At the time of the creation of the company as during its development, it is important to accompany to make sure you make the right choices.

Accompaniments can be offered by consular and professional networks, for example:

• Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CCI), Chambers of Crafts and Crafts (CMA), Chambers of Agriculture (CA),
  National Union of Liberal Professions (UNAPL)
• Professional bodies (college of accountants, doctors, etc.)
• Professional Federations (Union of Self-Employed Entrepreneurs UAE, etc.)
• Legal and numerical professionals: lawyers, accountants, etc.

Regions can also offer support to entrepreneurs.

The company Counselors service also offers personalized support to entrepreneurs by putting them in contact with different experts who commit to call them back within a maximum of 5 days. They provide assistance adapted to the problem: offer of financial assistance, personalized advice, information or technical support.

Collateral is a mechanism to protect an individual creditor of the default of sound debtor. A company may require its debtors to put in place collateral to protect itself in the event of default. This allows the company to limit its cash flow problems related to unpaid debts.

There are several types of collateral that have their own characteristics. It is important to learn about each of them to determine which one might be the most effective.

We present you a non-exhaustive list of the different guarantees:

• Bond
• Collateral (debt, shares, goodwill)
• Mortgage
• Standalone Warranty
• Letter of Intent
• Pledge (body furniture, real estate)

Security can also be requested from the company for guarantee some of its debts (loans, purchase from a supplier...). The ruler can grant a security on behalf of his company and thus protect his personal assets.

To avoid getting into trouble, the leader must pay attention to the drafting of its commercial documents. It is necessary to write a written note for each commercial transaction and to do so systematically sign by customers. This allows the company to prove that the transaction took place or was to take place in the event of a dispute with its partner.

It should also consider including a number of key information in its general terms and conditions of sale (GTC) made available to customers. These GTCs define the rules applicable to sales (e.g. price determination procedures, payment terms, transport terms, court of jurisdiction in case of dispute). They can serve as evidence to the company. They also save time, particularly in the choice of dispute resolution method.

In addition, during the drafting of agreements and contracts together with its trading partners, the company must consider including all the relevant clauses in the event of a dispute. These include:

• Penal, penalty or indemnity clause : it establishes the amount of compensation for non-performance of the contract (for example, a supplier has not delivered the goods to his customer)
• Deduction clause : it sets the price to be paid for discarding a contract and not being required to perform its obligations
• Opt-in clausedown payment anddeposit : once a deposit or deposit has been paid, it is no longer possible to withdraw from the contract or on disadvantageous terms
• Retention of title clause : the supplier may put a retention of title clause on the goods delivered. It retains ownership of the goods until the customer has paid the full amount of the invoice
• Termination clause : it specifies the circumstances under which the contract terminates. It may also entail an obligation for the parties to cancel obligations for which the consideration has not been given. For example, the customer must return the delivered goods for which he has not paid the amount.

These clauses allow the company to protect against non-compliance obligations of its trading partners and to avoid unpleasant surprises. They may also allow the company to buy time and avoid staying too long in a difficult situation.

The company may subscribe to supplementary insurance and in particular a operating loss insurance. This insurance provides compensation to the company when it can no longer continue to operate as a result of a disaster (e.g. fire, explosion, machine failure, vandalism).

Decreased or stopped activity may result in loss of turnover which, if the company has taken out operating loss insurance, is compensated by the insurer.

This insurance is often included in the property and casualty insurance proposed by the various insurers. The company must examine the offers offered by the insurance businesses to determine which one has the most suitable terms for the company.

Thus, this allows the company to mitigate risk to find themselves in financial difficulty.

When a company wants to start a business relationship with a new customer, it is useful to find out about their financial situation . Company creditworthiness information is used to ensure that a high risk of unpaid debts is not incurred. A company in financial difficulty may have difficulty meeting its payment deadlines and thus endanger the company's cash flow awaiting payment.

To obtain this information, the company must know the Siren or Siret number of its customer or business partner. These numbers are present on the commercial documents (e.g. invoice, GTC, quotation) from the customer company.

They can also be found free of charge on the website of theCompany Directory. This site also provides access to financial data of companies: turnover and net profit of businesses.

Company Directory: Find all information in a company

The site Infograft make available the accounts lodged and more or less detailed studies of the financial situation. Access to this information is generally not free:

Infograft

Commercial court registries also maintain a security interests register on which it is possible to see whether a company has granted security rights to creditors. It is available free of charge:

Security Rights Consultation Portal