Your payment plan is no longer affordable.
The agreed instalments no longer fit
A machinery repair business agreed to weekly supplier instalments. Two customers have since postponed work. The owner has kept the plan going by delaying other bills, but that approach is running out of room. Before the next instalment is missed, the owner needs to show what changed and what the business can now support.
Read the current agreement
Check the balance, dates, interest and default conditions. Identify whether the arrangement settled a claim, paused proceedings or included a guarantee. Put the written terms and later messages in one file.
Ask an appropriate adviser about any formal deadline affected by default. Do not assume a small shortfall is harmless or that a telephone discussion has varied the terms. Confirm what the creditor considers necessary to keep the arrangement in place.
Compare expectations with reality
Show the original cash assumptions beside actual receipts and costs. Identify the events that caused the gap. A recurring loss should not be described as a one-off delay when the figures show otherwise.
Update the forecast for every creditor. Include new purchases from the same supplier so the account does not grow while old debt is being reduced. Business.gov.au recommends monitoring cash flow to understand these timing and funding needs.
Offer a sustainable revision
Propose a payment and review date supported by the revised figures. Explain dependencies openly, including an unpaid customer invoice. Ask what evidence the creditor requires to assess the change.
If extra security, guarantees or admissions are requested, have them checked before agreeing. The cost of a short extension may be larger than the instalment involved. Make sure the written variation explains how it affects the previous agreement.
Prepare for a refusal
Ask whether a different term or smaller documented payment would be considered. Keep the response in writing and avoid making a promise beyond available cash just to end the conversation. Maintain attention to formal notices.
If several payment plans are failing, obtain qualified advice on the company’s overall position. Repeated renegotiation can consume the time needed for a wider decision. A coordinated plan is more useful than another arrangement that depends on the next creditor waiting.
Propose the reset before default
Identify default conditions and relevant notice dates.
Compare the original forecast with current cash.
Submit a realistic variation before another instalment fails.
Confirm the outcome and review the whole business if several plans are failing.
Call CRP today about an unaffordable payment plan and coordinating a sustainable next step.