Information for our suppliers
Being a responsible business means we take pride in how we procure our services, support local businesses and add social value wherever we can.
We value the contribution that our suppliers make to the delivery of goods, services and works to the NHS estate. To ensure that our customers and patients receive the best value in these services we welcome competition and conduct open and transparent procurement exercises to ensure best value is achieved in each of our procurements.
If you are a supplier to NHS Property Services, please read the information on this page carefully and get in touch with us if you have any questions.
No PO, No Pay
NHS Property Services has implemented a policy of No PO, No Pay for our suppliers to ensure that invoice payments are processed as efficiently as possible.
This means that suppliers should wait to receive a valid purchase order (PO) number issued by NHS Property Services before providing any goods or services. The PO number must be quoted on invoices sent to NHS Property Services or payment may be delayed.
Invoicing
All of our invoicing is managed online via our free, easy to use billing solution, Tradeshift which we use to share invoices, information and documents with our suppliers.
Guide for suppliers
This guide aims to demystify the procurement process and explain the importance of following the rules and regulations to ensure that NHSPS makes the best use of its resources, and that the procurement process is fair and transparent.
By making the procurement process more efficient we hope to increase the competition for contracts and ensure all suppliers have an equal opportunity to bid for contracts.
Sustainable procurement
In line with NHS England/Improvement's Social Value Model, we are in the process of creating our sustainable procurement strategy to ensure that our contracts, and therefore public money, is being spent to deliver both the intended project outcomes as well as improved social welfare or wellbeing ie. social value.
The Social Value Model outlines the government's social value priorities for procurement, of which there are five themes and eight policy outcomes. These are:
- COVID-19 recovery
- Tackling economic inequality
- Fighting climate change
- Equal opportunity
- Wellbeing
Frequently asked questions about our payment policy and invoicing
If you have a question that hasn’t been answered below, please get in touch with our Supplier Helpdesk who will be happy to help.
All POs are made available to suppliers via Tradeshift. If you do not already have a Tradeshift account, we encourage you to contact supplier.service@property.nhs.uk for assistance. All invoices and associated documentation will be processed through Tradeshift.
Contact the person who placed the verbal or email order and ask for a PO number.
Contact the person who placed the PO initially and ask for clarification.
Our standard payment terms are 30 days from the date of invoice. However, invoices received without a valid PO number quoted will not be paid and will be returned. This may lead to a delay in the payment process.
All valid PO numbers for NHSPS are in the format Pnnnnnnn where ‘n’ is number.
You should contact the member of staff who gave the original instruction to supply the goods / services and ask them to provide a valid PO number. When obtained, you should submit a replacement invoice quoting the valid PO number via Tradeshift.
Yes, we will not require a PO for:
- Utilities
- Telecommunications
- Payments of rent to landlords
- Travel
Consumption will not require a Purchase Order but purchase of goods or services will.
There may be instances when an urgent order is needed, and it may not be possible to create a PO number before the goods and / or services are received. In this case, a purchase order number will be provided as soon as possible.
Any supplier providing goods or services to NHSPS without a valid purchase order do this at their own risk.
Any invoices received without a quoted valid purchase order will be returned to the supplier asking for the referencing of a valid purchase order number before payment will be considered.
Have a different question?
If you have a question that hasn't been answered above or would like to find out more about how we work with our suppliers, please get in touch.
