Had a thought-provoking chat with a print boss the other day, during which we got around to talking about payment terms.

Per last week's story about the monstrous amount owed to Britain's SMEs, late payment is strangling cashflow at companies up and down the country.

What was interesting about my conversation was that it dealt with the flipside of this coin, payments to this printing company's own creditors. In such generally cash-strapped times as we are living in, this particular boss has made it one of his key priorities to ensure that when someone runs a Dun & Bradstreet report or similar on his company, the agreed payment days are matching the actuality.

Other businesses clearly don't set such store by this. If you have agreed payment days of 62, but actual payment days of 98, it doesn't reflect terribly positively, does it? This morning I've been reading a set of accounts where trade creditors have been pushed out to the equivalent of four months. Oof.

For businesses with the necessary financial substance, being willing and able to pay to terms is a real competitive advantage to be leveraged accordingly.