UK Tech Sector Payment Practices: A Wide Gulf Between Best and Worst

The Numbers

• Companies analysed: 59
• Average PaymentCheck Score: 70.3/100
• UK average across all sectors: 50.0/100
• IT sector average above UK average: 20.3 points
• Highest score: 98.51/100 (DATALYNX LIMITED)
• Lowest score: 10.8/100 (ADVANCED COMPUTER SOFTWARE GROUP LIMITED)
• Region with highest average: East of England (85.3/100, 8 companies)
• Region with lowest average: Unknown (72.9/100, 4 companies), though this is likely due to small sample size

What Stands Out

While the IT sector's average PaymentCheck score of 70.3 significantly outpaces the UK average of 50, a concerning disparity exists between the top and bottom performers. The difference of nearly 88 points between DATALYNX LIMITED and ADVANCED COMPUTER SOFTWARE GROUP LIMITED paints a picture of wildly inconsistent payment cultures within the industry.

Best Payers

1. DATALYNX LIMITED - 98.51/100
2. MASS CONSULTANTS LIMITED - 96.62/100
3. CAPGEMINI UK PLC - 96.5/100
4. TRENCHANT LIMITED - 96.3/100
5. NSC GROUP PLC - 95.49/100

Worst Payers

1. ADVANCED COMPUTER SOFTWARE GROUP LIMITED - 10.8/100
2. EXCLUSIVE NETWORKS LIMITED - 29/100
3. NOKIA UK LIMITED - 29.3/100
4. AVAYA UK - 30.72/100
5. TALKTALK COMMUNICATIONS LIMITED - 36.93/100

Regional Patterns

The data suggests that payment practices are generally better in the East of England, with an average score of 85.3 across eight companies, compared to London's average of 74.7 across seventeen firms; the East Midlands only had one recorded company. However, London has more than twice the companies and is still above the national average, and the "Unknown" companies average isn't much lower at 72.9. Suppliers might consider regional location when forecasting cashflow, but other factors are more important.

You can use our late payment calculator to calculate interest and compensation on overdue invoices.

One-line takeaway: The IT sector's average PaymentCheck score of 70.3 suggests above-average payment performance, but the 87.71 point gap between the best and worst payers shows that suppliers need to carefully vet their clients.