What is P95 in Payment Times Reporting?

Quick answer

P95 is the 95th percentile payment time: the number of days within which 95% of the relevant small-business payments were made.

What does this mean?

The P95 measure is calculated using payment times in the SBTCP Dataset. If a reporting entity has a P95 of 28 days, that means 95% of the relevant payments were made within 28 days. The remaining 5% took longer.

Practical point

P95 focuses attention on the slower end of the payment population rather than the average experience. A relatively good average can therefore coexist with a much weaker P95.

Other ways people ask this

• What does P95 mean on a Payment Times Report?
• If my P95 is 30 days, what does that mean?
• Why does PTRS use the 95th percentile?
• Is P95 the same as average payment time?

Official sources

• Payment Times Reporting Guidance Materials
  80th and 95th percentile payment times
  Paragraphs: 192, 193 · Example: 42 · Page: 46-47

Related guidance

• How is P95 calculated for PTRS?
• What do the PTRS payment-time bands mean?
• What does paid within terms mean for PTRS?
• How is payment time calculated for PTRS?

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