Small Businesses: Billing

(asked on 23rd June 2025) - View Source

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of e-invoicing on (a) payment times and (b) cash flow management for SMEs.


Answered by
Gareth Thomas Portrait
Gareth Thomas
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
This question was answered on 1st July 2025

The Government is committed to tackling late payments, which can cause cash flow issues for SMEs. In September 2024 we announced measures including a new Fair Payment Code, legislation requiring large companies to report headline payment performance data in their annual reports, and a public consultation on further measures.

Adoption of e-invoicing can also help improve payment times and cash flow management by reducing administrative burdens and data errors and streamlining invoicing processes.

DBT and HMRC recently ran a joint 12-week consultation to gather views on promoting e-invoicing in the UK. The Government will publish a summary of responses and provide an update on next steps in due course.

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