You never have to pay for good debt advice. Several respected UK services offer free, confidential help to businesses and the self-employed, and using them early makes a real difference.
Business Debtline
Business Debtline gives free, confidential debt advice to small businesses and the self-employed at businessdebtline.org or on 0800 197 6026. They can help you build a budget, prioritise debts and draft proposals to creditors.
Other free help
Citizens Advice offers general guidance, and specialist charities support those under acute money stress. For tax specifically, HMRC's Business Payment Support Service on 0300 200 3835 can discuss Time to Pay.
Why free advice is worth it
Free advisers are independent, so their only interest is your best outcome. They can often negotiate with creditors on your behalf and open options you did not know existed.
Taking free advice sits well alongside talking to us about an arrangement.
We lend only to UK limited companies and LLPs, and the loan is to the company with no director personal guarantee. As business finance outside the consumer-credit regime, it is not covered by the Financial Ombudsman Service or FSCS.
See also: Where can I get free, independent debt advice in the UK?, Free business debt advice for UK limited companies, Where to get free business debt advice.