When will a big customer actually pay? Using payment times rules to plan your cash

Landing a big customer feels like security. A household-name retailer, a national builder, a mining contractor, a government department — they’re not going anywhere, and they’ll always pay. Eventually.

That “eventually” is where small businesses get caught. Large customers often pay on long terms, run invoices through slow approval processes, and treat 30 days as a starting point. If your cash flow forecast assumes they pay on the due date, your next deadline may arrive before their money does.

This guide covers the public information available about how big businesses pay, the rules that apply in some government supply chains, and how to plan your own cash around it.

What is the Payment Times Reporting Scheme?

The scheme requires large businesses to report publicly on how quickly they pay their suppliers, with the aim of improving payment times for Australian small businesses. Reports are published on a register at paymenttimes.gov.au, where you can search and compare them alongside industry statistics.

According to the regulator, the entities that must report include large businesses with annual consolidated revenue of $100 million or more under accounting standards, along with corporate Commonwealth entities that meet the definition.

What changed with the 2024 reforms?

Amendments that commenced on 7 September 2024 introduced incentives built around public recognition:

• a “fast small business payers” list for entities that pay small business invoices within 20 days
• identification of “slow small business payers” — those in the slowest 20% overall or within their industry
• regulator research highlighting the best and worst payers

Reporting entities also gained more control over when their reports are released. For a small supplier, the practical upshot is simple: there’s public information about how quickly many large customers really pay.

How do you use the register?

Before you sign a large contract — or when building your cash forecast — search the customer on the Payment Times Reports Register. Look for:

• how quickly they pay small business invoices, typically shown as averages and distributions
• their standard payment terms compared with what you’ve been offered
• the share of invoices paid within 30 days, and how many take longer
• how they compare with their industry

Then compare it with your own experience. If the register says a customer typically pays in around 40 days and your history matches, forecast 40 days — not the 30 on the invoice.

What about government supply chains?

If you’re a subcontractor in an Australian Government supply chain, Treasury’s Payment Times Procurement Connected Policy may help. It requires large businesses (annual income exceeding $100 million) that are awarded Australian Government contracts over $4 million to pay their new subcontracts (up to $1 million) within 20 calendar days, with interest penalties on late payment of in-scope invoices.

If you think the policy applies to your work, ask the head contractor whether your subcontract is in scope, and keep records of invoice and payment dates.

How should you forecast receipts from big customers?

Use three layers:

1. The contract terms — what the customer has agreed to.
2. The public data — what the register says they typically do.
3. Your own history — what they actually do with you.

Forecast on the slowest of the three that’s still realistic. Then, on your 90-day deadline calendar, mark big-customer receipts as “medium” confidence until they’ve arrived — and test what happens if one slips two weeks.

How do you get paid faster by large customers?

Some practical habits:

• Get onboarded properly. Many large businesses won’t pay until you’re set up as a supplier with the right ABN, bank details and purchase order references. Do it before you start work.
• Quote the purchase order number on every invoice. Missing PO numbers are a classic reason invoices sit in a queue.
• Invoice the right entity and the right inbox. Large groups often have several entities and centralised accounts payable.
• Submit on their schedule. If they process invoices on set days, submit before the cut-off.
• Follow up early and politely, a few days before the due date, to confirm the invoice is approved.
• Know your escalation path if payment is late — business.gov.au’s guidance on what to do when you haven’t been paid covers the options.

business.gov.au’s payment terms guidance is also useful when you’re negotiating terms in the first place.

When does a big customer create a deadline?

Most often in three situations:

• A big order needs stock or a supplier deposit up front — the cash goes out weeks before the customer pays. See stock for a big order.
• A new contract needs extra staff — pay runs start long before the first invoice is paid. See wages for a new contract.
• A contract needs security or mobilisation — money is tied up before work starts. See contract security.

In each case, the customer’s real payment time decides how long the gap lasts — and therefore how large and how long any funding needs to be.

An illustrative forecast

Illustrative example only — no real business. A packaging manufacturer wins a supply agreement with a large national retailer. The contract says 30 days end of month. The retailer’s public payment report shows it typically pays small business invoices well beyond 30 days, and the manufacturer’s sales rep has heard the same from other suppliers.

Instead of forecasting receipts at 30 days end of month (effectively 30 to 60 days after delivery), the manufacturer forecasts 60 to 75 days. That pushes the deepest point of its cash timeline out by a month and makes it larger. Knowing this before the first delivery, it arranges a facility sized to the longer gap, rather than discovering the problem in its third month of supply.

What if a big customer suddenly pays late?

It happens — a systems change, a disputed invoice, a new accounts team. When it does:

1. Confirm the invoice is approved and find out the actual expected payment date.
2. Put it in writing and keep the correspondence.
3. Update your calendar and find the new lowest point.
4. Move what can be moved on your side — see the asking for more time guide.
5. Fund what can’t be moved, particularly pay runs and ATO dates.

The cash crunch warning signs guide lists other signals worth watching when one customer dominates your revenue.

Should you change your terms for big customers?

Sometimes you can’t — large customers often set their own terms. But there’s usually room to negotiate around the edges:

• Ask for a mobilisation or deposit payment on large or custom orders.
• Ask for shorter terms on the first invoice, which carries the biggest cash gap.
• Invoice more often — weekly or fortnightly progress claims rather than monthly.
• Price the terms in. If a customer insists on 60-day terms, the cost of funding those 60 days is a real cost of serving them.

business.gov.au’s payment terms guidance is a useful reference when setting or negotiating terms.

How do you decide whether a big customer is worth it?

Most are — big customers bring volume, stability and credibility. But it’s worth doing the sums once: the margin on their work, minus the cost of funding the gap their payment terms create, minus any extra admin. If the answer is still comfortably positive, plan the funding and take the work. If it’s thin, use the payment data and your own numbers to negotiate better terms before you commit.

Waiting on a big customer? Don’t let pay day wait too

Big customers are worth having, but their timing can leave you exposed. Asking the Deadline Desk what’s possible involves no credit check. We don’t parcel your details out to a crowd of lenders; one team looks at the gap and a real person calls you back.

When you send your enquiry, tell us who the customer is, what they owe and when you realistically expect payment — accurate details let us match you to funding that lasts exactly as long as the gap. Or ring 1300 752 188.