Worried about your business finances?

Spot the warning signs

Do you struggle with money, or is it just a tight month? Here’s how to tell the difference – you might be in financial difficulty if you’re:

• regularly increasing your loan amount or overdraft
• struggling to meet your monthly repayments
• regularly changing the date of those monthly repayments
• worrying about money or paying back what you owe
• regularly spending more than you earn
• relying on borrowing to keep business running
• getting emails and letters about unpaid bills or missed payments

If that sounds like you, you have options

We’ll take time to understand your situation and explain your options to you clearly, so that you can make the most appropriate choices. We’re here to support you so the best thing you can do is to get in touch with us, although we can’t offer you advice.

• Call us on 0204 506 8350 (Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm, Saturday 9am to 5.30pm)
• Email us: businesslendingsupport@starlingbank.com

Got a Bounce Back Loan? A Pay As You Grow plan might be the right option for you.

We regularly help businesses to set up affordable repayment plans or give them a bit of space on their repayments whilst they work out what next. Our team has experience of helping businesses deal with financial difficulties and will treat your situation sympathetically. We will take the time to understand your individual circumstances and discuss the options available to you.

You can also get outside help

There are also lots of organisations who can give you free and impartial debt advice:

• Small Business Commissioner (SBC): an independent public body the government created to help the UK’s small businesses with late payments (call on: 0121 695 7770)
• Business Debtline: a charity just to help businesses dealing with debt (call on: 0800 197 6026)
• Advice NI – Business Debt Service: for sole traders, partnerships and limited companies in Northern Ireland (call on: 0800 915 4604)
• StepChange: for self-employed people and sole traders
• FSB Debt Recovery: a debt service for members of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB)
• The Money Advice Service: government advice and handy tools and calculators (call on 0800 138 7777)
• Citizens Advice: help with all money worries and debt, including benefits and legal problems (call from England on: 0800 144 8848; Wales on: 0800 702 2020; Scotland on: 0800 028 1456)

Your accountant or financial advisor may be able to help too.

What happens if I miss a payment?

If you think you’re going to miss a repayment, let us know as soon as possible. You can reach us on 0204 506 8350, (Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm, Saturday 9am to 5.30pm), by responding to an in-app message we’ve sent you or emailing us: businesslendingsupport@starlingbank.com.

If you’ve already missed a repayment, we’ll get in touch with you. If you are able to get back on track yourself, then you can transfer money into your Starling business account and choose ‘Pay Now’ in the Loans section of the app. Not sure how? We can help, just give us a call on 0204 506 8350 (Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm, Saturday 9am to 5.30pm).

What happens to my credit score if I miss a payment?

If you miss a payment that you should’ve made, it may affect your credit score. Please get in touch with us as soon as possible to talk about your situation.

I’ve been sent a default notice. What happens next?

We need you to repay the full amount you owe as soon as possible. If this isn’t affordable for your business, get in touch with us and we’ll help you to set up a repayment plan. It’s important to act now.

You can call us on 0204 506 8350 (Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm, Saturday 9am to 5.30pm): our team are here to help.

Struggling with a Bounce Back Loan?

There are specific options for you. For example, you can change your loan term or take a repayment holiday. These Pay As You Grow options take minutes to set up, and you can do it yourself - you just need to head to the Loans section of your online banking.