Quicker payments to assist business

Council will pay local suppliers more quickly to help ease the financial strain being experienced by business during the current drought.

This week’s Council meeting resolved to pay suppliers in the Armidale Regional Council area within five business days of receiving invoices, to assist the region’s small to medium-sized businesses. The resolution recognised the impact the prolonged drought was having on businesses in the region.

“Trimming our payment times will help to get money back into the pockets of business operators and circulating in the local economy,” Armidale Regional Council Mayor Simon Murray said.

“Our financial operations were already focused on punctual payments to suppliers, with payments made within an average of 30 days.

“Further pruning that turnaround time for small to medium-sized business will require significant adjustments by our professional finance team.”

It will also depend on Council receiving all required information from suppliers.

“However, that reduction will bring a valuable improvement in cash flows for suppliers and offer a flow-on effect for the broader business community,” he said.

The move coincides with a number of Council-led initiatives to boost business activity in the Armidale region.

Earlier this month, Council held the second in a series of business symposium to identify opportunities for local commerce and encourage great cooperation between business operators and supporting agencies. A business hub to help drive new ventures and enable existing operators to flourish and grow is among the initiatives to originate from the symposiums.

Council has also established a new Regional Growth & Place Activation Peak Advisory Committee, with Expressions of Interest recently closing for community delegates on the group. 

Published on 02 Dec 2019