Late payments improve in IT sector

Firms in IT sector have made a vast improvement in time it takes to settle bills, says Experian

Cheque please: IT firms are paying their bills more than three days faster than last year

Firms in the IT sector are paying their bills more than three days faster than last year, according to Experian.

According to the credit information firm's Late Payment Index, the payment performance of UK businesses improved marginally in the third quarter on an annual comparison.

Bills were paid an average of 22.61 days late, compared with 23.17 days in Q3 2009.

The IT sector registered one of the biggest improvements. IT firms paid their bills on average 18.39 days late, some 3.34 days faster than last year. Only the spirits, wine and tobacco and breweries sectors logged bigger gains.

By region, firms in the North West were the tardiest payers, settling their bills an average of 27.15 days late. Firms in London and Scotland also took, on average, longer than 25 days to pay, while the South West topped the standings with an average of 16.68.

Joe Myers, head of commercial credit at Experian, said: "Payment performance is marginally better than it was this time last year. News that the EU Parliament has approved a 30-day deadline for businesses to be paid may encourage organisations to take a closer look at their payment performance."