Poor planning could result in staff members and suppliers missing crucial payment deadlines this Easter
Owners at small UK companies expecting to make payments over the Easter holidays have been told to plan ahead or face missing deadlines.
Bacs, the payment processor responsibility for all automated Direct Debit payments in the UK, has warned of payment delays to staff and suppliers for business owners that do not account for non-processing days.
Owners expecting to collect invoices should also remind clients of potential delays over Easter, or risk losing out on payment.
Two upcoming public holidays Good Friday (14 April) and Easter Monday (17 April) are non-processing days, meaning that any payments needing to go through the following week will need to be scheduled in advance.
For payments needing to be made before the Easter holidays, Bacs has advised all business owners to submit payment files by Tuesday 11 April to avoiddelays.
Likewise, payments due on Tuesday 18 April should be submitted by Wednesday 12 April at the latest.?
Mike Hutchinson, a director at Bacs, said now was the time to act for business owners.
easter is fast approaching and we don’t want businesses to be caught out with important payments being delayed because payment files have not been submitted taking those bank holidays into account, he said in a statement.
planning ahead is essential if staff and suppliers are to be paid and customer payments collected on time.
Business owners are able to submit payment files to Bacs up to 30 days in advance of the scheduled date. Bacs has provided an online processing calendar to highlight all dates that could cause delays throughout the rest of 2017.
Are you expecting to trade over Easter? Find out everything you need to know in our small business guide to opening on a bank holiday
