Keep an aftercare budget after normal trading costs end
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Normal trading costs may fall away while records access, correspondence and unresolved cases continue. Keep an aftercare budget that describes those remaining purposes rather than carrying the old operating budget forward unchanged.
Ask the accountant and relevant advisers to confirm the basis, timing and treatment of the figures. The budget does not establish solvency, determine payment priority or authorise spending by itself.
Separate three kinds of amount
Use confirmed recurring commitments, estimated case work and unresolved questions as distinct categories. The following monthly figures are entirely fictional and use one consistent tax basis for arithmetic only. They are not supplier prices or professional fee guidance.
| Category | Example basis | Amount in this illustration |
|---|---|---|
| Recurring records and communication services | Current agreements to be checked | £120 |
| Planned administrative support | Agreed selected work | £300 |
| Estimated case-related assistance | Provisional scope, not a quotation | £200 |
| Selected forecast total | Excludes unresolved commitments | £620 |
| Disputed or unknown remaining charge | Adviser review needed | Not yet quantified |
The selected total is £120 plus £300 plus £200. The unknown item is not zero. Show the gap and the person investigating it rather than presenting £620 as the complete cost of aftercare.
Check payment dates separately. A monthly planning allowance may not match the date a provider invoices or the business must fund the commitment under its actual agreement.
Connect costs to the work they support
Use the aftercare workload estimate to explain what the remaining contact is expected to do. If that work changes, review the support arrangement and its cost with the responsible people.
An access service may remain necessary for one unresolved case. Record that dependency and a review point. Do not cancel the service solely because its cost looks disproportionate before establishing an appropriate alternative and the applicable retention or access requirements.
The new-commitment rule identifies who may approve additional spending. A line in the budget is a planning assumption until the required authority and terms are established.
Keep receipts and remaining assets distinct
Expected customer payments and proposed asset-sale receipts can affect the cash plan, but neither should be treated as money received. Ask the accountant how to show the uncertainty and the actual timing.
Where assets remain unresolved, use the residual-asset note. Discuss their sale scope with UK Auction Group, keeping any estimate and conditions clear. Do not use an optimistic sale figure to hide an unresearched aftercare cost.
Review actual spending against the stated purposes. Explain differences such as an extra case, a delayed account closure or a service retained longer than expected. The owner can then decide what needs attention without confusing a quieter business with a business that has no remaining administration.
Sources
This guide is general information and education only. Legal, tax, employment and safety decisions may need a qualified adviser who knows your situation. Read the disclaimer.