Preparing for payment reporting under the Procurement Act 2023

The time for urgent action is now

The Procurement Act 2023 is now in force, and the first official reporting cycle for public sector payment compliance began on 1 October 2025. With the first Payment Compliance Notice due for publication by 30 April 2026, the time for planning is over.

Every day of delay increases your risk of non-compliance, audit failure, and public scrutiny. Many organisations are discovering their systems and processes are inadequate to ensure compliance.

This comprehensive guide provides 5 practical tips you can implement immediately, plus a detailed 9-point implementation checklist to build a robust, compliant payment reporting process before it’s too late.

Inside this free guide:

This practical eBook covers everything you need to prepare for payment reporting compliance:

• 5 practical tips for immediate implementation Learn critical actions including treating invoice receipt date as your single source of truth, excluding invoices received but unpaid at period end, building in mandatory sign-off from senior finance officers, understanding and applying exemptions correctly, and tracking changes to Contract Payment Notice requirements under Section 70.
• Understanding the two types of payment notifications Get clear explanations of Payment Compliance Notices (six-monthly reports on invoice payment performance with average days to pay and payment time bands) versus Contract Payment Notices (quarterly publications of individual payments above the statutory threshold).
• 9-point implementation checklist with clear ownership Access a detailed step-by-step plan covering governance and project setup, data definitions and fields, systems and technical integration, calculation rules and controls, policies and supplier handling, approval and sign-off processes, training and communications, testing and dry-runs, plus audit and continuous improvement.
• Critical data requirements Discover the minimum dataset required including invoice ID and receipt date, payment dates and amounts, contract references, supplier identifiers, disputed invoice status, flags for payments over £30k, and more—all essential for accurate reporting.
• Key differences from previous practices Understand why most public sector organisations need to change processes, as the clock now starts on the day an invoice is received (regardless of method) rather than when it’s processed in finance systems or when Goods Received Notes are completed.
• Technical integration guidance Learn about capturing invoice receipt dates accurately and in an auditable way, adding relevant metadata fields, adopting open e-invoicing standards, building scheduled reports, and understanding Central Digital Platform upload requirements.

Essential for public sector finance and procurement teams!

• Finance directors and teams responsible for Payment Compliance Notice sign-off and publication
• Procurement professionals ensuring contract and payment data meets new reporting requirements
• IT and ERP system owners tasked with technical integration and data extraction

The Procurement Act 2023 has transformed payment reporting requirements for public sector organisations. Payment Compliance Notices must be published every six months with Finance Director approval, and failure to comply risks audit failure, reputational damage, and public scrutiny.

The first reporting period began on 1 October 2025, with the deadline for your first notice rapidly approaching on 30 April 2026. If your systems can’t accurately capture invoice receipt dates, if your processes don’t account for exemptions, or if your approval workflows aren’t in place, you’re at serious risk of missing this critical deadline.

Download your free guide now and take urgent action to ensure payment reporting compliance before the 30 April 2026 deadline.