Small Business Commissioner – Helping SMEs get paid on time

Getting paid on time from clients and customers you’ve done work for is a key priority for many micro and small businesses.  It is even more urgent during the coronavirus pandemic.  Yet what support is available to you if you cannot get a response from your debtors?

As well as support from StartUp Croydon, Croydon Council and the London Growth Hub,  the Small Business Commissioner (SBC) is an “independent public body set up by Government under the Enterprise Act 2016 to tackle late payment and unfavourable payment practices in the private sector. The SBC covers the whole of the UK – England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.”

As a small business, it can help you through a number of ways including providing general advice and guidance on:

• resolving disputes and dealing with an unpaid invoice
• checking contracts and getting invoices right
• signposting small businesses to existing support and dispute resolution services
• considering and investigating complaints about payment issues between small business and their larger customers making (non-binding) recommendations on how the parties should resolve their disputes.

The SBC is:

• impartial
• free to use on a non-risk basis
• independent, but appointed by government

Small businesses should raise their complaint by contacting the SBC directly through the following means:

Email: enquiries@smallbusinesscommissioner.gov.uk(Link will open in a new tab)
Telephone: 0121 695 7770

The SBC also have some helpful resources including webinars on how to get paid on time and other support available during this stressful period.  You can access them here