By Eugene Maslov, Founder and Finance Broker at Lendr360
Published 28 September 2026 · Last reviewed 28 September 2026
Winning a large customer can be good news. Funding the wages, materials and supplier bills while waiting for payment takes some planning.
Before accepting the work, you can check customer payment times using Australia’s public Payment Times Reports Register.
A public register worth knowing about
Australia’s Payment Times Reports Register lets you review how reporting businesses pay their small-business suppliers. Anyone can search it without an account or login.
The scheme covers large businesses and certain government enterprises required to report. It does not cover every Australian business, so an absent listing does not establish whether a customer pays reliably.
How to use it
- Identify the business you will contract with. Check its legal name and ABN or ACN on the proposed contract or purchase order.
- Search the register. Match the reporting entity carefully, particularly when dealing with a group that operates several companies.
- Check the reporting period. The information is historical, so note how recent it is.
- Compare payment terms with payment times. Look at the terms offered and the reported proportions of invoices paid within 30 days, between 31 and 60 days, and beyond 60 days.
- Look for a pattern. Where available, compare successive reports to see whether payment performance has changed.
The reports contain information supplied by reporting entities. They are useful background, but cannot guarantee when your particular invoice will be paid.
Turn the information into better questions
Before agreeing to the job, ask:
- Can we agree on a deposit or progress payments?
- What purchase-order numbers, supporting documents or approvals must accompany the invoice?
- When does the payment period start, and are there monthly payment cut-offs?
- Who should we contact in accounts payable?
- Could our business manage if payment arrived another 30 days later than expected?
Confirm these arrangements in writing. Once you invoice, check that it has been received and accepted for processing.
A profitable job can still need cash upfront
Consider this simplified example: a contract pays $40,000, but requires $25,000 in wages and materials before the customer pays.
The business must cover that $25,000 in the meantime, alongside its normal expenses. The $15,000 difference is not necessarily profit: overheads, tax and any finance costs still need to be considered.
Map out when each payment leaves your account and when customer funds are expected to arrive. That reveals the funding gap more clearly than the contract value alone.
Where Lendr360 can help
If an otherwise viable contract creates a temporary funding gap, Lendr360 can help you explore lines of credit and working-capital finance.
We can discuss the amount required, the expected repayment source, and the costs and conditions of suitable options. Finance should support a workable payment cycle; it cannot make an unprofitable contract worthwhile.
Planning for a new contract or longer customer payment terms? Call Lendr360 on 1800 870 779 before the first supplier bill arrives.
Business-purpose finance is subject to lender assessment, eligibility, fees and terms. This article provides general information.
Sources: Payment Times Reporting Regulator — Using the register; About the register; ASBFEO — Payment Times Reporting Scheme and invoice tips. Accessed 28 September 2026.