In many cases, company directors are not sure what to do if their company is financially struggling, which is why finding out the essential and current information is essential.
Business Rescue & Recovery Consultants, Forbes Burton are going to go through the vital steps on how you can help your business regain success.
1. Analyse The Situation
Before you decide to make any decisions to do with your company, you should hold a meeting with the managers and directors of your company, alongside anyone else who understands the ins and outs of the business and are an essential part of your company's movement.
As a team, ensure that you analyse exactly where the business is spending its money and how much debt you are faced with, as knowing exactly what is happening can help you understand exactly where your company is falling and what to do to help resolve the situation.
2. Research
The next step is to make sure that you begin researching techniques for your business restructure.
Make it your business to understand fully, all of the aspects of debt management, planning and consolidation. Plus, if you have any software you are able to access, then this should be utilised to devise a plan that is backed up by logic and smart mathematics.
3. Sell Any Unessential Trading Assets
With this step, you need to make sure that you learn to think frugally, as there is more than likely some company owned assets that are not necessarily essential for your company to continue trading - liquidating these is an essential step if it can be done and will help move towards the first stride towards business recovery.
If this is a viable option for you, then you can use auction services or sell them in the open market; any funds raised should then be reserved for helping get your company out of debt or investing in new and potential business excelling opportunities.
4. Terminate Any Dispensable Contracts
If you can do without the services that you are paying someone to do, then you should terminate your contract with them as soon as possible. You may find that you are paying your employees or suppliers too much, and this money could even be a better investment for the business, or putting towards them stressful debt repayments.
5. Research Financing Options
Even if you find that you have poor credit, remember that you have assets that can be used as leverage to obtain a secured loan. If your customers have reliably paid their invoices on time, then invoice factoring or discounting could be utilised, which can allow you to swap invoices to cash quickly, when your cash flow figures are low.
6. Think About Insolvency Procedures
If you find that success may not be achieved through the measures above then you may need to use a formal procedure, while you are restructuring. Here is two examples -
● CVA - (Company Voluntary Arrangement) - This process creates a binding contract with creditors to help renegotiate any repayment terms, and constructs this into one affordable monthly payment for all of your bills.
● Administration - During this time in your company, your business would be protected while and appointed IP acts to facilitate the rescue of the business.
Both of these options should help prevent creditors from being able to take any legal action against your company, helping give you a piece of mind. Although it may be daunting to consider this process, they can really help in assisting any business that is viable, but have come across these problems.
7. Choose A Pre-Packed Route
Hopefully, this should not be a necessary step, but if you find that your company's debt is significant, and this problem has not yet been solved using the above routes, then a whole company restart can allow you to continue trading without the burden of your debts.
In this scenario, an administration sale is arranged in which one or more of your company's directors are able to purchase the business assets using their own personal funds. These assets could be transferred to a newly formed company, commonly known as a ‘Phoenix Company’.
There is always business help available, no matter your situation, so don't hide it from people who can help and especially the team around you. Thorough research and educated decisions can help any struggling business stand back on its own two feet.
Don't wait until it's too late to turn your business around.