Support for entrepreneurs

Do you want to check if your customers have debts with us? Do you want to know what to do if your company has payment problems? If you are running or want to start a business, here are some tips and information on how to reduce the risk of over-indebtedness and bankruptcy.

Prevent payment problems

You can do a lot to prevent payment problems with your customers. Here are four tips:

Good invoicing practices and clear agreements with your customers increase the chances of getting paid on time.
When performing a major service, you should check whether you can have all or part of the cost paid in advance.
The better you know your customers and suppliers, the safer you are. If you depend on a major customer or supplier, it is particularly important that you keep track of their business activities and how they are doing.
You can easily check if your customers or suppliers have debts in our records by calling our customer service.

Get paid on time

Make sure you get paid on time. This way, you reduce the risk of falling behind on your payments. If you are not paid, you can turn to a debt collection company or directly to us for help. You can apply for an order to pay. Then we can establish the claim and you can get our help to recover the debt.

Pay on time

Pay the company's invoices and taxes on time. If a supplier has a claim against your company and applies for an order to pay with us, this is enough for the credit reporting agencies to give you a record of non-payment.

Read more about records of non-payment on our website and on the website of the Swedish Authority for Privacy Protection:

Kan uppgifter hos er ge en betalningsanmärkning? (in Swedish)Payment default records

Do this if you have payment problems

If you find yourself in a situation where you cannot pay loans, overdraft facilities, or other debts, here's what to do:

Contact the person you owe as soon as possible. Try to agree on an instalment plan. Then the person you owe does not have to apply for an order to pay and you can avoid unnecessary costs and a record of non-payment.
Find out what claims someone has against you or your company by logging in to My Pages on our website.
If we have received the case, you will get a letter with a claim (an order). This means that someone thinks you or your company must pay or do something. You must respond that you have received the letter as soon as possible. You responding does not mean that you accept the claim.
Once you have responded that you have received the letter, you can object to the claim if you think it is wrong (for example because you have already paid). The letter will say how many days you have to object to the claim.

Read more about what to do and what happens when someone you owe wants our help to establish the claim and collect the debt:

Knowledge is key

Here we have gathered more important knowledge and useful links to relevant authorities for you who are thinking of starting a business or already operating economic activity.

The company's budget

The company's budget helps you effectively plan your business activities. The budget gives you an idea of the company's investments, income, and expenses so you know if there will be money to pay the bills.

Read more about how to make different types of budgets for your company at Verksamt.se:

Make a budget

Accounting

The Swedish Accounting Act governs the company's accounting work. If you don't have enough time or knowledge to do the accounting work, get help from an authorised or certified specialist early on.

Remember that you are always ultimately responsible for your company's accounting, even if you get help.

For more information on accounting, see the websites of the Swedish Tax Agency and Verksamt:

Liability for the company's debts

The type of company (sole proprietorship, limited liability company, etc.) determines your personal liability for the company's debts. Find out the rules for each type of company.

Find out more about the different types of companies and the liability of companies on the websites of the Swedish Companies Registration Office, Verksamt, and on our website:

Tax account and taxes

Tax account debts are the most common debts among entrepreneurs in our records. You need to know how the tax account works and be careful about due dates.

Check that your preliminary tax is correct. For example, if you pay too little tax, it may need to be adjusted so that you don't have a deficit in your tax account.

Pay all taxes and fees due during the month on time - otherwise the debts will be handed over to us.

More on taxes on our website and the Swedish Tax Agency's website:

Employee with attachment of earnings

If you have an employee with attachment of earnings, you must pay a certain amount of the salary to us and the rest to your employee. You will receive a request from us asking you to provide information on your employee's salary or compensation. Read more on how to provide information to us:

Please note

We recalculate attachment of earnings decisions at the beginning of January each year. We send the decision to both the employer and the person with the attachment of earnings.

As an employer, it is important that you comply with the new decision so that the correct amount is deducted for your employee.

Wind up the company

If you want to sell your company or close it in another way, you need to know the important things to consider. The type of your company determines how you should go about winding up the business activities.

The website Verksamt.se provides information on what you as an entrepreneur need to do when selling or winding up your business:

Close down

Want to know more about bankruptcy and reorganisation?

Vem kan ansöka om konkurs? (in Swedish)

You can also call our customer service.

Protect yourself and your business from crime

Your business can be a victim of crime in different ways.

Representative liability and "straw man" board member

Representing a company or board means you take responsibility for how its activities are conducted. Being a member of the board or the CEO of a company without being involved in the business activities is called being a "straw man". It is a criminal offence and you cannot make the excuse that you did not understand the meaning of what you signed.

Read more about representative liability on the Swedish Tax Agency's website:

Företrädaransvar (in Swedish)

Read more about how you can protect yourself from being exploited as a "straw man" on the Swedish Police website:

Bli inte utnyttjad som styrelsemålvakt (in Swedish)

Money laundering

Money laundering is best described as a way of transferring money from criminal activities to the financial system. The aim is to hide where the money comes from. How to protect yourself against money laundering:

Don't allow anyone to use the company's bank account to deposit, transfer, or withdraw money.
Be suspicious of job and work assignment offers that promise quick money and high earnings with no experience required.
Don't accept money via Swish if the purpose is to pass it on.
Don't disclose your personal identity number or detailed bank information.

You can find more information on money laundering on the Swedish Police's website:

Bli inte utnyttjad som penningmålvakt (in Swedish)

Fake invoices

Look out for fake invoices. If you receive a fake invoice, you must immediately object to it and file a police report. On our website, we have gathered questions and answers about fake invoices.

Frågor och svar (in Swedish)