Finances are the lifeblood of your business, yet they can be very difficult to navigate.

Very few businesses came out of 2020 unscathed, with COVID-19 lockdowns forcing closures and restricting the movement of people across the country and internationally.

Particularly for businesses in industries such as hospitality and tourism, the damage caused by the pandemic has left many business owners in a difficult financial situation.

KEY CONTACT

WHEN TO ENGAGE A SMALL BUSINESS RESTRUCTURING PRACTITIONER?

Ideally, you should reach out to a restructuring specialist as soon as you become concerned about your company’s ability to stay afloat.

The faster you start a conversation, the more options will be available to you. There is also a limited window to start the process before you could become personally liable for insolvent trading.

SOME SIGNS THAT IT’S TIME TO START A CONVERSATION COULD BE:

1. You are behind on debt repayments
2. You’re struggling to pay tax debts
3. You’re worried about employee entitlements
4. Expenses frequently exceed revenue
5. You want to assess the ongoing viability of your business
6. Your business was struggling before COVID-19
7. You're worried what will happen when JobKeeper ends or other creditor support stops
8. Your industry has been heavily impacted by COVID-19

With this in mind, the Australian Government introduced legislation on January 1, 2021 which offers new avenues for small businesses facing insolvency (cannot pay their debts).