It is a familiar feeling for many business owners, discovering a tax bill is due and realising you don’t have enough working capital set aside to pay for it. Lack of working capital is a good reason to borrow money, but only if it can help you grow your business.
What is an Insolvency Practitioner (IP)? An Insolvency Practitioner (IP) is someone who is licensed and authorised to act on behalf of and provide advice to companies, organisations and individuals when they are facing financial difficulties. An IP is more often than not approached directly by a company Director (sometimes at the introduction of another professional advisor such as an Accountant) seeking help in dealing with their distressed company. Alternatively, in a compulsory liquidation by the Courts brought about when an unpaid creditor presents a winding-up petition, the Official Receiver first acts as the liquidator after which an IP may [...]
According to recent research carried out by the SME advice service, Business Debtline, small business owners and those self-employed are experiencing high levels of debt. There is an increasing concern for this, as these people make up 15% of the country’s total employed population and the tendency for more and more workers to become self-employed is leaving thousands of people in debt.
Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and in the last 5 years, the amount owed to smaller businesses in late payment has more than halved but we want to see payment practices improve even further. Research carried out by R3 earlier this year found that late payment of invoices was the most common sign of business distress among companies in the North East, North West, Yorkshire and Humberside, with more than a quarter (27%) of them saying they were owed payment on invoices that were 30 days past their due date. A 2016 R3 survey of the insolvency [...]
What is an overdrawn directors loan account? An overdrawn Directors loan account relates to funds being removed from the company by its director which is in excess of his remuneration and or declared dividends and remains outstanding to the company at the financial year end or at the point of an insolvency.
Directors are prohibited from utilising the same or similar business name for five years following a liquidation, subject to certain exceptions which can be found in insolvency legislation.
A company is generally considered insolvent when it can't pay its bills as and when they fall due or if its liabilities are greater than the value of all its assets. Legally, the directors of a company are required to act in the best interests of its creditors.
In the contract between the supplier and the recipient of goods, there is a specific condition that title or ownership of the goods doesn’t pass to the recipient on delivery or collection (which is the normal situation); it happens only when the goods have been paid for in full.
If you are thinking of starting up a new business, then read our top tips about how to go about it and the types of things you need to think about.
The success of all businesses, hinges on three fundamentals; customer satisfaction, product or service distinction, and profitability. Read more about how why you should regularly conduct a business health check.
