Paying your trade account

Invoices on a credit account fall due the agreed number of days after the invoice date. You can pay through the payment link in a reminder, at either branch, or by bank transfer where the invoice prints our bank details. You can also save a card so invoices are charged automatically when they fall due. Statements are issued on the 1st of each month and sit in your account as PDFs. To check a statement line by line, read reading a statement.

When is an invoice due?

Your payment terms are set when your credit account is approved, for example 30 days. An invoice is due that many days after its date, and the due date prints on the invoice. "Due on receipt" means it is due straight away.

Checkout shows your position before you commit to an order: your terms, the available credit, and what is currently on the account, with a link to your statement.

How can I pay?

1. 1

   Step 1: Find the invoice

   Sign in and open your orders or your statement. Each invoice is a PDF with our order reference and your own PO reference if you gave one.

2. 2

   Step 2: Choose how to pay

   Use the payment link in a reminder email to pay by card, pay at the counter at either branch, or pay by bank transfer if page 1 of the invoice prints our bank details.

3. 3

   Step 3: Quote the reference

   On a bank transfer, quote the invoice or order reference so the payment is matched to the right invoice.

4. 4

   Step 4: Check your statement

   Payments show against the invoice once they are applied. The next statement on the 1st shows the new balance.

Can invoices be paid automatically?

Yes, if you choose to. Save a card to your trade account and, where auto-charge is switched on for your account, invoices are charged to it when they fall due. It is opt-in. The wording you agree to is stored with the card, and you can revoke it at any time from your account page. We store only the card brand and the last four digits; the card number stays with our payment provider.

If an automatic charge is declined, we email you to say so. It is not retried blindly, and you can pay through the link we send.

What happens if an invoice is overdue?

We send a reminder email when an invoice is 7 days overdue and again at 14 days, each with a fresh payment link. After that, a member of our team may ring the accounts contact.

While an invoice is overdue, or when a new order would take the account over its credit limit, we may decline further orders on account, ask for payment up front, or hold deliveries and fitting, as our terms explain. An order that would take the account over its limit is refused on account, so pay for it another way or clear part of the balance first.

For a business customer, we may claim statutory interest and fixed-sum compensation on late payment under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998. Our terms explain how it applies.

What are brought-forward balances?

If you had an account with us before our current system, any balance carried over shows on your statement as brought forward. It is part of what the account owes, and it is paid the same way as any other invoice.

Where to go next

• Read the account terms: our terms and conditions
• Purchase orders and job references
• Invoices and credit notes
• Ways to pay

Questions we get asked