What is the single most important thing to do today?

Stop further supply. Until the administrator has confirmed in writing that ongoing supply will be paid as an expense of the administration, anything you deliver after the appointment becomes another unsecured claim that ranks alongside the pre-appointment debt and recovers on the same dismal terms (typically 1p to 3p in the pound). Everything else (proofs of debt, retention of title claims, VAT relief) can wait a day. Continued supply on the old terms cannot.

Who do I send a Proof of Debt to?

The administrator at the firm named in the Gazette notice and in the Companies House appointment filing (form AM01). The notice lists the firm's address; the firm's website lists the team email for creditor claims, usually in the format administrations@[firm].co.uk. The administrator must write to known creditors within seven days of appointment with the proof-of-debt form attached. If you have not heard from them by day seven, call the firm.

What do I include with the Proof of Debt?

Three things, attached as PDFs. The signed proof-of-debt form the administrator sent you (or your own ledger statement on letterhead if you have not received the form yet). A copy of every unpaid invoice. A copy of your standard terms of business, with the relevant retention-of-title and right-to-charge-interest clauses. If you have a director's personal guarantee, copy it in too; it is a separate route to recovery but the administrator should be aware. Send by email with a covering note stating the gross amount claimed.

How long do I have to submit a Proof of Debt?

There is no hard statutory cut-off for submission, but you need to be on the register before any distribution is made, and distributions can happen quickly in a fast-moving administration. Practically: submit within two weeks of receiving the administrator's first letter. If a dividend is announced and you have not lodged, you may be excluded from that distribution even if you can still claim against a later one.

Can I retrieve goods I've delivered?

If your terms include a retention of title clause and the clause was on the contract before the goods were delivered, the goods may still belong to you. The administrator has to accept the clause is valid and the goods need to be identifiable on the company's premises: still in your packaging, not consumed in production, not commingled, not resold. Email the administrator with a list of the goods, the date delivered, and a copy of the RT clause. Practical recovery depends on goodwill and how the administrator is reading the case; expect to negotiate.

What if I owe the company money too?

Rule 14.25 of the Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 sets out insolvency set-off: where you both owe and are owed by the company in the same right, the two debts net off automatically and only the net amount is provable. Tell the administrator the gross figures in both directions; they will calculate the net. This is sometimes the difference between writing off a five-figure loss and writing off nothing.

Can I claim VAT bad debt relief?

Yes, on any invoice that is more than six months overdue at the date you write it off, by section 36 of the VAT Act 1994. The VAT element of the unpaid invoice is reclaimable from HMRC on your next VAT return (box 4). You do not need to wait for the administrator to confirm a dividend; the relief is independent of the insolvency claim. Write the bad debt off in your accounts first; HMRC may ask for the journal entry as evidence.

Should I tell my credit insurer?

Immediately, if you have credit insurance on this customer. Most policies require notification of insolvency events within a tight window (often seven days). The insurer typically takes over the recovery (subrogation) and pays you the policy proceeds; failing to notify within the window can void the claim. Even if you do not think you are insured, check with your broker: many credit policies cover insolvency by default on covered counterparties.

Where does the law come from?

The Insolvency Act 1986, Schedule B1, sets out the administration framework. The Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 cover procedural detail: Rule 14.3 (proofs of debt), Rule 14.25 (set-off), Rule 3.30 (Statement of Affairs), Rule 15 (creditors' meetings). Scotland uses the Insolvency (Scotland) (Company Voluntary Arrangements and Administration) Rules 2018. The administrator is regulated by one of five recognised professional bodies under the Act and is subject to Statement of Insolvency Practice 9 (creditor information) and SIP 16 (pre-pack administrations).

Administrator.uk

Customer in administration: today's checklist for creditors

By the administrator.uk editorial teamLast reviewed 23 May 2026

A UK customer has gone into administration today. Most of what you can do to protect your position has to happen this week. This page is the time-ordered checklist: what to do in the first hour, before close of business, this week, this month, and at the statutory milestones.

Print it, work down it, and read the deeper explainer on where your invoice actually ranks later, when the immediate moves are done.

1p to 3p

Typical unsecured recovery in the pound, across UK administrations.

7 days

Window for the administrator to write to creditors after appointment.

75 days

Statutory deadline for the Statement of Affairs to be sworn and filed.

Right now

The first 60 minutes

The single thing that matters in the first hour is to stop further supply on the existing terms. Everything else can wait until the afternoon.

Stop all further deliveries and orders.

Notify dispatch, warehouse, and field service. Anything in transit that can be turned around, turn around. Anything booked for tomorrow, hold. Email your account manager with a one-line freeze instruction: no further supply to [customer name] until further notice.

Pull the live debtor ledger.

Calculate the gross outstanding balance on the customer's account, broken down by invoice. You will need this number for the proof of debt and for any credit insurance claim. Get it on paper before you do anything else.

Find your standard terms.

The signed credit application or trading terms the customer agreed to. Specifically: the retention-of-title clause, the right-to-charge-interest clause, any personal-guarantee paragraph, and any cross-default clause if the customer is part of a group.

Read the Gazette notice or Companies House filing.

The appointment is filed at Companies House the same day (form AM01) and gazetted within seven days. The notice names the administrator, their firm, the firm's address, and the date of appointment. You need these names for everything else today.

Before close of business

Today

Email the administrator a holding letter.

Subject: Creditor enquiry, [customer name], [company number]. State that you are a creditor, give the gross outstanding balance, and ask them to send the proof-of-debt form and confirmation of the firm's preferred address for creditor correspondence. The administrator must do this within seven days anyway; getting the email in today puts you on the list early.

Notify your credit insurer (if you have one).

Many policies require notification of an insolvency event within seven days. Call your broker or the insurer's claims line directly. They will normally ask for the appointment notice and your gross balance; have both ready.

Tell your bank.

If the customer's exposure is large enough that the loss affects your own cashflow position, your relationship manager wants to know now, not when the figures hit your next management accounts. Banks deal well with bad news that arrives early.

Check whether you owe the customer anything.

Sales rebates, credit notes, refunds, unrecouped advance payments. Under Rule 14.25 of the Insolvency Rules 2016, any debt running in the opposite direction is automatically set off against your claim. Get the gross two-way position straight before you finalise the proof of debt.

By Friday

This week

File the Proof of Debt.

Once the administrator has sent the form, fill it in with the gross figure (or the net figure if set-off applies). Attach: every unpaid invoice, your account statement showing the running balance, your standard terms of business. Send by email and keep the read receipt.

Claim retention of title on identifiable goods.

Write a separate email to the administrator listing any goods delivered to the customer that are: still in your packaging, not consumed in production, not resold, and identifiable on the customer's premises. Attach the RT clause from your terms. Ask the administrator to confirm receipt and to make the goods available for collection.

Check the equipment list for hire-purchase or conditional-sale items.

Plant, vehicles, kit on lease or HP. Until the asset is paid for in full, you remain the owner. Write to the administrator stating which assets are yours, attach the agreement, and ask either for the contract to be honoured (instalments paid as an administration expense) or for the asset to be returned.

Identify any personal guarantees.

If a director signed a personal guarantee for the supply contract or trading account, the guarantee survives the company's administration. The guarantee is enforceable against the director directly. Get a copy in front of your solicitor this week; do not wait for the administrator's report.

Decide if you want to keep trading with the customer.

The administrator may ask you to continue supplying on revised terms (cash on delivery, lower credit limit, weekly accounts). Get the new terms in writing as an administration-expense liability before you ship anything new. Without that written commitment, new supply becomes another unsecured claim.

Inside 30 days

This month

Reclaim the VAT on bad debt.

For invoices that are more than six months overdue, the VAT element is reclaimable from HMRC under section 36 of the VAT Act 1994. Write the bad debt off in your accounts and include the reclaim in box 4 of your next VAT return. Independent of whatever the administrator pays out later.

Read the administrator's proposals (form AM03).

Filed at Companies House and circulated to creditors within eight weeks of appointment. The proposals tell you what the administrator intends to do: sell the business, run an orderly wind-down, propose a CVA, return the company to the directors. Read it for the indicative dividend (the administrator's best estimate of what unsecured creditors will receive) and for whether your customer is being sold as a going concern (in which case a new entity may want to keep buying from you).

Attend or vote at the creditors' decision.

The administrator's proposals are typically approved by a written decision procedure rather than a physical meeting. You receive a voting form by email; the deadline is on the form. Larger creditors should vote even if the outcome looks settled: the proposals can include the appointment of a creditors' committee, which has rights to information the rest of the unsecured class doesn't.

Adjust your credit policy for the rest of your book.

If this customer's failure is sector-driven (a string of construction failures, a wave of retail administrations), tighten credit limits across the rest of your exposure to that sector while the picture is fresh. Most credit-policy reviews happen after the second loss in a quarter; aim to do it after the first.

Diary these

The statutory milestones to put in your calendar

Day 7: the administrator must have written to known creditors.
Day 56 (8 weeks): administrator's proposals (form AM03) filed at Companies House.
Day 75: Statement of Affairs (form AM02) filed. The sworn figure for total assets and total deficiency. How to read the form.
Every 6 months thereafter: progress report (form AM10) at Companies House. The latest version of what creditors can expect.
Around month 11: if the case is going to run longer, the administrator files a notice of extension (form AM19). About a third of cases extend at least once.
Case end: move to dissolution (AM23) is the most common ending, move to CVL (AM22) is second, end of administration with the company restored (AM21) is rare. The full timeline.

Avoid these

Five common creditor mistakes

Continuing supply on the old terms while waiting for the administrator to call. New supply made before the administrator confirms ongoing-payment terms ranks as another unsecured claim. The administrator's silence is not consent.
Believing the customer's account manager. The account manager often does not know whether the administrator will accept their order. Get the commitment from the administrator's office in writing, not from the customer's own staff.
Sending a Proof of Debt without the underlying invoices. A bare claim figure is easier to query and reduce. Include the invoices, the statement, and the terms; harder to short.
Forgetting credit insurance notification. Late notification voids the claim in many policies. The window is usually seven days.
Treating the Statement of Affairs as the final figure. The SoA is the directors' estimate at the date of appointment, not audited and routinely revised. The administrator's progress reports (form AM10) every six months are the actual recovery picture.

Next time, before

Get the appointment email the day before the press release.

The filings that precede an administration (a late confirmation statement, multiple new charges, a Notice of Intention to Appoint Administrators) usually land on Companies House and The Gazette in the days or weeks before the formal appointment. None of them on their own proves a company is in trouble, and most are routine. Together they are often the only warning a supplier gets.

Confirmed is free: add up to five customers or suppliers, and you get an email the day one of them goes into administration. Protect adds liquidation, strike-off, and the earlier warning signs, across an unlimited number of companies.

Start free →Or see this week's UK administrations →

Frequently asked

Common questions on day one

What is the single most important thing to do today?: Stop further supply. Until the administrator has confirmed in writing that ongoing supply will be paid as an expense of the administration, anything you deliver after the appointment becomes another unsecured claim that ranks alongside the pre-appointment debt and recovers on the same dismal terms (typically 1p to 3p in the pound). Everything else (proofs of debt, retention of title claims, VAT relief) can wait a day. Continued supply on the old terms cannot.
Who do I send a Proof of Debt to?: The administrator at the firm named in the Gazette notice and in the Companies House appointment filing (form AM01). The notice lists the firm's address; the firm's website lists the team email for creditor claims, usually in the format administrations@[firm].co.uk. The administrator must write to known creditors within seven days of appointment with the proof-of-debt form attached. If you have not heard from them by day seven, call the firm.
What do I include with the Proof of Debt?: Three things, attached as PDFs. The signed proof-of-debt form the administrator sent you (or your own ledger statement on letterhead if you have not received the form yet). A copy of every unpaid invoice. A copy of your standard terms of business, with the relevant retention-of-title and right-to-charge-interest clauses. If you have a director's personal guarantee, copy it in too; it is a separate route to recovery but the administrator should be aware. Send by email with a covering note stating the gross amount claimed.
How long do I have to submit a Proof of Debt?: There is no hard statutory cut-off for submission, but you need to be on the register before any distribution is made, and distributions can happen quickly in a fast-moving administration. Practically: submit within two weeks of receiving the administrator's first letter. If a dividend is announced and you have not lodged, you may be excluded from that distribution even if you can still claim against a later one.
Can I retrieve goods I've delivered?: If your terms include a retention of title clause and the clause was on the contract before the goods were delivered, the goods may still belong to you. The administrator has to accept the clause is valid and the goods need to be identifiable on the company's premises: still in your packaging, not consumed in production, not commingled, not resold. Email the administrator with a list of the goods, the date delivered, and a copy of the RT clause. Practical recovery depends on goodwill and how the administrator is reading the case; expect to negotiate.
What if I owe the company money too?: Rule 14.25 of the Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 sets out insolvency set-off: where you both owe and are owed by the company in the same right, the two debts net off automatically and only the net amount is provable. Tell the administrator the gross figures in both directions; they will calculate the net. This is sometimes the difference between writing off a five-figure loss and writing off nothing.
Can I claim VAT bad debt relief?: Yes, on any invoice that is more than six months overdue at the date you write it off, by section 36 of the VAT Act 1994. The VAT element of the unpaid invoice is reclaimable from HMRC on your next VAT return (box 4). You do not need to wait for the administrator to confirm a dividend; the relief is independent of the insolvency claim. Write the bad debt off in your accounts first; HMRC may ask for the journal entry as evidence.
Should I tell my credit insurer?: Immediately, if you have credit insurance on this customer. Most policies require notification of insolvency events within a tight window (often seven days). The insurer typically takes over the recovery (subrogation) and pays you the policy proceeds; failing to notify within the window can void the claim. Even if you do not think you are insured, check with your broker: many credit policies cover insolvency by default on covered counterparties.
Where does the law come from?: The Insolvency Act 1986, Schedule B1, sets out the administration framework. The Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 cover procedural detail: Rule 14.3 (proofs of debt), Rule 14.25 (set-off), Rule 3.30 (Statement of Affairs), Rule 15 (creditors' meetings). Scotland uses the Insolvency (Scotland) (Company Voluntary Arrangements and Administration) Rules 2018. The administrator is regulated by one of five recognised professional bodies under the Act and is subject to Statement of Insolvency Practice 9 (creditor information) and SIP 16 (pre-pack administrations).