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CW Asset Finance | Vehicle & Equipment Finance Yorkshire

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What should I do if my small business experiences a cash flow crisis?

Get an accurate picture first. Work out exactly what cash you have, what must be paid in the next few weeks and what is genuinely due in. Then prioritise: wages, HMRC, and anything that would stop you trading if unpaid usually come before discretionary spending. Do not simply pay whoever shouts loudest.

Talk to the people you owe before you miss a payment. Suppliers are often willing to agree a short payment plan if approached early, and HMRC’s Time to Pay service exists for businesses that cannot pay a tax bill on time. Silence tends to close options that a conversation would have kept open.

At the same time, get professional advice. Your accountant can help you see whether this is a timing problem or something structural, and a licensed insolvency practitioner can advise if the position is more serious. Directors have specific legal duties once a company is at risk of insolvency, and acting without advice at that point can create personal exposure.

Borrowing is not automatically the answer in a crisis. It can work where the shortfall is temporary and you can clearly see the cash arriving that will repay it. Where trading is loss-making, additional debt usually deepens the problem. CWAF is an independent credit broker, not a lender, accountant or insolvency adviser, and we would rather tell you that funding is the wrong tool than arrange something you cannot sustain.

Thinking about it for your own business?

Tell us what you are looking to fund and we will search our panel of 60+ lenders. No credit search at this stage, and indicative decisions in as little as 24 hours.

CW Asset Finance is a credit broker, not a lender. Finance is subject to status and lender approval.