Why do the Accountants Stress on Correctly Using the Security Of Payments Acts?

by Stuart Iles Partners Tax Consulting

First, we shall come across the sectors covered under the Security of Payments Act. Well, the Security of Payments Act covers a major portion of the commercial contracts. The residential building works, however, are excluded from where the principal is residing, or else it makes a proposal for residing in, the construction work premises. Under this Act, both the sub-contractors as well as the head contractors are protected; despite the contract being written or not.

The qualified accountants of Hobart, an expert at providing fruitful business advice for the betterment of Hobart-based businesses and excelling in their industries lay a lot of emphases and guide the business owners to follow the Security of Payments Act correctly.

What is the Procedure To Recover the Progress Payments?:

Through this Security Payments Act’s mechanism, the sub-contractors and contractors have the right to be properly paid in the construction industry. This Act essentially provides the right to progress payments and eventually enables the business owner in initiating a fast track process to obtain the payments, in comparison to the conventional court proceedings.

The Benefits Associated with the Security Of Payments Act:

As per their business advice provided by the accountants to the Hobart-based businesses, especially the construction business is regarding the rightful utilization of the Security Payments Act for enjoying its advantages. The chief among them include –

1. The business owner is favored with a completely clear process to follow for invoicing, payment receiving, and resolving disputes related to the invoices.

2. Often it is much useful to resolve disputes within a short time span in comparison to taking up any ordinary legal actions through the courts.

3. The Act offers a cost-effective method to resolve disputes, which is further compared to the legal actions as the court orders.

The Security of Payments Act is automatically applied to the construction contracts; meaning when the involved parties are within the business space, then they have to understand the key features and the ways to use the Act to own convenience.

The Problems The Accountants Solve With Responsibility:

The common cases, wherein the accountants have to take over include when the subcontractors are issuing invoices and making a claim that shows they are considering they are complying with the Security of Payments Acts. But at most times, the subcontractors have misunderstood what is the actual meaning or the way for actually enforcing their legal rights henceforth.

The applicable strict time frames must be followed or else there is a high chance to be "timed out" altogether.

Even strict requirements apply for the information to be included in the secondary notices, payment claims as well as payment schedules.

If any small omissions are done, then it is likely to render the claim and notice being invalid and then it will be precluded from the available remedies as under the Acts.

How Do the Accountants Deal With The Error Situations?:

The errors, as mentioned above, essentially means the business owner or the contractor and subcontractor must know all the details of their works when it is related to the Security of Payments Acts and to receive all its benefits. The accountants assist both the contractors, sub-contractors, and their involved clients by providing them with necessary flowcharts and templates, making sure the Security of Payments Acts is possible to follow and enforce with ease. They make appointment session with the involved bodies –the business owner, contract manager, their clients, and every other professional willing to find out the details about the ins and outs of the entire process, and then they take the initiative in imparting the knowledge regarding the correct use of the Acts.

The professional accountants are experienced at providing assistance to the contractors and suppliers related to using the Security of Payments Act for making payment claims and recouping unpaid invoices. They get it done by reviewing the applicable contract and payment claims for ensuring contracts with the Security of Payments Act, drafting the relevant payment letters of demand, and enforcing the rights as stated by the Security of Payments Act.