MYOB welcomes Govt focus on late payments for SMEs

Leading local tech company MYOB is welcoming the Government’s focus on ensuring small businesses are paid on time.

In the most recent MYOB Business Monitor of 1,000 SME operators from across the country, almost a quarter (24%) said late payments were putting their business under significant pressure.

MYOB NZ country manager Ingrid Cronin-Knight says it is great to see the Government highlighting the issue of late payments, and being prepared to legislate if necessary to address the problem.

“Over the last five years of MYOB Business Monitor research, the issue of late payments has been a growing concern for SME operators, rising from 14% under significant pressure in 2015, to 24% last year,” says Ingrid Cronin-Knight. “Over the last decade, we’ve especially seen this pressure increase whenever economic conditions tighten.”

“It’s clear that this is a systemic problem for New Zealand business and one the Government needs to look closely at in order to see if payment terms should be made mandatory.”

MYOB is a voluntary signatory to the Australian Supplier Payment Code, through which members commit to paying small businesses on time and within 30 days of receiving a correct invoice.

Although no similar code exists in New Zealand, MYOB applies the same terms to suppliers on this side of the Tasman.

“We believe larger enterprises have a responsibility to treat their small business partners fairly and ensure they are not put under stress by late payments. It is simply not appropriate for big business to treat the money they owe SME suppliers like an overdraft,” says Ingrid Cronin-Knight.

“SMEs are the lifeblood of our economy, and we need to do everything possible to ensure they can survive and succeed.”

“Cashflow can be make or break for any business, particularly in the early phases of its development, and by committing to prompt payment terms, larger businesses can do their part to ensure a healthy and growing SME sector.”

ENDS

For more information please contact:

Janelle Ericksen, MYOB, PR Specialist
M:021 1050 490 / E: janelle.ericksen@myob.com

Gerard Blank, The Agency Communications Limited, Director
P: 03 341 5841 / M: 0275 243 629 / E: gerard@theagencynz.co.nz

About MYOB

MYOB is a leading provider of cloud-based business management solutions. With an offering of over 50 solutions, MYOB makes life easier for approximately 1.2 million businesses across Australia and New Zealand. The MYOB software spans the full lifecycle of a business from sole traders to larger enterprises with over 1,000 employees. MYOB also provides ongoing support to a network of over 40,000 accountants, bookkeepers and other consultants. They are committed to ongoing innovation, particularly through the Connected Practice Strategy and through development of the MYOB Platform. For more information visit myob.com or follow @MYOB on Twitter.

About the MYOB Business Monitor

The MYOB Business Monitor is a national survey of 1,000+ New Zealand small and medium business owners and managers, from sole traders to mid-sized companies, representing the major industry sectors. It has run since 2009, commissioned to independent market research firm Colmar Brunton. This most recent survey ran in February/March 2019. The Monitor researches business performance and attitudes in areas such as profitability, cash flow, pipeline, technology usage and the government. The weighting of respondents by both geographical location and sector is based on overall market proportions as established by Statistics New Zealand and is drawn from an independent survey group, which includes both MYOB clients and non-clients.