June 12, 2025

It’s okay to ask for help sometimes—like when you’re short on lunch money and a friend covers you. Eventually, though, they’ll expect to be paid back. Business credit works the same way: it’s a relationship built on give and take.

Every month, credit managers from across the United States complete a survey reporting the conditions of their last monthly business cycle, looking at their sales, credit applications and the accounts placed for collections. The survey is compiled into the Credit Managers’ Index (CMI), a monthly forecast that shows how the current economy and business environment are impacting customer behavior and, consequently, the day-to-day work of credit managers.  

Bankruptcy tends to stay out of the public’s focus–and by extension Congress’s–when the economy is doing well. That’s where we are now, with unemployment rates still sitting around 4% and inflation rates mostly under control. Because of that, Congress finally allowed the COVID-era small business chapter 11 bankruptcy eligibility threshold increases to expire. There has not been a major piece of legislation introduced since January that touches Chapter 11 or 13 bankruptcies.

As a credit manager, you are likely familiar with the sinking feeling you get after learning a customer has filed for bankruptcy. Whether they are aiming to reconstruct or liquidate their business entirely, customers filing for bankruptcies can send even the most experienced credit managers scrambling.