Are “90 days” payment terms common in farming.

[Pilatus]

Is it becoming more and more common for farmers, agricultural contractors etc to take 90 days before they pay their bills.
Perhaps a question some will turn a blind eye

 

[yoki]

Surely the seller dictates the terms?

And I can't see many suppliers moving away from the standard 30 days.

Farmers paying the contractor though?, now that's another matter altogether!

 

[nick...]

I've had 150 plus days from some payers in the construction industry.most will be very well know who probably hope you will get fed up chasing them and give up.
Nick...

 

[suffolksmallholder]

In this day and age, I would not accept a 90 day payment. 30 days tops. If not they can find someone else.
Reading on TFF about contractors some of whom are struggling, 90 days would be an absolute maximum length of time to wait for payment in full.
I read the Gov. agencies are as bad here though but in all honesty more fool the person who takes these offerings in the first place IMO.
Alternatively sell that plot to the row of houses who chuck their rubbish into your ground and have a farm spend.
SS

 

[suffolksmallholder]

I've had 150 plus days from some payers in the construction industry.most will be very well know who probably hope you will get fed up chasing them and give up.
Nick...

That sounds like what it was like in the 80’s! Home owners speculating and their properties rising by £1000 a week or more.
But they couldn’t afford to pay you, dahling
SS

 

[yoki]

Back when I was working as a subby for various roads contractors 90 days was standard payment terms.

It was a lean few months at first compared to private work but it had it's advantages too. Got your hours signed off by clerk of works/engineer, submit the invoice to headquarters, cheque arrived in the post three months later.

No questions, no chasing, and as for those who said they couldn't/wouldn't work under those terms, well that just presented more opportunities for the rest of us.

 

[nick...]

That sounds like what it was like in the 80’s! Home owners speculating and their properties rising by £1000 a week or more.
But they couldn’t afford to pay you, dahling
SS

Was around 2003 and one of the biggest construction companies in the uk.was for less than £200 and I ended up writing to md to ask for it
Nick...

 

[nick...]

Had another issue with the European importer of construction equipment around 2009.one that sells machines that could be an insect name,sure you can guess.chopped in my avatar and brand new machine was plauged with issues.said importers bought it back and I had to fight for about 14/16 weeks to get my money back which with vat was around £47k.I'd never buy another product from them.lost a lot of work in this time which I never got back
Nick...

 

[AftonShepherd]

As a student I worked in the offices of a construction firm one summer. They printed off cheques at the end of every month for invoices received the previous month (so 30-60 days after invoice date), then they sat in a pile until the supplier phoned up for a 3rd time to chase payment (and yes they kept a note)

 

[Kidds]

Had this conversation this morning.
Customer wanted 60 day credit so I changed from 30 days to cash on delivery.
I can't afford to subsidise somebody else's business.
Most stuff I buy has to be paid for before I can have it.

 

[beardface]

Grandma used to say you shouldn't pay them until there at the door!

 

[suffolksmallholder]

Was around 2003 and one of the biggest construction companies in the uk.was for less than £200 and I ended up writing to md to ask for it
Nick...

Did the chap apoligise?
I’d hope so but I’d have my doubts
SS

 

[livestock 1]

I did some work for a cement company their terms were 150 days they weren’t keen of that the other way on

 

[suffolksmallholder]

Back when I was working as a subby for various roads contractors 90 days was standard payment terms.

It was a lean few months at first compared to private work but it had it's advantages too. Got your hours signed off by clerk of works/engineer, submit the invoice to headquarters, cheque arrived in the post three months later.

No questions, no chasing, and as for those who said they couldn't/wouldn't work under those terms, well that just presented more opportunities for the rest of us.

Ah,
A large construction Co involved in a substantial contract improving the local town probably worked exactly like this.
All the workforce on a 90 day pay-plan.
Never really looked closely at the invoices of the sub contractors as they just paid.
Until someone took a closer look at the end of the job and all the invoices raised against the actual works completed and big discrepancies were found.
There was a £1.5 million outstanding money V works argument with the local Council.
The construction co lost.
I wonder if their subbies were paid after that?
You may well have been lucky.
I never trusted people beyond the 30 day rule. I was close to bankrupt on several occasions after the wages were paid. That’s never a good feeling.
SS

 

[Bald Rick]

Prompt Payment Code (2021) requires all signatories (including all U.K. supermarkets) to pay 95% of their invoices within 60 days and to businesses with less than 50 employees within 30 days

That is why our Wagyus are on 30 day terms. Like the milk cheque but not like livestock markets or auctions

And I thought contractors were on Single Farm Payment anniversary terms …

 

[nick...]

Did the chap apoligise?
I’d hope so but I’d have my doubts
SS

I never spoke to him,the cheque arrived couple weeks after sending letter
Nick...

 

[Northern territory]

The bigger the company the longer the payment in my experience, also a lot have to produce a PO number before you can even send the invoice

 

[PB1507]

Only fools delay payment, if you pay on time you will get good service and good prices. In my experience the bank loves customers who have few outstanding debts, my bank treated me better when i only owed them.

 

[Guiggs]

Only fools delay payment, if you pay on time you will get good service and good prices. In my experience the bank loves customers who have few outstanding debts, my bank treated me better when i only owed them.

My uncle used to run a shop fitting company, we would refit Wickes and MFI stores up and down the country and Scotland. He would be banking cheques for a million pound every 6 weeks.
He told me " banks are only any good to people that have millions of pounds or owe them millions of pounds, luckily I owe them millions of pounds "
Enough said!

 

[Flatland guy]

My uncle used to run a shop fitting company, we would refit Wickes and MFI stores up and down the country and Scotland. He would be banking cheques for a million pound every 6 weeks.
He told me " banks are only any good to people that have millions of pounds or owe them millions of pounds, luckily I owe them millions of pounds "
Enough said!

Unfortunately it is only logical in business terms, by the time that bank have done the administration on smaller loans the profit element is not that great to the bank, so the bank look at doing larger deals which are more profitable is my experience. What the banks do not understand is that by ignoring a small customer they may become a larger customer etc or be back for more repeat business.