Business viability assessment tool
Business viability refers to a situation in which a business is surviving. This survival is linked to financial position and performance.
A business is viable where either:
- it is returning a profit that is sufficient to provide a return to the business owner while also meeting its commitments to business creditors
- it has sufficient cash resources to sustain itself through a period when it is not returning a profit.
While you can always assess your own viability using our tool, there will be some circumstances where we need to assess it. For example when considering eligibility for a payment plan.
Access the Business viability assessment tool.
On this page
When we assess viability
In some circumstances, we may work with you to assess your business' viability.
This usually occurs if:
- you've defaulted on payment plans or have not met your lodgement and payment due dates
- you're negotiating with us about paying off a debt.
If you are working with us to assess your business' viability or have been notified that we are assessing it, you will need to provide us with certain information.
Information we need
When assessing your business' viability, we look at your ability to pay your debts and meet ongoing commitments. The assessment considers a range of indicators, including:
- gross margin
- cash flow
- asset/liability position (including working capital)
- liquidity
- debtor/creditor position
- funding availability of funding.
Supporting information
You will be asked to provide the following documentation within an agreed timeframe:
- a proposal to pay all amounts owed to us in the shortest possible timeframe, while allowing all future tax obligations to be met by the due date
- details of events and contributing factors which caused the debt to accrue
- steps taken to mitigate the debt (such as, changes in operations)
- the most recent bank or financial institution statements for each account held
- the following detailed financial statements for three periods: year-to-date (3 months or more) and previous two financial years
- profit and loss statement or statement of financial performance
- balance sheet or statement of financial position
- details of any overdraft or loan facilities including term loans, hire purchase and leasing facilities including balances owing, monthly repayments for each debt and the limit for overdraft
- aged creditors listing
- aged debtors listing
- any other relevant information that may help us assess your proposal
- name and contact details of the person we should speak with in relation to assessing your business' viability, including email address and phone number.
Ensure your ABN and company name are on all documents.
Submitting your supporting information
You can submit your documents to us in one of the following ways:
Assessing your business
Assessing your own business using the Business viability assessment tool can give you a greater understanding of whether your business is trading viably.
The tool considers a range of information that is linked to the financial performance and position of your business. This includes your business' ability to pay outstanding debts, while meeting ongoing commitments to creditors.
You'll need to have the following information on hand for the year to date and two preceding financial years to complete your own assessment:
- statement of financial performance (or profit and loss statements)
- statement of financial position (or balance sheet)
- aged creditor listing
- aged debtor listings
- total monthly repayment amount for all debt commitments. This includes your bank overdraft and any loan facilities (e.g. term loans, bank bill facilities, hire purchase, lease agreements).
Once you have entered all your information into the tool, you will be provided with a business viability assessment report. This report is based on the information and answers you entered.
Privacy and your personal information
We do not record any of your personal information in our systems.
The information you enter into the Business viability assessment tool is only used to generate your viability report.
We will not store or share the information generated from your viability report.
Your results
The Business viability assessment tool is designed to provide an overview of your business' viability only. Any results generated should not be considered as conclusive or definitive in relation to your business' viability or solvency.
Some questions are considered more important in assessing the viability of your business than others. These questions are highlighted in bold in the summary.
The tool is for information purposes only. It does not constitute a comprehensive business analysis.
Understanding your results
- If you received mainly ticks, this may indicate that your business is trading viably.
- If you received mainly crosses, this may indicate that your business is not trading viably and its financial performance and position may be at risk.
Seeking professional advice
If you have concerns or issues in relation to your business' viability, seek professional advice from a tax practitioner, bookkeeper, solicitor or insolvency practitioner in the first instance.
Seeking advice at the earliest opportunity helps to ensure you address financial issues before they escalate or become unmanageable.
Use our business viability assessment tool to determine whether a business is viable.Last modified: 28 Jun 2021QC 26709