A number of large companies have signed up to a new pledge aimed at reforming the way that suppliers are paid.
BSkyB, Centrica and Yahoo are among those businesses that have signed up to the Prompt Payment Code.
A meeting hosted business minister Baroness Vadera led to the reform, which she said was "a good result".
"This will affect huge numbers of businesses down the supply chain. There are significant numbers of small businesses that fail as a result of cash flow problems caused by the buyers paying late," she said.
Other companies that have "agreed in principle" to join up include HSBC and Sainsbury's.
The Tories have labelled the code a "damp squib" but Baroness Vadera claimed that if those at the top of the supply chain sign up then others will too.
Last month the Federation of Small Businesses claimed that a third of its members had to wait longer for payments.
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