Business crisis indicators: which signals you can read on a client or supplier

In short: article 3 of the Business Crisis Code lists four crisis indicators (wages, suppliers, banks, public creditors), but they are designed for the entrepreneur who looks at its own accounts. From the outside you almost never see them directly. What you can read from public data are close signals: financial statements with negative net equity or losses, protests and prejudicial records, financial statements not up to date, changes of directors or registered office, and the payment behaviour towards you. Under each signal you will find where to look and how to weigh it.

What are the crisis indicators of article 3 of the Business Crisis Code?

These are the signals that the entrepreneur's organisational structures must be able to identify (art. 3, para. 3, letter b). In the text in force since 28 September 2024, after the corrective decree Legislative Decree 136/2024, para. 4 lists four:

For the general framework of the Code, see Business Crisis Code: what changes for suppliers and clients.

Which of these indicators can a client or supplier see?

Almost none, with one exception that matters. Debts to employees and banks sit in the internal accounts; the notices from public creditors (art. 25-novies) are sent to the entrepreneur and to the chair of the board of statutory auditors, if present, by certified email (PEC) or registered letter: they are not public and do not appear in the company extract.

The exception is the indicator on suppliers. If you are the supplier and the client pays you more than 90 days late, you are the one seeing that signal. For this reason your overdue balance is the most valuable data you have, and it should be looked at per client, not only as a total. We discuss this in signs of a client's insolvency before non-payment.

For everything else you must look at indirect signals, which you can derive from public sources. Here they are.

Table: signal, where you see it, how much it weighs

The "how much it weighs" column is our cautious reading, not a legal threshold: several signals together count more than an isolated one.

What to look for in the financial statements to understand whether the company is in crisis?

Three things, in this order. Net equity: if it is negative, the company has more debts than own funds. The profit or loss for the year: an isolated loss can be a bad year, a series is a trend. Debts compared with liquidity: if short-term debts far exceed what the company collects in the short term, payments are at risk. The Civil Code governs the reduction of capital due to losses (art. 2446 c.c.) and the reduction of capital below the legal limit (art. 2447 c.c.) for spa, and articles 2482-bis and 2482-ter for srl. If the financial statements show significant losses relative to capital, ask your accountant whether the company has adopted the measures provided for by those rules.

To read a financial statement without being an analyst, use how to tell from the financial statements whether a supplier is about to fail; for a client with losses, client with a loss-making balance sheet: grant a credit line or instalments?. An abridged financial statement shows fewer items: it is covered in abridged financial statements and micro-enterprises: what you can read.

Protests and prejudicial records: what do they really say?

Protests report unpaid negotiable instruments and are a sign of cash difficulty. Prejudicial records indicate that a creditor has already acted against the company. Both are data about a single moment: it is useful to know since when and for how much. For a quick check on protests and procedures with source and date, there is the Negative records and insolvency procedures check at 5.90€. To understand the differences between the two terms: what protests, prejudicial records and insolvency procedures are.

What does the company extract say about directors, registered office and procedures?

The company extract shows the block "Dissolution, insolvency procedures, cancellation", with type of procedure, opening and closing dates and the name of the receiver, liquidator or notary. A company that changes director or registered office several times in a short period, or that changes its name, is not necessarily in crisis: it must be read together with the other signals. A change of director accompanied by a loss-making balance sheet and late payments, on the other hand, deserves a more cautious credit line.

In what order should you read the signals on a new client?

Start with the signals that cost less and are clearer. First, procedures and protests: if there are any, the rest becomes secondary. Second, the date of the last financial statements filed: if it is missing or old, you already know that you are deciding with partial data. Third, net equity and the result of the last financial statements. Fourth, the history of directors and registered office in the company extract. Finally, once the relationship is under way, your overdue balance per client, updated every month. This order saves you from spending time on the financial statements of a client that already has an open procedure.

If the client is a supplier you depend on, the reasoning reverses: what matters most to you is that it keeps delivering. In that case look at continuity and signs of financial strain, and prepare a fallback plan for critical supplies.

What do you do if you see two or three signals together?

1. Do not end the relationship because of a single signal: check the others.
2. Reduce your exposure: payment in advance or on delivery for new orders, reduction of the credit line, shorter terms.
3. Send a written payment reminder for the overdue amount and keep the evidence.
4. Check protests and procedures again before every new credit line.
5. If your exposure is significant, ask for an opinion from your accountant or lawyer.

If you want to be alerted when something changes on a client, Sentinella costs 39€ per month for 5 companies.

For accountants. If you follow clients who sell on credit, you can prepare the check on the client at risk with the Decision report at 49€, which includes the financial statements with items, ratios and the official PDF. Veryfy works without a subscription and without registration: you pay for the single check.

Sources

• MioLegale, art. 3 CCII, text in force since 28 September 2024 (accessed 11/11/2026)
• Brocardi.it, Business Crisis Code, art. 3 (accessed 11/11/2026)
• Brocardi.it, Business Crisis Code, art. 25-novies (accessed 11/11/2026)
• Registro Imprese, Business Crisis Code and insolvency procedures (accessed 11/11/2026)

For the law, the official text in the Gazzetta Ufficiale prevails. Veryfy is not affiliated with Brocardi.it or MioLegale.