Payment of supplier invoices
Lancaster City Council is a signatory to the Prompt Payment Code and undertakes to pay suppliers and contractors in accordance with the terms and conditions detailed on purchase orders and within the terms of a contract. Where no terms are explicitly stated, we aim to make payment within 30 days of receipt of a correct and properly addressed invoice.
Submitting an invoice
All invoices must be addressed to Lancaster City Council.
To help ensure that payments are made promptly, please ensure all invoices include:
- an invoice number
- the invoice date and a tax point date if that is not the same as the invoice date
- the supplier’s name and address
- the supplier's VAT registration number, the VAT rate applied to each item and the net, VAT and gross amounts payable (where applicable)
- a full description of the goods or services provided. If any works fall into the sub-contracting category, under the HMRC Construction Industry Scheme (CIS), then a split must be clearly shown between labour and materials where applicable
- bank details for payment by BACS
- a valid purchase order number previously provided by the council (if applicable). A failure to quote a purchase order number if one has been issued may lead to your invoice being disputed.
All invoices should be emailed to invoices@lancaster.gov.uk
When are payments made?
Payments are normally generated on a Thursday for crediting to suppliers’ bank accounts the following Tuesday (exceptions may apply following bank holidays). If you have provided an email address for remittance advices you will receive an email on the day of the payment run informing you of the amount due to be credited to your account. Alternatively you will receive a remittance advice by 2nd class post which will be posted on the Friday following the relevant payment run.
Disputed invoices
If the council disputes an invoice you will be informed as soon as it is apparent that there is a dispute. In cases where an invoice is disputed payment will be made on the first available payment run following resolution of the dispute.
Querying an invoice
If you have a query about an invoice, you should initially get in touch with the officer or service who is managing your contract or who placed the order with your organisation. Their contact details are quoted on any official purchase order issued. They should be able to resolve the issue but if you are not satisfied with the service that you have received regarding your payment you may make a complaint using the council’s complaints procedure.
Under the Prompt Payment Code the council also undertakes to request that its lead suppliers encourage adoption of the Code throughout their own supply chains.
Invoice payment performance data
Under Regulation 113 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, the council is required to publish performance data on paying suppliers within 30 days of verifying the invoices received, for each year ending 31 March. The council seeks to pay invoices within 30 days of receipt rather than 30 days of invoices being verified and therefore the figures below may not be directly comparable with other organisations and the interest payable is likely to be overstated .
|
Financial year |
Proportion of valid and undisputed invoices paid within 30 days of receipt |
Interest paid to suppliers due to breach of regulation 113 requirement |
Council’s liability for interest due to breach of regulation 113 requirement |
| 2023/24 | 89.37% | £0.00 | £42,835.95 |
| 2022/23 | 84.38% | £0.00 | £19,769.09 |
| 2021/22 | 91.14% | £0.00 | £10,577.25 |
| 2020/21 | 91.2% | £0.00 | £5,404.03 |
| 2019/20 | 86.0% | £0.00 | £18,312.93 |
| 2018/19 | 94.5% | £0.00 | £11,861.65 |
| 2017/18 | 93.5% | £0.00 | £5,902.77 |
| 2016/17 | 94.1% | £0.00 | £6,711.95 |
| 2015/16 | 95.2% | £0.00 | £0.00 |
Last updated: 17 October 2024