Insolvency Loss Prevention
PreventionOptional monthly check10 working days
Worried a main contractor could fail? Track what is at risk and give your team a routine to limit exposure.
Updated: . By Jack Butler-Kettle, Construction Claims Consultant.
Get a free report on your claim. About three minutes; no obligation.
The problem
Payments are slipping, you are being asked to delay invoices or other trades are leaving the job. As these financial warning signs grow, your exposure in unpaid work, retention and materials on site may also be increasing.
Main contractor already insolvent? See Insolvency Claim.
The solution
We calculate each job’s exposure and help you set limits. We then align payment applications, chasing, notice dates and deliveries to reduce what builds up, and test the routine on a live cycle.
We do not give legal or insolvency advice. Your solicitor advises on stopping work and related legal decisions.
What you get
You receive an exposure calculation for each job and a record of the limits you choose. A payment diary, warning-sign checks and delivery controls support a tested team routine, with recovery records kept organised.
Includes a Handover Pack: key dates and sources, next steps, likely responses, scope limits and any ready-to-send letters.
Fee: Fixed set-up fee agreed in writing before work starts. Optional monthly checks have a fixed fee agreed first. Pause between jobs or stop at month-end.
How it works
You tell us about your jobs
Start with a free call. Agree the scope, fixed fee and timetable in writing, then send the records listed below.
What you get: A written scope, timetable and fixed fee
- A
The subcontract
A complete PDF or scan with all schedules and amendments; the last exchanged version if it was never signed, and say so.
Where to find it: The job's commercial folder or the order email normally holds the signed copy.
Why we need it: Your payment cycle, retention terms, title to materials, and suspension and termination rights are all contract facts, and amendments often move them.
How we will use it: We map what the subcontract gives you when payment slows or the main contractor fails, clause by clause, before any routine is built on it.
- B
The account on each live job
The last few applications, the Payment Notices and Pay Less Notices that came back, the payments received and the retention held, as they stand.
Where to find it: Your accounts package and the job's application folder.
Why we need it: Your exposure is what the main contractor owes you plus what you have built or delivered since your last application. It cannot be kept small until it is measured.
How we will use it: We measure your exposure on each job today and set it against the ceiling you choose, so the routine starts from the real figure.
- C
Your own order and delivery terms
The terms you quote and order on, and the terms your main suppliers sell to you on.
Where to find it: Your quotation template, the back of your order form and your suppliers' account terms.
Why we need it: Whether you keep ownership of materials delivered to site until you are paid depends on the terms that were agreed, not on who bought them.
How we will use it: We check whether your terms keep ownership of unfixed materials until you are paid and how deliveries are timed, and put the gaps right for the next order.
- D
What you already know about the main contractor
Anything that has worried you: payment dates slipping, requests to hold invoices, other trades leaving, rumours from site.
Where to find it: Your credit controller, your site manager and your own inbox.
Why we need it: The warning signs usually show in your own account and on site before they show anywhere public.
How we will use it: They start the watchlist your team keeps each month, alongside the public filings we show you how to check.
Copies are fine. Send what you have and we will tell you what's missing.
- A
We work out what you stand to lose
We read what each subcontract gives you, then add up what each job would cost you if your main contractor went bust tomorrow.
What you get: The amount at risk on each live job, and how it adds up
You set a limit for each main contractor
The limit is the most you are prepared to be owed by one main contractor at any time. It is your call, and we show what each level means for you.
We set up the routine and prove it with your team
We set up the diary, the warning-sign checks and your delivery timing. Your team runs one real payment cycle with us alongside, and then we hand it over.
What you get: A written routine your team runs, tested on a live payment cycle
We keep watch each month, if you want us to
Your team can run it alone. If you keep the monthly check, we update each job's figures, read the warning signs and tell you in writing if anything needs doing.
What you get: A short note each month on each job's amount at risk against its limit
We leave you with a routine your team runs
Get a free report on your claim
Answer the questions below for a free PDF report by email. Allow about three minutes; choose “Not sure” where needed.
Your report explains where you stand, the next steps to take and the records to gather. It also sets out how we could help for a fixed fee, with no obligation.
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