Revenue & Debt
Creditor Payment Within 30 Days
Compliance with the MFMA requirement to pay creditors within 30 days.
Why 30-Day Payment Is a Legal Duty
Section 65 of the MFMA requires an accounting officer to ensure that all money owing to creditors is paid within 30 days of receiving the invoice, and the equivalent obligation under Treasury Regulations binds PFMA institutions. Late payment is both a compliance breach the AGSA reports and a direct cause of supplier distress and fruitless interest charges. AuditPro Core measures payment performance against the 30-day rule so the accounting officer can evidence compliance and act on the exceptions.
The Numbers
AuditPro Core renders this view from your tenant's live, tamper-evident records. The figures below are illustrative sample data.
Paid Within 30 Days
78.4%
▲ 4 pts YoY
Invoices Processed
42,180
year to date
Avg Payment Days
34 days
▼ from 41
Interest on Arrears
R 6.2 m
fruitless
On-Time Payment Rate by Month (%)
Payment Performance by Department
| Department | Invoices | On Time % | Avg Days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finance | 9820 | 88% | 26 |
| Infrastructure | 12440 | 71% | 39 |
| Community Services | 8210 | 79% | 33 |
| Corporate Services | 6310 | 84% | 28 |
| Electricity | 5400 | 69% | 42 |
Figures shown are illustrative sample data for demonstration. AuditPro Core renders these views from your own tenant's live, tamper-evident records.
The 30-day rule
The clock starts when a valid invoice is received and ends when the creditor is paid. The obligation is statutory, so chronic late payment is non-compliance regardless of cash-flow pressure.
Days payable measurement
Performance is measured by the proportion of invoices settled within 30 days and the average days to pay. Both must be evidenced from invoice-receipt date, not invoice date, to be credible.
Knock-on consequences
Beyond non-compliance, late payment causes interest and penalties that can become fruitless and wasteful expenditure, and it damages local suppliers and SMME participation.
How AuditPro Core Bridges the Gap
- Continuous monitoring: every invoice is tracked from receipt to payment so the within-30-days percentage is live rather than reconstructed.
- Exception workflow: invoices approaching or breaching the 30-day mark are escalated to clear them before they become reportable late payments.
- Audit-ready export: payment-performance statistics export in line with the section 65 reporting expectations for monthly and annual disclosure.
- Traceability to source: each measured payment ties back to the invoice-receipt record and the payment transaction, defending the metric under audit.
Key Takeaways
- The 30-day clock runs from valid-invoice receipt, not from invoice date.
- Measure both the within-30-days percentage and average days to pay.
- Late payment can crystallise into fruitless interest and penalties.
- Hold the receipt-to-payment trail to evidence compliance to the AGSA.
See This on Your Own Data
AuditPro Core renders this dashboard from your tenant's live, tamper-evident records — every figure traceable to source.