# Emergency repair finance for small businesses

*Source: https://credicorp.co.uk/emergency-repair-finance-small-businesses/*

For any small business with physical premises, customer-facing equipment, or a vehicle, the call comes eventually: something critical has failed, it needs fixing now, and the bill is bigger than the bank balance. This article is the honest practical guide to handling it.

## Triage the situation first

Before reaching for finance, run two quick checks:

- **Is it actually critical?** A failed espresso machine in a café — yes. A failed coffee-bean grinder when a back-up grinder is available — no, that’s a Wednesday repair, not an emergency. Be honest about what stops the business and what doesn’t.

- **Is it covered by insurance?** Business interruption insurance, equipment cover, public-liability cover — claim first, even for what you think won’t be covered. The insurer’s first answer is sometimes “no” and the second answer (after a phone conversation) is sometimes “yes”. The claim itself doesn’t cost anything.

## The financing decision tree

If the repair is genuinely critical AND insurance won’t cover it, three financing routes in order of preference:

- **Existing facilities.** Business overdraft, Credicorp Flex if you have it, business credit card with available limit. Already in place; can usually be drawn the same hour.

- **Short-term business loan.** Same-day or next-day decision from a fintech lender. Defined repayment schedule. Best for a one-off larger repair.

- **Personal funds from the director.** Sometimes the practical answer — but if it becomes a habit, the business has a cashflow problem the company itself should be solving, not the director.

## What we’d argue against

- **High-interest revolving cards.** A high-rate card that you only intend to use “for the emergency” tends to stay in use for the routine bills that follow.

- **Borrowing against the director’s home.** Personal-property security for a business repair turns a small business problem into a personal financial risk.

- **Borrowing more than the repair plus a small contingency.** Don’t take a £5,000 loan for a £2,000 repair just because the lender offered it. The £3,000 cushion will get spent.

## The aftermath conversation

After the immediate repair is financed and complete, schedule a 30-minute conversation with yourself (or your accountant) about the underlying picture:

- How much of an “emergency repair fund” should the business be carrying as cash? A common rule of thumb is 1-3 months of typical repair / maintenance spend. If you don’t have one, start building one from the next month of trading.

- Are you under-insured? An emergency repair that turned out to be uninsured suggests a policy review is overdue.

- Is the equipment due for replacement (see [equipment replacement finance](/support/equipment-replacement-finance/)) rather than another patch?

If you need a same-day finance quote for an emergency repair, the [business loans calculator](/business-loans/) handles repair-sized borrowing (£50-£5,000 typically). Or, in business hours, [phone us](/contact-us/).

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Credicorp Limited — UK lender to limited companies (Company No. 16093826). credicorp.co.uk