Council aims to pay bills in 10 days

WARRINGTON Borough Council is using new technology to speed up payments to suppliers who may be struggling because of the credit crunch.
The aim is to pay within an average of 10 days – with priority being given to small to medium sized businesses and the voluntary sector.
Leader of the council Ian Marks (pictured) said: “We understand the importance for businesses of maintaining a healthy cash flow.
“As a result of this initiative, we are already seeing over 30 per cent of invoices paid within 10 days which we hope to improve on further in coming months. Our new system for the speedier payment of invoices will ensure that the council does not place any financial strains or unnecessary burdens on its valued suppliers during this difficult period.”
New technology such as electronic invoice routing and authorisation is being introduced to ensure that suppliers are paid more quickly by reducing the scope for invoices to get delayed or lost in transit.
The new process has been piloted since January within the building maintenance, ICT and business improvement, passenger transport and environmental health and public protection sections of the council. The result of the pilot is currently being assessed with these service areas and internal audit. Once completed, a council wide rollout of the new system will take place.
The introduction of a modern enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution, planned for April 2010, to replace the council’s existing finance, payroll and HR systems will further help to speed up the payment of supplier invoices as it will allow for streamlining of the council’s authorisation process and automated invoice matching.