When I was paying a lot of invoices in my last start-up, I made a point of writing to everyone as I made the bank transfer and sharing a +ve view on their work that month – and a thank you.

Often it was just two lines – but often it was the only contact I would have with them (they’d be contracted through other managers etc).

I also paid on time, which is equally rare it seems.

We batted way above our weight with our suppliers because of these simple facts, I know for a fact.