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If there’s one thing that unites virtually all SME business owners, it’s the scourge of late payments. This is always a problem, especially for those operating on narrow margins, but the pandemic seems to have turned it into a crisis. The Scourge of Late Payments The great majority of SMEs don’t enjoy the huge cash reserves and almost unlimited credit enjoyed by the giant companies. If they’re

It’s a sad reality that in the coming months, as government support schemes for businesses wind down, we are likely to see a high number of companies going into liquidation. On occasion, this can be a planned, natural end to a business, but most often it’s forced on the directors by economic reality. So what exactly does liquidation involve? Solvent Liquidation There are sometimes reasons for winding up a

As you’re no doubt aware, in March the government brought in measures effectively preventing landlords from evicting tenants during the coronavirus lockdown. This was originally intended to run until this month, but the government has now extended the moratorium on evictions until 23rd August 2020. What Does This Mean for Me? One expected announcement that hasn’t materialised is that tenants would be gran

Did you know that your business email footer must contain specific pieces of information by law? The Companies Act (UK letterhead legal requirements) states that all business must display the following business details on their letterheads. The name of their business The part of the country that the business is registered The registered company number The address of the registered office Furthermore – if you’re a par

To anyone outside the buy-to-let world, it seems as if landlords are sitting back and raking in profits. While this was never really true, a few years ago there was some justification for the perception. But no longer. A combination of increasing hidden costs and Government measures such as increasing Stamp Duty have left landlords in a position where the average annual return is hardly more than £2,000 on each prope

Insolvency — it’s a prospect every business owner has nightmares about, even if everything seems fine at the moment. But what leads to a business becoming insolvent, and how can you, as owner, see the signs that you’re at risk? Why Does a Company Become Insolvent? Insolvency can be the result of a company no longer being able to pay its way. It may be unable to meet its debts or have more liabilities than assets, but

So you’ve got your court order that says you’re entitled to the money your debtor owes you. Now what? It’s one thing to be entitled to it, but that’s not much good if they claim not to have the funds available to pay you. Or do they really? Getting the Information You Need Fortunately, you don’t have to take your debtor’s word that they can’t afford to pay you. If you have a judgement about the debt, you’re entitled

Have you suffered from late payments by customers? If so, you’re not alone — research by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) suggests this is an alarmingly common problem faced by SMEs, especially when they do business with large organisations. Needless to say, this can be extremely annoying and inconvenient, but sometimes it’s a lot worse. If late payments are large and persistent enough, they can prevent your

If you’ve owed a debt for a long time (or if you’re a creditor) it’s important to understand there’s a time limit, beyond which a creditor can no longer take certain actions. However, there’s a lot of uncertainty about when a debt is or isn’t “statute-barred” — and what exactly that means. What Is “Statute-Barred”? A debt is statute-barred when no action has been taken to recover it for a specified time (usually six

Debts come in many shapes and sizes. Most of the debts I recover are owed to private businesses or landlords, but money can also be owed to public bodies, including council tax due to local authorities. But are these debts a special case? The Dilemma of Council Tax Debts Councillors in Wolverhampton recently launched a drive to recover thousands of pounds owed in unpaid council taxes, and are looking at possible stra