A high creditor response count may hide the largest unresolved balances

Most replies are positive but the largest claim is unresolved

Your adviser asks how creditors have responded to a proposed repayment arrangement. The team says most creditors are supportive, using the number of replies as its measure. Before relying on that summary, show the claim values as well. A large unresolved balance may change the practical funding or negotiation problem even when many smaller creditors have replied positively.

Start with one reconciled response register

List each relevant creditor, the supported claim amount and the actual response status. Separate a positive discussion from a documented response to the proposal, and distinguish conditions from unconditional statements. Ask the adviser how disputed, connected or otherwise unusual claims should be shown. Do not count several contacts at one creditor as several separate creditors.

Keep the amounts traceable

Business.gov.au's record-keeping guidance includes invoices and payment records. Reconcile the amounts in the response register with the underlying schedule rather than using rounded figures remembered from calls. Keep the source documents and corrections. This record exercise does not determine which claims have voting rights, their admitted value or whether any legal approval threshold has been met.

Source: business.gov.au: Record keeping

Compare count and value in a hypothetical example

Imagine nine creditors with claims of $5,000 each express support, while one creditor claiming $200,000 has not responded. Nine out of ten sounds encouraging, but the positive responses concern only $45,000 of the $245,000 recorded total. Neither number is a formal voting result. Together they show why the unresolved large claim deserves explicit attention in the commercial discussion.

Use the difference to plan the next enquiry

Ask the adviser what information or communication is needed about the outstanding large balance and how its response could affect the actual proposal. Avoid pressuring a creditor or implying that smaller creditors have already bound it. If a formal process is underway, follow its applicable procedures and obtain the practitioner's explanation of the actual decision requirements.

Report the two measures with their limitations

Give decision-makers the response count, corresponding claim value and clearly identified unresolved amounts as at the same date. Update both when facts change. A useful support report shows where uncertainty is concentrated, so the business can address the remaining commercial issue instead of treating an optimistic headcount as proof that the arrangement will proceed.