By the Templateez Team · Licensed Attorney · June 2026

Business Bankruptcy Intake Forms: What to Capture Before Filing

Last year a client walked into my office on a Tuesday afternoon with a stack of creditor letters, three months of unfiled sales tax returns, and a commercial lease with eleven years remaining. He ran a mid-size restaurant supply company — 22 employees, two warehouse locations, and about $1.4 million in outstanding debt spread across a bank line of credit, equipment financing, trade creditors, and a personal guaranty on the building lease. He wanted to "file bankruptcy by Friday."

That is not how business bankruptcy works. A consumer debtor with credit card debt and a car payment has a relatively contained set of facts. A business debtor brings operational complexity — employees who need final paychecks, inventory that is depreciating in a warehouse, accounts receivable that are collateral for a lending facility, executory contracts that must be assumed or rejected, and a web of personal guarantees that tie the owner's personal assets to the entity's obligations. The business bankruptcy intake form is where you untangle all of it, and if you do not capture the right information at the initial consultation, you will spend the next six months discovering problems you should have identified on day one.

This guide covers what belongs on a business bankruptcy intake form and why each category matters. If you handle consumer bankruptcies, the consumer bankruptcy intake guide covers the means test, personal exemptions, and individual debtor issues that are not addressed here.

Entity structure: the question that shapes everything

The very first thing your intake must nail down is what kind of entity is filing. This is not a formality. The entity type determines chapter eligibility, affects who signs the petition, controls whether the owner faces personal liability, and shapes the entire case strategy.

Your intake should capture:

• Entity type — corporation (C-corp or S-corp), limited liability company (single-member or multi-member), general partnership, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, or sole proprietorship. A sole proprietor does not file a separate business bankruptcy — the individual files, and the business is part of the individual's estate. Every other entity type files its own case separate from the owner.
• State of formation and states of qualification — the entity's formation state determines governing law for internal affairs and dissolution. States where the entity is registered as a foreign entity affect where creditors can pursue claims and where venue lies.
• Ownership structure — names and percentages for all members, shareholders, or partners. In a multi-member LLC or closely held corporation, disputes among owners can complicate the bankruptcy. A 50/50 deadlock between two members is a governance crisis that the bankruptcy court may need to address. Capture who has authority to authorize the filing — usually a board resolution for a corporation or member consent for an LLC.
• Related entities — parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, or entities under common control. The bankruptcy of one entity in a corporate family often drags others in. If your client is a subsidiary, you need to know whether the parent is solvent and whether there are upstream guarantees. If your client is the parent, you need to know which subsidiaries have their own liabilities.
• DBA names and trade names — the petition must list every name the debtor has used in the prior eight years. Businesses frequently operate under names different from their legal entity name, and creditors who know the business as "Metro Restaurant Supply" will not receive notice if the petition only lists "MRS Holdings LLC."
• Good standing status — is the entity current on its annual report filings and franchise taxes? An entity that has been administratively dissolved or revoked in its formation state faces questions about whether it has capacity to file at all. Capture this at intake so you can cure any lapse before filing.

If your client is forming a new entity or restructuring ownership before filing, the issues overlap with those covered in a corporate formation intake — governance documents, operating agreements, and capitalization structure all matter.

Chapter selection: 7, 11, or 13

Unlike consumer cases where the means test drives chapter selection, business cases involve a different analysis. Your intake must collect enough financial data to evaluate three options:

Chapter 7 — liquidation. The business ceases operations, a trustee is appointed, and all assets are sold to pay creditors. Chapter 7 is appropriate when the business has no going-concern value — meaning the business is worth more dead than alive. Your intake should capture whether the business is currently operating, whether it has any realistic prospect of generating future revenue, and whether the owner wants to walk away entirely. Note that a Chapter 7 debtor that is not an individual does not receive a discharge. The entity is simply wound down.

Chapter 11 — reorganization. The business continues operating under court supervision and proposes a plan to restructure its debts. Chapter 11 is appropriate when the business has going-concern value and the owner believes it can be profitable if the debt structure is fixed. Your intake must capture current revenue, operating expenses, and whether the business is cash-flow positive on an operating basis (before debt service). If the business cannot generate enough revenue to cover its operating costs, Chapter 11 will fail. A plan must be feasible, and feasibility requires positive cash flow.

For smaller businesses, Subchapter V of Chapter 11 — created by the Small Business Reorganization Act — is often the right tool. It eliminates the requirement for creditor committee approval of the plan, reduces administrative costs, and allows the debtor to retain equity even if unsecured creditors are not paid in full, provided the plan commits all projected disposable income for three to five years. Eligibility requires that the debtor's aggregate noncontingent, liquidated debts do not exceed a threshold (currently around $7.5 million, though this number adjusts). Your intake must capture enough debt detail to determine Subchapter V eligibility.

Chapter 13 — limited availability. Only individuals with regular income can file Chapter 13, and there are debt limits (approximately $2.75 million combined secured and unsecured, though the amount adjusts). A sole proprietor whose business debts fall within the limits can file Chapter 13, but an LLC or corporation cannot. Your intake should identify sole proprietors early so this option stays on the table.

Business assets and inventory

A business debtor's asset picture is fundamentally different from a consumer's. You are not listing a house, a car, and a 401(k). You are cataloging an operating enterprise. Your intake must capture:

• Real property — owned commercial real estate, warehouses, office buildings, land. Current fair market value, outstanding mortgages, liens, property tax arrears, and environmental liabilities. An environmental cleanup obligation attached to a commercial property can be a claim against the estate that survives bankruptcy.
• Equipment and machinery — manufacturing equipment, vehicles, computers, office furniture, specialized tools. For each significant item: description, approximate value, whether it is owned or leased, and if owned, whether it secures a loan. Equipment that is subject to a purchase-money security interest belongs to the secured creditor up to the value of its lien.
• Inventory — raw materials, work in progress, and finished goods. Approximate value at cost and at liquidation value. Inventory is often subject to a blanket lien held by the primary lender. In a Chapter 7, the trustee sells it. In a Chapter 11, the debtor needs the inventory to keep operating, which raises cash collateral issues.
• Accounts receivable — who owes the business money, how much, and how collectible those receivables are. Aging is critical — a receivable that is 120 days old is worth far less than one that is 30 days old. Receivables are also frequently pledged as collateral under a lending facility. Capture the total receivable balance, the aging breakdown, and whether the receivables are subject to a security interest.
• Intellectual property — trademarks, patents, copyrights, trade secrets, proprietary software, customer lists, domain names. These can be among the most valuable assets of a business and are frequently overlooked at intake because the owner does not think of them as "assets." A trademark that identifies the business to its customers has significant value in a sale. A proprietary process or software platform may be the only asset worth buying.
• Deposits and prepayments — security deposits held by landlords, utility deposits, prepaid insurance, retainers. These are assets of the estate that the debtor may be entitled to recover.
• Cash on hand and bank accounts — all accounts held by the entity, current balances, and which bank holds them. If the business has a lending relationship with its depository bank, the bank may exercise a right of setoff upon learning of the bankruptcy filing. Identifying the depository bank at intake lets you plan around this risk.

Employees and wage obligations

Employees create priority claims and ongoing obligations that must be addressed immediately in any business bankruptcy. Your intake should capture:

• Current employee count and payroll — number of employees (full-time, part-time, independent contractors), total payroll per pay period, pay frequency, and the date of the last payroll that was actually funded. Unpaid wages earned within 180 days before the filing date are priority claims under Section 507(a)(4), capped at a per-employee amount that adjusts periodically (currently around $15,150 per employee). If your client has 22 employees and missed the last two payrolls, you are looking at a significant priority claim block.
• Employee benefits — health insurance, 401(k) contributions, pension obligations, accrued vacation and sick time. Unpaid contributions to employee benefit plans are priority claims under Section 507(a)(5). If the business has a defined benefit pension plan, PBGT involvement may follow.
• WARN Act exposure — the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act requires 60 days' notice before a plant closing or mass layoff affecting 100 or more employees (or 50+ employees if they represent at least one-third of the workforce). Failure to provide WARN notice creates a claim for up to 60 days of back pay per affected employee. Even smaller businesses should be evaluated against state mini-WARN statutes, which often have lower thresholds.
• Independent contractor vs. employee classification — misclassification creates tax liability (unpaid employment taxes, penalties) and potential wage-and-hour claims. If the business uses independent contractors, capture how many and what they do, so you can assess whether any are misclassified.

Leases and executory contracts

Under Section 365 of the Bankruptcy Code, the debtor has the power to assume or reject executory contracts and unexpired leases. This is one of the most powerful tools in business bankruptcy, and your intake must identify every contract that falls into this category:

• Real property leases — office leases, warehouse leases, retail space, storage units. For each: landlord, location, monthly rent, remaining term, any past-due rent, and whether the debtor wants to stay in the space or walk away. Assumption requires curing defaults. Rejection creates a landlord claim capped under Section 502(b)(6) at the greater of one year's rent or 15% of the remaining lease term (not to exceed three years), plus any unpaid rent already due.
• Equipment leases — true leases versus disguised financing arrangements. The distinction matters because a true lease is an executory contract that can be assumed or rejected, while a disguised financing arrangement is a secured debt. Capture the lessor, the equipment, the monthly payment, the remaining term, and any purchase option.
• Vendor and supply contracts — long-term supply agreements, exclusivity arrangements, requirements contracts. A debtor who rejects a favorable supply contract loses it permanently. A debtor who assumes an unfavorable one is stuck with it. Capture the key terms so you can advise on assumption versus rejection.
• Franchise agreements — if the business operates as a franchisee, the franchise agreement is typically an executory contract. Rejection terminates the debtor's right to use the franchise name and system. Assumption requires curing defaults and providing adequate assurance of future performance. The franchisor's consent is not required, but the franchisor can object.
• Service contracts — maintenance agreements, software licenses, IT support, advertising contracts, consulting arrangements. Any contract where both sides have material unperformed obligations is executory and subject to the assumption/rejection framework.
• Personal guarantees on leases and contracts — if the business owner personally guaranteed a lease or contract, rejection by the entity does not release the guarantor. The owner remains personally liable on the guaranty. This is one of the most important facts to capture at intake because it directly affects whether the owner needs to file personally or negotiate a release.

Secured vs. unsecured debt

Business debt structures tend to be more complex than consumer debt. Your intake must capture enough detail to build accurate schedules and to identify which creditors have leverage:

• Secured lending facilities — term loans, revolving credit lines, SBA loans. For each: lender, outstanding balance, interest rate, maturity date, and the collateral securing the loan. Many business lenders take a blanket lien on all assets of the business, including accounts receivable, inventory, equipment, and general intangibles. Capture the scope of the security interest because it determines whether the business has any unencumbered assets to fund a Chapter 11 plan.
• Purchase-money security interests — equipment financing where the lender retains a security interest in the specific equipment purchased. These are different from blanket liens and may have priority over a prior-filed blanket lien on the same equipment under UCC Article 9.
• Tax liens — federal tax liens filed by the IRS, state tax liens for unpaid sales tax, income tax, or employment tax. Tax liens are secured claims that cannot be stripped in bankruptcy. Capture the lien amount, the type of tax, and the tax periods involved.
• Judgment liens — creditors who have sued the business and obtained judgments may have recorded those judgments as liens against the debtor's real or personal property. Capture all outstanding judgments and whether they have been recorded.
• Trade debt — amounts owed to vendors, suppliers, and service providers. Trade creditors are typically unsecured. In a Chapter 11, these are the creditors whose continued cooperation the debtor needs to keep operating. A debtor who owes $200,000 to its primary raw materials supplier needs that supplier to keep shipping on credit during the case. Section 503(b)(9) gives special treatment to vendors who shipped goods within 20 days before the filing date — those claims are treated as administrative expenses. Capture recent vendor shipments.
• Subordination agreements — some business lenders require junior creditors to sign subordination agreements or intercreditor agreements. These affect the priority of claims and the distribution waterfall in a plan. Capture any subordination arrangements at intake.

Tax obligations

Business debtors almost always have tax issues, and tax obligations in bankruptcy are treated differently depending on their type, age, and whether returns were filed:

• Payroll taxes (trust fund) — federal income tax and FICA withheld from employee wages are trust fund taxes. The business holds them in trust for the government. Trust fund taxes are not dischargeable under any chapter. Additionally, the IRS can pursue responsible persons individually under the trust fund recovery penalty (26 U.S.C. 6672) — meaning the owner, officer, or manager who was responsible for remitting payroll taxes faces personal liability even if the entity files bankruptcy. Capture all unpaid payroll tax periods and the identity of every person who had signature authority on payroll accounts.
• Sales tax — collected from customers and held in trust for the state. Like payroll taxes, these are trust fund obligations that are non-dischargeable and can create personal liability for responsible officers. Capture all unfiled or unpaid sales tax periods.
• Income taxes — corporate income tax (federal and state). Whether income tax debt is dischargeable depends on a complex analysis involving the due date of the return, when the return was filed, and when the tax was assessed. Capture the tax years involved and whether returns have been filed.
• Unfiled returns — a debtor who has not filed tax returns has a problem that goes beyond the tax debt itself. The Chapter 7 trustee or Chapter 11 U.S. Trustee will press for compliance. In a Chapter 13 (if applicable to a sole proprietor), the case cannot be confirmed without current tax filings. Identify unfiled returns at intake so they can be prepared before or shortly after filing.

Personal guarantees on business debt

This is the issue that turns a business case into a personal crisis for the owner. Most small and mid-market business lending involves personal guarantees from the principals. Your intake must identify every guarantee because the entity's bankruptcy does not discharge the guarantor's personal obligation:

• Guaranteed debts — for each business debt, ask whether the owner (or any other individual) signed a personal guarantee. Capture the guarantor's name, the creditor, the guaranteed amount, and whether the guarantee is limited or unlimited.
• Co-signed debts — similar to guarantees but structured as joint obligations rather than guaranty agreements. The effect is the same — the individual is personally liable.
• Owner's personal financial picture — if the owner has guaranteed significant business debts, you need to assess whether the owner also needs to file personally. This means capturing the owner's personal assets, personal debts, homestead value, and income sources. A business owner whose entity files Chapter 7 while the owner has personally guaranteed $800,000 in business debt will be pursued by those creditors unless the owner also files or negotiates settlements.
• Cross-collateralization and cross-default provisions — some loan agreements provide that a default on one loan constitutes a default on all loans with the same lender, or that collateral for one loan also secures other loans. These provisions accelerate the crisis and must be identified at intake.

Cash collateral and adequate protection

If the business is filing Chapter 11 and intends to continue operating, cash collateral is one of the first issues the court will address. Under Section 363, a debtor cannot use cash collateral — including cash, bank deposits, accounts receivable, and other cash equivalents in which a secured creditor has an interest — without the secured creditor's consent or a court order. Your intake must prepare for this:

• Identify the cash collateral — which cash and receivables are subject to a security interest, and which lender holds that interest. If the primary lender has a blanket lien on all assets, then virtually all of the debtor's cash is cash collateral.
• Current cash position — how much cash does the business have on hand and in its accounts? How much does it need to operate for the first 30, 60, and 90 days? This information drives the first-day motions.
• Adequate protection — to use cash collateral over the lender's objection, the debtor must provide adequate protection of the lender's interest. This can take the form of replacement liens, periodic cash payments, or other protections. Your intake needs to identify what the debtor can offer.
• DIP financing prospects — if the debtor needs post-petition financing (debtor-in-possession or DIP financing), capture whether the existing lender or any third party has expressed willingness to provide it. DIP financing is expensive and hard to obtain for small businesses, but without it, a Chapter 11 debtor that is cash-poor will not survive long enough to propose a plan.

Preference payments and fraudulent transfers

The trustee (in a Chapter 7) or the debtor-in-possession (in a Chapter 11) has the power to avoid certain pre-bankruptcy transfers and recover the value for the estate. Your intake must identify potential avoidance actions on both sides — as potential recoveries for the estate and as potential liabilities for insiders:

• Payments to ordinary creditors within 90 days — any payment on an antecedent debt that gave the creditor more than it would have received in a Chapter 7 liquidation is avoidable as a preference under Section 547. In a business context, this often involves large payments to key suppliers or accelerated payments under pressure from aggressive creditors. Capture all payments exceeding $7,575 (the current threshold for non-consumer debts) made within 90 days of the anticipated filing date.
• Payments to insiders within one year — the preference lookback period extends to one year for transfers to insiders. Insiders include officers, directors, persons in control of the debtor, and their relatives. A business owner who repaid a $50,000 loan from a family member eight months before filing has created an avoidable preference. Capture all payments to insiders for the prior year.
• Fraudulent transfers — transfers made with actual intent to defraud creditors (actual fraud) or transfers made for less than reasonably equivalent value while the debtor was insolvent (constructive fraud). Under Section 548, the lookback is two years from filing. Under applicable state fraudulent transfer statutes, it can be longer. Capture any asset transfers, business sales, distributions to owners, or below-market transactions in the prior two to four years.
• Distributions to owners — dividends, draws, salary payments, bonuses, or other distributions from the business to its owners in the period leading up to bankruptcy. If the business was insolvent when these distributions were made, they are potentially avoidable. Capture all distributions for the prior two years.

Pending litigation

Business debtors are frequently involved in litigation — both as defendants and as plaintiffs. Each pending case has implications for the bankruptcy:

• Lawsuits against the business — breach of contract claims, tort claims, employment disputes, regulatory enforcement actions. Upon filing, the automatic stay under Section 362 halts most litigation against the debtor. But some proceedings are excepted from the stay, including regulatory enforcement actions by governmental units exercising police or regulatory power. Capture the court, case number, claimant, nature of the claim, and approximate exposure for every pending action.
• Lawsuits by the business — these are assets of the estate. If the business has a viable breach of contract claim worth $200,000 against a former customer, that claim belongs to the estate. The trustee may pursue it or sell it. In a Chapter 11, the debtor-in-possession retains the right to prosecute estate claims. Capture all pending affirmative claims with estimated value.
• Arbitration proceedings — pending arbitrations involving the business, whether as claimant or respondent. The interaction between arbitration and the automatic stay is a recurring issue — arbitrations against the debtor are generally stayed, but the debtor may want to continue prosecuting its own arbitration claims.
• Regulatory investigations — pending inquiries from the IRS, state tax authorities, environmental agencies, OSHA, DOL, or industry-specific regulators. Government regulatory actions are typically excepted from the automatic stay, meaning they continue even after filing. These should intersect with the analysis you would capture in a commercial litigation intake if the disputes are substantial.

Getting it right the first time

Business bankruptcy is not consumer bankruptcy with bigger numbers. The entity structure, the operating business, the employees, the contracts, the tax obligations, and the personal guarantees create a layer of complexity that consumer cases do not have. The initial consultation is where you build the map of the case, and a business bankruptcy intake form that misses the personal guarantees, overlooks an executory contract with a below-market lease, or fails to identify a preference payment to an insider will cost the client — and possibly the attorney — far more to fix after filing than it would have cost to capture at intake.

A structured intake also helps you coordinate with the other professionals involved. The accountant preparing the debtor's tax returns, the real estate broker marketing the business's property, the business appraiser valuing the going concern — they all need information that your intake should have surfaced. Starting with a comprehensive intake means you spend less time chasing information and more time developing strategy.

The Legal Bundle includes business bankruptcy alongside 37 other legal practice areas, each with profession-specific intake fields built for how that area of law actually works.