How to handle a cash flow emergency

Step 1 — get an exact picture, fast

In an emergency, the first move is clarity. Work out precisely what cash you have, what is due and when over the next few weeks, and what is certain to come in. A short, hard-headed cash forecast focused on the immediate weeks turns panic into a set of specific numbers you can act on. You cannot manage a crisis you have not measured.

Step 2 — triage your payments

When you cannot pay everything, prioritise deliberately. Pay what keeps the business alive and legal first: wages, critical suppliers you cannot operate without, and obligations with severe consequences. HMRC matters, but they will often agree Time to Pay — talk to them. Do not simply pay whoever chases hardest; pay by consequence, protecting the business's ability to keep trading.

Step 3 — pull in every pound you can

Accelerate cash aggressively. Chase every overdue invoice personally, offer a discount for immediate payment, ask good customers to pay early as a favour, and sell any surplus stock or assets. This is the moment to convert everything you can into cash. Invoice finance can release cash from your ledger quickly if the gap is in receivables.

Step 4 — negotiate, don't go silent

Talk to your creditors early and honestly. Most suppliers and lenders would far rather agree a short payment plan than have a customer disappear and default. A director who calls to say "I can pay this in three weeks, not today" keeps trust; one who goes silent loses it. Negotiation buys the time a viable business needs to recover.

Step 5 — secure funding to stabilise

If the business is fundamentally sound and the crisis is one of timing, finance can bridge to stability. Move quickly but not recklessly.

Credicorp lends to your company, not to you personally, and takes no personal guarantee. See business loans or apply online.

If the business cannot be made viable, take professional insolvency advice early — see insolvency.