AnswersWhen a client goes under
The company says it's closing down. What should I do right now?
The short answer
Today. “Closing down” is not a legal step, so check the company's record1 and the Gazette2 to see which kind of closing it is, then write with the sum worked out. Directors applying to strike a company off must send every creditor a copy of the application within 7 days, and it can't be struck off until 2 months after the Gazette notice3: you usually have weeks, not days.
England and Wales only. WolfX is software, not a law firm.
The numbers
The clocks to write down.
What you can add
A £6,200 invoice, 45 days late, the day you hear
Say you invoiced another business £6,200, due on 31 August 2026. On 15 October a director tells you the company is closing down: the invoice is 45 days late. It went late in September, which puts it in the second half of 2026: the rate is 8% plus the 3.75% Bank Rate of 30 June12, 11.75% a year.
Then it grows by £2.00 a day until they pay. If the pay-by date of 22 October passes, a demand left at the registered office on 23 October gives the company until 13 November 2026. A petition on this claim of £6,359.82 would cost £352 plus a £2,600 deposit6 up front, and you might not get all or any of what you are owed6.
The road ahead
Eight steps. The first five are for today.
Step 1: Stop giving credit
Anything new ships only once the payment has cleared, and you say so in writing. Whatever kind of closing this turns out to be, more credit is only more to lose.
A contract that commits you to supply on credit needs reading first: stopping work has its own page.
Step 2: Get the record straight
Pull together the statement of account, the order, the delivery notes and the terms they accepted. Write down what you were told, by whom and when, and keep the email or text.
Don't argue it out on the phone. Say you will confirm in writing. Offered less, or payment when the stock sells? Ask for a date in writing, and don't take less as full and final.
Step 3: Find out which kind of closing it is
Search the company at Companies House1: the register shows a strike-off application, a liquidator or an administrator. Then search its name in the Gazette's insolvency notices2.
A voluntary liquidation is advertised within 14 days7, so a blank search in week one is not an all-clear. Strike-off: step 6. A liquidator or administrator: step 8. Nothing yet: it is only talk, and step 5 still applies.
A company that has traded in the last 3 months cannot apply to be struck off yet3: a strike-off is further off than it sounds. More checks are on their own page.
Step 4: Sold goods? Check your terms first
If your terms kept the goods yours until you are paid, list what is unpaid and keep the goods paragraph in the letter. No such terms? Cut that paragraph. Unsold, unused goods stay yours against a liquidator8 if those terms were part of the deal first.
Terms on the invoice alone usually fail, and goods already sold on or used up usually can't be reclaimed.
Step 5: Write to the company today
Email the letter below, with the sum worked out, and post a copy to the registered office. It asks which kind of closing this is, and for payment in a week, not the usual 14 days: a closing company's clock is running. Already sent a letter before action, and its date has passed? Set no new date: name the day the demand or claim goes in.
Address the company: the invoice is its debt, not the director's. Expect a copy of an application, a liquidator's name or a payment date. Silence past your date is your cue for step 7.
Step 6: Strike-off notice out? Object
Once a notice is in the Gazette, anyone owed money can object, and an accepted objection holds the strike-off off for 6 months4.
The notice gives the strike-off date. Object at least 2 weeks before it3. The steps and a letter are on the objection page. An objection does not pay you: it buys the time for step 7.
Step 7: Unpaid on your pay-by date? Serve a statutory demand
A debt of more than £7505 can take a statutory demand: a form you leave at the registered office. If the company has not paid, or settled it to your reasonable satisfaction, within 3 weeks, it is treated as unable to pay its debts and you can petition. The form and the steps.
A petition blocks a strike-off3 while it is pending, but it costs £352 plus a £2,600 deposit for a share of what is left6. It is usually worth it only against a company that could pay and won't.
Owed less than £2,952, or not sure it could pay? A court claim costs far less to start, and once you start one, Companies House may extend an objection4. With nothing left to share, stop at the objection and the demand.
Step 8: Liquidator named? Send your claim that day
A demand is the wrong tool now: the claim goes to the liquidator. Claiming in a liquidation is a letter and copies. An administrator has its own steps.
Once a liquidator or administrator is in, you can't make old invoices a condition of supplying more9, and a clause that ends your contract on insolvency stops working. You can still ask to be paid for the new order up front.
A letter you can copy
Letter claiming the debt and asking how the company is closing
Send it the day you hear, after ten minutes on the register. Email it, and post a copy to the registered office.
Tap a highlighted gap to see what goes in it.
Email it so it is dated, and post a signed copy to the registered office shown on the register. Keep both with the invoice and your statement of account. Delete the goods paragraph if your terms had no retention of title clause. If they did, attach a list of the unpaid goods and a copy of the terms. In the last paragraph, name only a step you will really take.
When not to bother
When it isn't worth it
- They're a sole trader or an ordinary partnership. Companies House has no page for them, so there is no strike-off to watch for. The debt stays with the person or the partners, so chase as normal: first moves.
- A liquidator or administrator is already named. A demand is the wrong tool: the claim goes to them. See claiming in a liquidation or administration.
- The invoice is disputed. A demand is for a debt nobody argues with. Get the undisputed part paid and take the rest through the dispute page.
- The company has declared itself solvent. Its directors said it can pay every debt in full within 12 months7. Ask in writing when yours is paid. A demand is for a company that can't or won't.
- It's a Scottish or Northern Irish company. Scotland has different rules on winding up6, and Northern Ireland has its own law. This page covers England and Wales.
The Wolf's note
Until a filing says so, “closing down” is only talk. The register takes ten minutes to read and usually tells you which kind it is, and the kind sets your clock. Put the sum in writing with a date on it: the reply, or the silence, tells you the rest.
Mr. Wolf · the AI inside WolfX
What comes next
Your next move
How do I object to a company being struck off when it owes me money?
Object online to Companies House with an invoice as proof, before the strike-off date; aim for 2 weeks before.
6 min read · Letter included
Put it in writing
What is a winding-up petition, and should I use one to get paid?
Rarely. A winding-up petition asks the court to close a company and share what is left among its creditors.
6 min read
How do I claim money from a company in liquidation?
Send the liquidator a proof of debt before their last date: a letter or form with the amount owed including VAT, how it arose and your invoices.
7 min read · Letter included
Don't want to do this yourself?
The Wolf does every step for you. He works out the sums, writes the letters and keeps track of every date. Nothing goes without your yes.