# Account customers: running business accounts in your booking system

> To run taxi account customers in your booking software, set each business up with a named payment contact, a list of authorised bookers, any purchase order rules and written payment terms, then record every job against the right account. If you agree no payment date, GOV.UK says a business payment is late 30 days after the invoice arrives or the journey is done, whichever is later.

By Joe, founder of Dispatch AI. Updated 2026-10-18. The web page: https://dispatchai.co.uk/guides/business-accounts-in-your-booking-system/

Account work can be the steadiest money a taxi firm earns: regular bookings from businesses, hotels, schools and solicitors, billed once a month. It's also where a firm can quietly lose money, through jobs nobody can match to an order, bookers nobody authorised and statements paid 90 days late. This guide covers how to set up business accounts, who should be allowed to book, what a monthly statement should show and what the law lets you do when an account pays late.


## What is a taxi account customer?

A taxi account customer is a business that books journeys on credit and pays you later, usually against a monthly statement. The passenger doesn't pay the driver. The job goes on the account, and the business pays for all its journeys together.

That changes what your booking software has to do. A cash job ends when the passenger pays. An account job isn't finished until it's on a statement, matched to the right order and paid. So every account booking needs to carry the account, the person who booked it and any reference the customer needs to approve the bill.


## How do you set up a new business account?

Set the account up in writing before the first job, not after the third. A simple order works:

1. Check the business exists. GOV.UK says Companies House shows company details such as the registered address and date of incorporation for free, along with current and resigned officers and insolvency information.
2. Get a named contact for payment, with an email address that isn't a personal one.
3. Agree who may book: a named list of authorised bookers, or a rule such as "anyone with a company email address".
4. Agree whether jobs need a purchase order number or a cost code.
5. Set a credit limit, and say what happens when the account reaches it.
6. Agree prices: your normal fares, a set account rate, or fixed prices for regular routes.
7. Agree payment terms: when statements go out and how many days the customer has to pay.
8. Get it signed, by email at least, and save it against the account.

Step 3 decides most of the arguments you'll have later, so don't skip it. Our guide to [winning corporate taxi accounts](https://dispatchai.co.uk/guides/winning-corporate-taxi-accounts/) covers finding the accounts in the first place.


## Who should be allowed to book on an account?

Only the people the customer has named. An authorised bookers list protects both sides: the customer knows who can spend its money, and you know a job will be paid.

Keep the list in your booking system, not in a controller's head. When a booking comes in, the office (or the system) checks the caller or sender against the list. If someone new rings, take their details and confirm with the account contact before the job if there's time, or flag the job for checking if there isn't.

Record the booker and the passenger as two different people. A PA books a car for a visiting director; a hotel books for a guest. The statutory standards expect your booking record to hold the passenger's name, alongside the time of the request, the pickup and destination, the driver and vehicle, and who took and dispatched the booking, and suggest keeping it for at least 6 months. Section 56 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 says those particulars must be recorded before the journey. Our guide to [private hire operator record keeping](https://dispatchai.co.uk/guides/private-hire-operator-record-keeping/) goes through each field.


## How do purchase orders work on taxi accounts?

A purchase order is the customer's own approval number for spending. Some businesses issue one per journey, some one per month, and some use a cost code for each department instead.

Whatever they use, capture it at the moment of booking. Chasing a purchase order after the statement has gone out slows payment down, because the customer's accounts team can't approve a line they can't match.

Make the field compulsory for accounts that need it. If a booker doesn't have the number, the booking can still go ahead, but mark it so the office chases it that day, not at the end of the month.


## What should a monthly statement show?

A monthly statement should let the customer check every journey without ringing you. One line per job, with these columns, does it:

| Column | Why the customer needs it |
|---|---|
| Date and time | To match it to a diary or a meeting |
| Booking reference | For any query |
| Passenger | So they can check who travelled |
| Booker | So they can check who spent the money |
| From and to | To confirm the journey |
| Purchase order or cost code | So their accounts team can approve the line |
| Fare | The agreed price |
| Extras | Waiting time, parking or airport charges, each named |
| Line total | Fare plus extras |

Send the statement with an invoice that meets the basics. GOV.UK says an invoice must include a unique identification number, your company name, address and contact information, the name and address of the customer, a clear description of what you're charging for, the date the service was provided, the date of the invoice, the amounts charged and the total owed.

Statements and invoices are only as good as the bookings behind them. If the booking record is complete, the statement is a report. If it isn't, it's a week of the office going through drivers' notes.


## What can you do when an account pays late?

You can charge interest and a fixed recovery fee, as long as the customer is a business or a public authority. GOV.UK sets out the rules:

- If you agree no payment date, payment is late 30 days after the customer gets the invoice, or after you provide the service if that's later.
- If you do agree a date, it must usually be within 60 days for business transactions, and within 30 days for public authorities.
- Statutory interest is 8% plus the Bank of England base rate, unless your contract sets a different rate.
- You can add a fixed sum for recovery costs, once per payment: £40 for a debt up to £999.99, £70 for £1,000 to £9,999.99, and £100 for £10,000 or more.

GOV.UK says to send a new invoice if you decide to add interest. Before it gets that far, use the tools you control: a credit limit that stops new bookings on the account, a reminder at 7 days overdue, and a phone call to the named payment contact rather than the booker.

Watch the size of each account against your takings, too. Our guide to the [taxi business numbers to track](https://dispatchai.co.uk/guides/taxi-business-numbers-to-track/) shows how to keep an eye on money owed.


## How long should you keep account records?

Keep the booking records for as long as your council's conditions say, and the money records for as long as the law says for your business. The statutory standards suggest booking records are kept for at least 6 months. For a limited company, GOV.UK says accounting records must be kept for 6 years from the end of the last company financial year they relate to.

The two overlap: a statement is a money record built from booking records. Keeping both in one booking system, with the account, booker, passenger and order number on every job, means you can answer a query from last spring in a minute.


## Where does Dispatch AI fit?

Dispatch AI is booking and dispatch software for taxi and private hire firms. It answers your phone, WhatsApp, texts and emails, books the jobs at your prices and sends them to your drivers on your own app. It has accounts for your business customers. You can [see the prices](https://dispatchai.co.uk/prices/) or [ring the demo line](https://dispatchai.co.uk/ring-it/) to hear a booking taken.

## Frequently asked questions

### Should account customers pay more than cash customers?

That's your decision. The Department for Transport's best practice guidance notes that councils have no power to set private hire fares, so account rates are a matter between you and the customer. If you give a month's credit, that cost is yours to price in, so put whatever you agree in writing.

### Can I put a credit limit on a business account?

Yes. A credit limit is a term you agree with the customer, so write it into the account agreement along with what happens when it's reached. A booking system that warns the office when an account nears its limit saves an awkward call later.

### What if an account customer disputes a journey?

Go back to the booking record: who booked it, when, the pickup and destination, and which driver and car did it. That record is the evidence, and a complete one lets you answer the query in one email.

### Does my invoice need anything extra as a limited company or sole trader?

GOV.UK says a limited company's invoices must show the full company name as it appears on its certificate of incorporation, and if you list directors you must list them all. A sole trader's invoices must show their name and any business name, plus an address for legal documents if a business name is used.

### Can a hotel or school be an account customer?

Yes. Any organisation can have an account. The same set-up applies: a named payment contact, a list of who may book, agreed prices and written payment terms. Public authorities pay on public sector terms, which GOV.UK says must usually be within 30 days.


## Sources

- [Invoices: what they must include (GOV.UK)](https://www.gov.uk/invoicing-and-taking-payment-from-customers/invoices-what-they-must-include) invoice contents, limited company and sole trader rules
- [Late commercial payments: when a payment becomes late (GOV.UK)](https://www.gov.uk/late-commercial-payments-interest-debt-recovery) 30 days by default, 60 days for business transactions
- [Interest on late commercial payments (GOV.UK)](https://www.gov.uk/late-commercial-payments-interest-debt-recovery/charging-interest-commercial-debt) 8% plus the Bank of England base rate
- [Claim debt recovery costs on late payments (GOV.UK)](https://www.gov.uk/late-commercial-payments-interest-debt-recovery/claim-debt-recovery-costs) £40, £70 and £100 fixed sums
- [Company and accounting records (GOV.UK)](https://www.gov.uk/running-a-limited-company/company-and-accounting-records) keep records for 6 years
- [Get information about a company (GOV.UK)](https://www.gov.uk/get-information-about-a-company) free Companies House information
- [Statutory Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Standards (Department for Transport)](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/statutory-taxi-and-private-hire-vehicle-standards/statutory-taxi-and-private-hire-vehicle-standards) booking record fields, at least 6 months suggested
- [Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, section 56](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1976/57/section/56) operators' booking records
- [Taxi and private hire vehicle licensing: best practice guidance (Department for Transport)](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/taxi-and-private-hire-vehicle-licensing-best-practice-guidance/taxi-and-private-hire-vehicle-licensing-best-practice-guidance-for-licensing-authorities-in-england) no council power to set private hire fares

Dispatch AI is a trading name of CABO TECH SOLUTION AI LTD, registered in England and Wales, company no. 16255667.