Identify who sent the payment before assessing an insolvency claim

The bank description is not the whole story

A builder's overdue invoice is paid while winding-up proceedings are being discussed, but the bank description names another company. Record the actual payment source and obtain legal advice before assuming what that means. A third-party description does not, by itself, establish that the receipt is protected from challenge or that it must be returned.

Keep the payment evidence together

Imagine a supplier receiving a transfer after the builder says an associated company will settle the account. Preserve the bank entry, remittance advice and messages arranging payment. Record the invoice allocation and exact receipt date. Distinguish the account name shown by the bank from an assumption about who legally provided the funds or whose obligation the payment discharged.

Understand why an adviser needs the details

ASIC explains that liquidators investigate company affairs, including payments that may be recoverable as unfair preferences. That general role does not decide the treatment of your particular receipt. Give the lawyer the actual transaction chain and information about the proceedings. Ask which issues require assessment rather than applying a rule based only on the fact that money came from a different account.

Source: ASIC: Liquidation, a guide for creditors

Avoid rewriting the transaction afterwards

If the remittance is unclear, seek factual clarification through the appropriate channel and preserve the reply. Do not issue a replacement document falsely describing the payment as unrelated to the builder. In the supplier's example, the contemporaneous instruction to allocate it to the builder's invoice may be important evidence even if a later caller suggests a different description would be convenient.

Keep the company and account references distinct

Identify each entity by its proper name and available identifiers. Provide relevant agreements or instructions without assuming that connected businesses share one legal identity. Ask the accountant how the receipt has been recorded and tell the lawyer about any uncertainty. Do not move the money between accounts to conceal it or treat an accounting label as a legal conclusion.

Respond through the advised process

If a liquidator raises a claim, preserve the demand and flag its timing to the lawyer promptly. Provide the source records rather than an edited summary that removes inconvenient details. The objective is an accurate assessment of the specific payment, including who provided it and why, while avoiding either an unsupported promise of repayment or an assumption of automatic safety.