One of the worst things that could happen to your business is for it to go bankrupt. Filing for bankruptcy means that your debts have caught up to you and you can no longer fulfill them. But do you know what bankruptcy truly means for your business?
What Is Bankruptcy?
Bankruptcy is a financial option for those who are struggling to pay off all their debt. It can be considered a shameful mark on a person’s credit check and it can take an extended period of time to recover from it. Bankruptcy is considered the lesser of two evils when it comes to debt and many will choose it over having to struggle to pay their debt for several years. Read on https://business-insolvency-company.co.uk/company-voluntary-arrangement/ if you would rather learn more about the company’s voluntary arrangement process and other insolvency proceedings to help maintain the company.
What Bankruptcy Can Mean for You and Your Business
If you’re struggling in your own business, then you may be concerned with what it could mean for your business. It means a lot actually and it can be difficult to handle bankruptcy if you’re not sure what to expect. Luckily for you, we’ve made a quick list of the things you can expect out of bankruptcy so you aren’t caught off guard.
Your Assets Are Liquidated To Pay Your Creditors
The most obvious thing that will happen to your business if you file for bankruptcy is that your assets will be liquidated. These assets will then be used to pay off your creditors starting with the secured creditors.
Do note that some of your material possessions are not considered assets and will not be used to pay your creditors. These include the materials and tools you need for your business, and your family’s needs like food, and clothing. Your house is considered an asset, however, and can be used to pay off creditors
Your Credit Score Plummets
Every person will have a credit score, courtesy of Experian, Equifax and Transunion. These three organizations keep an eye on a person’s credit history. Credit scores move up and down based on what you do. And one of the biggest ways to drop your credit score is going bankrupt.
Bankruptcy will severely damage your credit score. A low credit score will make it much harder for you to take out loans in the future. These loans may come with extra terms and higher interest rates to reflect the risk that the credit company is taking.
You Get A 7 to 10 Year Credit Strike
In addition to your credit score dropping, you can also expect to have a credit strike on your report. These last anywhere between seven to ten years and are a red mark that can be seen by anyone looking at your credit reports.
You Can Have a Fresh Start
Admitting bankruptcy may be a big blow to you and your business. However, there is a silver lining when it comes to filing for one. Bankruptcy clears all of your debts after a certain period of time. The credit strike on your account will also vanish after seven years to ten years. It can be a long stretch of time to wait out the entire bankruptcy period, and credit strike period. However, after the period is over, you are now debt free.
What Can You Do To Avoid Business Bankruptcy?
Bankruptcy is a difficult problem to deal with. However, there are a few great ways you can avoid it. These methods will vary in complexity from simple to complicated but all of them will give you options to avoid having to deal with bankruptcy and it’s negative effects.
Avoid Taking Unnecessary Loans
One of the best recommendations we can give to anyone who wants to avoid bankruptcy is to avoid taking out unnecessary loans. Loans are great for helping your business grow. However, you have to be aware that there is a difference between good and unnecessary loans.
Good loans like student loans, real estate, and business ownership help improve your net worth and credit score. However, bad loans like vehicular loans and credit cards are either not worth the loan or have ridiculous interest rates.
Properly Manage Your Expenses
A great way to make sure you steer clear from bankruptcy is making sure that you properly manage your expenses. Sounds simple, but many business owners don’t take the time to properly manage their expenses. They either have a poorly planned budget or none at all. Lack of a proper budget plan means that equipment, materials and manpower are poorly managed and funded in the business. This can then lead to problems in the business.
Make Sure You Collect The Debts That You’re Owed
You’re not the only one who can accrue debt. Your own clients can have their own set of debts that can cause some of them to go bankrupt. The worst part is that you’re affected by this because you’ve already provided a service or product to them. In this case, bankruptcy can be considered a domino effect.
If you don’t collect your debts from them before they go bankrupt then you might be next in line to bankruptcy. So you have to ensure you take the time to find these debtors.You can either do it yourself or find a collections company like www.staffingdebt.com to help you collect the debt.
Negotiate With Your Creditors
If you already have a few debts piling up on your business then you may want to negotiate with your creditors. There are a number of options available to you like extending the payment period, reducing the amount needed to be paid and even an exchange of services or products instead of payment.
Negotiating with creditors can be a great way to keep your business relations intact while also giving you the opportunity to pay off the debts that you owe.
Final Thoughts
Bankruptcy may be a problem for many business owners. However, it is an available option in case your debts are too much to handle. The best part is that you still have the opportunity to recover from bankruptcy and even avoid the problem entirely.
