When people in
Brisbane come to me seeking to speak about Bankruptcy,
they are usually full of questions. The internet has plenty of information, but
far too much of it is baffling or contradicts itself, so I make it my mission
to try and make it clearer. One of the most popular troubles is 'Will I lose my
business if I declare bankruptcy?' The concise answer is no. If you are a
manager of a business any shape or size you can maintain your business if you
would like to. In Brisbane, businesses that end up being insolvent have a few
options just like liquidation, voluntary administration and so on. It's people
who go bankrupt not businesses.
Bankruptcy is a
complex area so get some experienced advice on this one if you have a business.
Generally speaking, the financial debts in a business and personal debts go
hand in hand when a business owner declares bankruptcy. There are some
necessary implications for directors of companies when it pertains to Bankruptcy
in Brisbane: A bankrupt can not be a director of a company, so if you have a
pty ltd company you are going to need to retire as a director soon after you're
bankrupt.
A restriction
that applies when you are actually bankrupt as a business owner is that you can
be in your very own business as a sole trader only. There are things you need
to disclose as an aspect of that but generally you can still run your company.
For some business owners, bankruptcy impacts their ability to run the business
because of the licensing issues. For example, if you run a building company,
your license will be suspended once you're bankrupt and as a consequence you
can no longer trade without that license, so make sure you are asking the right
questions when it concerns licenses and Bankruptcy in Brisbane.
But if your
business is not impacted directly by such issues, then you'll will need to
restructure the way you run your business. There are considerations when and if
you go bankrupt as a business owner: you can not acquire heaps of debt in your
company, then go bankrupt and after that open the doors the next day like
nothing at all had happened. There are laws in place to avoid what is called
phoenix companies growing out of the ashes of an old business.
Having said
that, it's just an issue of speaking to the correct people about Bankruptcy. In
this situation you may believe you need a liquidator for your business, and you
could be right, but bear in mind that every liquidator is unique and have their
own motives. Liquidators make money from your liquidation - heaps of money - so
just what advice do you believe you will get?
When it comes to
Bankruptcy, I think that giving generic advice in this area is potentially
perilous as it can have very serious implications for directors and business
owners. This is because it is just one of those cases where what the right
advice for one business owner is the wrong advice for the other. There are some
fundamentals however, that you may benefit from. There is no limit to the size
of the business you run while you are bankrupt. You can employ staff. You can
continue to deal with your suppliers under certain conditions, the main one
being you will need to meet the payment terms agreed upon.
So when it
concerns Bankruptcy, don't get overly upset about what you can and can't do as
a business owner, just get the best advice ... If you want to learn more about
what to do, where to turn and what questions to ask about Bankruptcy, then feel
free to consult Bankruptcy Advice Brisbane on 1300 879 867, or visit our
website: www.bankruptcy-advice.com.au/Brisbane .
