Summary. The first seventy-two hours of a Chapter 11 case determine whether the business survives long enough to reorganize, and the work that makes those hours succeed is done before the petition is filed. A debtor that files without a cash collateral stipulation, a thirteen-week budget, a payroll motion, and utility adequate assurance will run out of usable cash in the second week. This checklist covers pre-filing preparation, the petition and required filings, the first-day motions in order of urgency, the operating requirements that begin immediately, and the early deadlines that must be calendared on the day of filing.

What this checklist is for. Preparing and filing a business Chapter 11, including a Subchapter V case. For the small-business framework, see Filing a Subchapter V Small Business Reorganization.

Phase 1 — Before the petition

  • Confirm eligibility, including the Subchapter V debt limit if electing, with a schedule classifying every liability as contingent or noncontingent, liquidated or unliquidated, insider or not, and business or consumer.
  • Build a thirteen-week cash flow budget, line by line, that the debtor can defend.
  • Build a three-to-five-year projection that will become the plan's feasibility showing. Make it conservative.
  • Negotiate cash collateral use with the secured lender in advance; prepare a stipulation and an interim order.
  • Evaluate whether DIP financing is needed, and negotiate a term sheet.
  • Bring the books current — tax returns filed, payroll taxes quantified, financial statements prepared.
  • Set insider compensation at a defensible market level, with support, before filing.
  • Identify preference exposure — payments to insiders and to trade creditors within the reach-back periods — and expect it to be examined.
  • Identify the essential contracts and leases to be assumed, and the ones to reject.
  • Identify critical vendors, with a reasoned explanation of why each is irreplaceable.
  • Prepare the communications plan for employees, customers, vendors, and lenders, and the day-one messages.
  • Retain professionals and address the retainer; confirm disinterestedness, and note that § 1195 relaxes the standard in Subchapter V for a small prepetition claim.
  • Confirm insurance is current and premiums are paid.
  • Open the debtor-in-possession bank accounts, or be ready to on day one.

Why this matters. Everything on the first-day list assumes the numbers exist. A debtor that files to stop a foreclosure, with no budget and no lender conversation, spends its first month in emergency hearings instead of reorganizing.

Phase 2 — The petition and required filings

  • Voluntary petition, with the correct chapter and the Subchapter V election if applicable.
  • List of twenty largest unsecured creditors, excluding insiders.
  • Creditor matrix with complete and correct addresses — errors here produce notice problems that persist all case.
  • Corporate ownership statement and the corporate resolution authorizing the filing.
  • Schedules of assets and liabilities, statement of financial affairs, and schedules of executory contracts and unexpired leases, filed within the applicable period.
  • For a small business or Subchapter V debtor, the § 1116(1) financial documents: the most recent balance sheet, statement of operations, cash-flow statement, and federal tax return — or a sworn statement explaining their absence.
  • Statement of financial affairs questions about transfers, insider payments, and prior businesses answered completely and accurately. Do not omit unfavorable transfers; disclose them.
  • Filing fee paid or an application filed.
  • Claims and noticing agent retained if the creditor body is large.

Phase 3 — First-day motions, in order of urgency

  • Cash collateral or DIP financing — the motion that keeps the doors open. Attach the budget, propose adequate protection (replacement liens, periodic payments, an equity cushion), and seek interim relief pending a final hearing.
  • Employee wages, benefits, and reimbursements — payment of prepetition amounts within the priority cap and continuation of benefit programs and withholding remittances.
  • Utilities under § 366 — a motion establishing adequate assurance procedures within the twenty-day window before service may be terminated.
  • Cash management — continuation of existing accounts and systems, with any deviation from United States Trustee guidelines disclosed and justified.
  • Insurance and premium finance continuation.
  • Critical vendors, where genuinely necessary, with the analysis of why each cannot be replaced and what the estate receives.
  • Customer programs — warranties, deposits, gift cards, and rebates.
  • Taxes — authority to pay prepetition trust fund and other taxes where appropriate.
  • Joint administration of affiliated cases.
  • Extension of time to file schedules, if needed.
  • Professional retention applications and any interim compensation procedures.
  • Ordinary course professionals procedures.

Phase 4 — Operating from day one

  • Close the prepetition accounts and open DIP accounts with the required designation; obtain the United States Trustee's approval of the bank.
  • Do not pay any prepetition debt without an order.
  • Do not transact outside the ordinary course without notice and a hearing under § 363(b).
  • Stay current on post-petition taxes. Post-petition delinquency is close to fatal and is cited in nearly every motion to convert.
  • Maintain insurance and provide certificates to the United States Trustee.
  • Establish the monthly operating report process, and file on time and accurately every month.
  • Track administrative expenses separately and monitor administrative solvency.
  • Attend the initial debtor interview with the United States Trustee, prepared.
  • Attend the § 341 meeting of creditors, prepared for questions about transfers, insider payments, and the schedules.
  • Track executory contract and lease deadlines under § 365, including the shortened period for nonresidential real property leases.
  • Calendar the claims bar date once set, and review filed claims against the schedules.

Phase 5 — Early deadlines to calendar on day one

  • § 341 meeting — typically 21 to 40 days after filing.
  • Schedules and statements — due within the period set by the rules, absent an extension.
  • Utility adequate assurance — 20 days from the order for relief.
  • Cash collateral final hearing — set at the interim hearing.
  • Lease assumption or rejection for nonresidential real property.
  • Subchapter V status conference — not later than 60 days after the order for relief, with the debtor's report on efforts toward a consensual plan due 14 days before.
  • Subchapter V plan — due 90 days after the order for relief, extendable only for circumstances for which the debtor should not justly be held accountable.
  • Exclusivity in an ordinary Chapter 11 — 120 days to file and 180 days to solicit, subject to extension and to the statutory outer limits.
  • Avoidance action deadline under § 546(a) — two years from the order for relief.
  • Claims objection and plan confirmation milestones as the case develops.

Common mistakes

  1. Filing without a cash collateral arrangement, and losing use of receivables in week one.
  2. A budget the debtor cannot meet, destroying credibility with the lender and the court immediately.
  3. Optimistic projections, tested against actual performance within ninety days.
  4. Schedules and the statement of financial affairs completed carelessly, with omitted transfers that surface at the § 341 meeting.
  5. A critical vendor motion with no analysis, which courts scrutinize and often deny.
  6. Missed monthly operating reports, the most-cited ground in motions to convert.
  7. Post-petition tax delinquency.
  8. Insider compensation reduced under pressure rather than set defensibly before filing.
  9. The Subchapter V status conference report treated as boilerplate, wasting the debtor's first impression.
  10. Lease deadlines missed, resulting in deemed rejection of a location the business needs.
  11. Treating the Subchapter V trustee as an adversary rather than as the participant whose statutory job is to help reach a consensual plan.

Primary authority

  • Chapter 11 generally: 11 U.S.C. § 1107 (debtor in possession); § 1108 (operation of business); § 363 (use of property and cash collateral); § 364 (post-petition financing); § 365 (executory contracts); § 366 (utilities); § 507 (priorities, including the employee wage cap); § 1112 (conversion and dismissal).
  • Subchapter V: §§ 1181–1195, including § 1183 (trustee), § 1188 (status conference), § 1189 (plan filing), § 1190 (plan contents), § 1191 (confirmation), and § 1192 (discharge).
  • Small business duties: § 1116.

Related

This checklist is educational and not legal advice. Local rules, United States Trustee guidelines, and first-day practice vary substantially by district, and the Subchapter V debt limit changes. Consult qualified bankruptcy counsel before filing.