Going to the bankruptcy trustee: what happens when your business fails

In my case it went fast. Because a main supplier went bankrupt, I could not go on, and I had to go to the bankruptcy trustee, the curator as we call it in Belgium, without having been able to prepare anything. What you can still arrange beforehand is in what if there is no way out. This article is about what happens after.

The day itself

Your lawyer files for bankruptcy at the enterprise court. The court declares the bankruptcy and appoints a trustee. From that moment you are relieved of management. Your business is no longer yours. You cannot decide anything anymore, and taking money or goods is strictly forbidden.

The moment they tell you that you are no longer allowed into your own business, you know it is over.

The conversation with the trustee

With the trustee, it feels as if you are being interviewed and analysed. Together with the supervising judge, the trustee asks about the causes of the bankruptcy, your assets, your contracts, your accounts and your staff. The more complete your paperwork, the smoother that goes.

After that you have a few clear duties. You cooperate fully and hold nothing back. You respond to every summons. You create an account on Regsol, the digital file of your bankruptcy. And you report every change of address.

Your staff

I told my staff myself. Looking back, I understand why most of them stayed until the end. In a bankruptcy, the Belgian closure fund steps in for what the business can no longer pay: wages and notice pay, up to 30,500 euros gross per person. Anyone who leaves on their own, by agreement, gives up that notice pay. For an employee, waiting is often the sensible choice. I do not hold that against anyone. But as an owner you need to know it, because it means every month you wait to restructure makes the bill for the estate higher.

Your contracts and your creditors

The trustee decides which contracts continue and which stop, from the lease to the insurance policies. Your creditors file their claims through Regsol, and the trustee checks them against your accounts.

Anyone who can come after you personally does so straight away. In my case, the bank and the leasing companies wrote to me demanding payment, or interest would be added. The company car was towed away. And my current account was in my favour: my company owed me money. That money is gone, because as a creditor you are at the back of the queue. Why, you can read in the director's current account and why it becomes dangerous.

How long it takes

Closing the business happens very quickly. Settling the case does not. The trustee sells what still has value, examines the debts and distributes what there is according to the ranking. If there is not enough, the court closes the case for insufficient assets. That can take years. My own case is still not fully closed today.

So do not count on it being over after a few weeks. Your business is closed, but you stay reachable for the trustee for a long time.

What I want you to take away

• Make sure your accounts are complete before you go to the trustee.
• Know in advance what will come at you personally: guarantees, leasing, your current account.
• Expect the case to run for years, even long after the door has closed.

After

I started again straight away, with Illustrated. What I missed back then, someone who sees the whole picture and shows the numbers in time, is now what I build for other business owners.

What you can automate

Your records. Contracts, invoices, leases and payslips that land in one place automatically, digital and searchable. In good times it saves you searching. In bad times it gives the trustee what they ask for in one go.

The claim

The business closes in a few days, the case can take years: prepare for the second.

Tell me what keeps you up at night. No-obligation conversation. No sales talk.

This article is my own experience, not legal advice. If you are in this situation, talk to DYZO or to a lawyer who specialises in insolvency.