Prompt Payment Action Plan
Overview
Working to our vision “Delivering safe, sustainable service excellence through our passion, integrity and collaborative culture” Ringway Jacobs recognises the importance of complying with Prompt Payment requirements.
Through the plan set below, Ringway Jacobs believes that working on the areas of improvement will assist in delivering our objective.
Collaborative relationships with our supply chain ensure that we have frequent dialogue on payments to manage expectations and it is worthwhile noting that:
- As an average, Ringway Jacobs pays its supply chain within 54 days
- Within this figure Ringway Jacobs pays its subcontractors on average within 28 days
- More than 95% of our subcontractors are paid within 60 days
Objective
Ringway Jacobs objective for prompt payments is to:
- Work towards achieving 95% of all invoices paid with 60 days of receipt
Areas of Improvement
The company’s area of focus are:
- Enterprise resource planning (ERP) development – as of 1st January 2021 Ringway Jacobs have successful implemented a full new ERP system. During the last payment practices reporting period, various steps have been taken to reduce any short term impact of the change on our supply chains cash flow and especially for local subcontractors and SME's. We expect a natural improvement in payment reporting as the system becomes embedded within the organisation.
- Impact of COVID-19 – in addition to the ERP system change, the company has been impacted by COVID-19, as our shared services and many other business units had to transition to remote working. As our business returns to a “new normal”, we expect as above to see a natural improvement.
- Invoice monitoring – within the new ERP system, we have developed a supplier invoice status report which will allow users to assess the status of their invoice. This will aid visibility and communication within the business to address any issues, reducing invoice payment time.
Ringway Jacobs, working as a joint venture organisation with two shareholders, Eurovia UK Limited and Jacobs UK Limited, have jointly managed national framework agreements in place with some suppliers, in which the standard payment terms are two months from the end of the month of invoice. These nationwide framework providers are not SMEs but mostly large companies. Excluding these from the last payment practises increases the percentage of invoices paid in 60 days to 80%, which we expect to improve further with the focus areas mentioned now in place.
Reporting
The Company will report to the Audit Committee and the Board where necessary, on the progress of those measures on a quarterly basis, reviewing the outcome of each of the above points in the action plan to ensure that the results are in line with expectations. Additional measures will be developed and implemented as necessary.
Signed:
John McGrath
Finance Director