Economic growth and sound financial management are central themes of Bexley Council’s three-year plan ‘#Brilliant Bexley: Shaping Our Future Together’. However, this growth must be delivered against a backdrop of unprecedented change in local government funding, which ultimately requires all councils to be self-sufficient and raise income locally to deliver services.

Between 2010/11 and 2015/16, Bexley’s core Government funding decreased by around 40% and the council faced complete withdrawal of its government grant by 2020. Despite this challenging financial environment, Bexley’s ambitions to create a prosperous local economy, supporting the local business community and creating an environment in which they can flourish, have never been greater.

A dedicated team of process change experts from Oxygen Finance worked closely with Bexley’s in-house finance and IT teams to embed the new programme, which would make it possible to receive, match and pay supplier invoices ahead of contracted terms.

Working in partnership with Oxygen Finance, Bexley Council’s Supplier Incentive Programme offers the council’s suppliers early settlement of their invoices in exchange for a discount directly related to how quickly the payment is made. This was underpinned by Oxygen’s robust technology, ensuring seamless integration with the ERP, to automate transactions.

Bexley is now among the fastest paying councils in the country, settling invoices for suppliers who have joined the programme within an average of 5.6 days.