This page provides information to suppliers and contractors providing goods and services to Wirral Council, and the steps needed to ensure that goods and services are paid for promptly.
New suppliers’ forms
The council has contracts with different companies and traders to supply goods and services. When first doing business with the council, suppliers will be asked to sign up to our Supplier Portal. We will ask for business details, company bank account information, payment terms and CIS status (if applicable).
Find out more about the Supplier portal
Official purchase orders
It is the council’s policy that all procurement of goods and services must be confirmed with an official purchase order. There are only a very few authorised exemptions to this policy. Purchase orders are issued electronically and therefore suppliers are required to provide a valid email address before orders can be raised.
The official purchase order number must be quoted on all supplier Invoices. Failure to do this will delay the processing of the invoice and the council reserve the right to return invoices that do not display a current valid official purchase order number.
Submitting an invoice
All invoices must be addressed to Wirral Council.
To help ensure that payments are made promptly, please ensure all invoices include:
- a valid official purchase order number provided by the council (failure to quote an official purchase order number may lead to your invoice being returned)
- an invoice number
- the invoice date and a tax point date if that is not the same as the invoice date
- the supplier’s name and address
- the supplier's VAT registration number, the VAT rate applied to each item and the net, VAT and gross amounts payable (where applicable)
- a full description of the goods or services provided. If any works fall into the sub-contracting category, under the HMRC Construction Industry Scheme (CIS), then a split must be clearly shown between labour and materials where applicable
Where to send your invoice
There are three ways to submit your invoices to Wirral Council
- Supplier portal
- by email
- by post
Supplier portal
The supplier portal allows suppliers to input invoices supported by a Purchase Order directly into Wirral’s payment system. This will result in quicker payments. The portal also allows suppliers to view their account online to track:
- whether invoices have been received
- when payment is due
- whether payment has been made
Find out more about using the Supplier portal
Emailed invoices
To enable us to process your invoices quickly, attach the invoice in PDF, Word or TIFF format to your email. Each invoice must be attached as a separate document. Attached documents containing more than one invoice will be rejected.
The email address for sending your invoices is supplierinvoice@wirral.gov.uk
Please do not send enquiries to this email address as it will not be monitored. Instead please contact us via the Supplier contact form.
Sending invoices by post
In exceptional circumstances, where email is not possible, we will accept paper invoices by post. Please do not send your invoices to any other location or to the person procuring your goods or services. This will cause delays in processing and payment.
All invoices should be sent to:
Wirral Council
Payments Out
PO Box 290
Brighton Street
Wallasey
CH27 9FQ
Disputed invoices
If an invoice is disputed, it is the responsibility of the member of staff who raised the purchase order to contact the supplier and agree a resolution. Disputed invoices are flagged in the creditor ledger and will not be paid until the dispute is resolved.
When will I be paid?
All invoices will be paid within the agreed Wirral Council payment terms; our standard terms are 30 days from date of invoice. For local suppliers which are classified as a Small Medium Enterprise (SME), then payment terms will be 10 working days from date of invoice.
How are payments made?
The council’s policy is to make all payments to suppliers by BACS transfer. Cheque payments will only be made in exceptional circumstances. Our BACS payment runs are daily and can take up to three working days to reach your account.
If you have any questions regarding BACS transfers, email the Corporate Payments Team at cpt@wirral.gov.uk
Early Payment Terms
The council welcomes discount offers from suppliers based on early payment terms. If you wish to be paid in less than 30 days and you are able to offer a % discount to enable this, please complete the part of the form that refers to settlement discount.
Contact us
Queries concerning an order, the goods or services supplied or any other dispute should be addressed to the member of staff who raised the order. Their contact name and email address will be included on the official purchase order form.
Queries concerning payment of an invoice should be made via the Supplier contact form.
Sole Traders
Please be aware that the council has a legal responsibility to provide information to the Audit Commission to help prevent and detect fraud. For Sole Traders this may include some elements of personal data and some personal contact details.
'No Purchase Order, No Pay' policy
Wirral Council has a 'No Purchase Order, No Pay' policy. This means that all invoices submitted to the council must contain a valid Purchase Order number. Invoices without a valid Purchase Order number will be returned to the supplier.
Guidance on Wirral Council's 'No Purchase Order, No Pay' policy