Payment Culture in the UK Technology Sector
Late and slow payment by big UK technology companies to small businesses has been an ongoing issue for years. In 2023, this problem continues to cause significant challenges for small businesses, as they struggle to manage cash flow, maintain financial stability and plan.
The problem of late and slow payment is not a new one. Small businesses have long complained about the challenge of getting paid on time, with some estimates suggesting that as many as half of all small businesses experience problems with late payments. However, the issue has been exacerbated by the behaviour of large technology companies, which have the resources to pay on time but choose not to do so.
Looking at the latest list of slow and fast payers in the Technology sector compared to last year, it seems ironic to see companies like Nokia, Xerox and Ericsson proving to be the slowest payers when many of their customers will likely be small businesses.
It is worth noting that some of the slowest payers in the Technology sector from last year have made significant improvements. Kyocera Document Solutions, Baker Hughes, Dell, NEC and Lumen Technologies have all clearly improved although they remain on the list of the slowest payers in the sector. There are also the familiar names of big Technology companies that continue to have a fast payment culture, including Spring Technologies, Intel, Netcracker and Qube Research & Technologies.