Supporting local business through smarter procurement

By Ben Unwin, UK Public Sector Account Executive

Local Councils play a vital role in supporting their regional economies, and one of the key ways they can do this is by making it easier for small businesses to work with them. The Small Business Friendly Concordat was established to encourage fairer access to local government contracts for smaller firms.

The Concordat sets out clear expectations for both suppliers and buyers, promoting fair treatment, open access to opportunities and timely payment. While there are no direct financial obligations attached to becoming a signatory, Councils that fully commit to the principles often see significant value for money, efficiency gains and stronger relationships with the local business community.

Turning principles into practice

One UK council we worked with had signed up to the Concordat and was particularly focused on improving payment practices for small to medium enterprises (SMEs). A key pledge of the Concordat is to pay SME suppliers within 10 days, an admirable goal that proved difficult in practice due to the manual effort involved in invoice processing.

Prior to working with Proactis, the Council often missed BACS payment runs because of delays caused by manual data entry and slow invoice approvals and hitting its “on-time payment” target was a persistent challenge.

By implementing Proactis Invoice Capture, the Council completely transformed its approach. Invoices are now received on day one and automatically matched against purchase orders, eliminating manual re-entry and significantly accelerating the process. As a result, the Council not only achieved its target, but exceeded it.

Creating opportunities

Alongside payment improvements, the Council also adopted a “Think Local First” procurement policy, splitting larger contracts into smaller lots to enable more SMEs to compete. This opened up dual value by supporting the local economy while securing responsive, value-for-money services for the Council and its residents.

At Proactis, we help Public Sector organisations deliver on the commitments of the Small Business Friendly Concordat through digital procurement and finance transformation. Our solutions make it easier to:

• Automate invoice processing, ensuring faster approvals and payments.
• Improve supplier engagement.
• Automate invoice processing, ensuring faster approvals and payments.
• Support local economic growth through better visibility and accessibility of tender opportunities.
• Ensure compliance, minimise risk and transparency across the entire procurement process.
• Achieve best value for you and your suppliers.

Whether you're just beginning your Concordat journey or looking to strengthen your current performance, Proactis can help you deliver real impact, for your organisation, your suppliers and your local community.

Drop me a line today