0 public bodies on Find a Tender. Each buyer counts once, by its latest notice.

Notices that report an average of 0 days are left out of the median and the rankings, as the figure was most likely left blank.

## The 30-day rule and where these figures come from

Under section 68 of the Procurement Act 2023, every public contract carries a term that the buyer pays a valid, undisputed invoice within 30 days. The term can be shorter but not longer, and it flows down to subcontracts under section 73.

Section 69 makes buyers publish a payments compliance notice every six months, for periods ending 31 March and 30 September. It reports the share of invoices paid within 30 days, the average days taken and how many were paid late. We read every notice published on Find a Tender.

Large companies have a separate duty to report their payment practices every six months on the government’s Check payment practices service. Search a prime contractor to see how quickly it pays the subcontractors in its supply chain.

## Questions people ask

How long does a public body have to pay an invoice?Under section 68 of the Procurement Act 2023, public contracts carry an implied term that the buyer pays a valid, undisputed invoice within 30 days. The term can be shorter but not longer, and the same 30 days flows down to subcontracts.

Where do the public body figures come from?Section 69 of the Procurement Act 2023 makes buyers publish a payments compliance notice on Find a Tender every six months, for periods ending 31 March and 30 September. We read each notice: average days to pay, the share of invoices paid within 30 days and the share paid late.

Where do the company figures come from?Large UK companies must report their payment practices every six months on the government’s Check payment practices service. We import those reports, so you can see how quickly a prime contractor pays the subcontractors in its supply chain.

Why is a buyer missing?Payments compliance notices are new: the earliest we hold cover periods ending 31 March 2026, and not every buyer has published one yet. Private utilities are exempt. If a buyer has not published a notice, we have no figures to show.

What counts as paying on time?We call a buyer on time when it pays at least 95% of invoices within 30 days, the government’s own target. Between 80% and 95% is mostly on time, and below 80% is slow. When a notice gives only the average, we use the average days instead.

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