The odds are stacked against you when it comes to successfully registering on the PPSR. It’s just so easy to make a small mistake, which could limit or invalidate your security interest.

Registering on the Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR) can be likened to a treasure hunt. If you make it to the end of the hunt, there’s a massive reward. But failure to answer the clues correctly along the way means you won’t get to take home the treasure.

It’s a high stakes hunt because the reward is protecting your business against customers who become insolvent. The legislation governing the Personal Property Securities Act (PPSA)  greatly advantages trade credit and equipment suppliers who choose to comply, and penalises those who don’t.

A successful PPSR registration gives you a valid security interest over the personal property you’ve sold on payment terms or leased to a customer – see PPSA, Section 17. It means a seat at the negotiating table with the insolvency company and the opportunity to recover your goods or money.

Making mistakes on your registrations may limit or even invalidate your rights to recover your property should one of your customers become insolvent.

There are several steps during the registration process that can trip you up. Some of the most common PPSR registration errors we see include grantor identification, property identification, errors in serial numbers, and errors in identifying the class of goods.

Due to the complexity of the registration process, it’s almost inevitable that some human error will occur if you register manually and without expert assistance. Many highly complex rules and regulations govern the PPSR. The process of registering is time-consuming and taxing, especially for large companies with a high volume of assets to register.

How to get your PPSR registration right

Here’s how to increase your chances of taking home the treasure.

1. Do a risk assessment 

   If you supply goods or equipment and aren’t PPS registered, take a close look at what risks you are leaving yourself open to. Being the owner of an asset does not give you sufficient protection under the PPSA. You could risk losing millions of dollars in assets to insolvency practitioners.

2. Check your registrations

   Be sure every single registration you’ve made is correct. You might not even know you’ve made an error until you try to recover your property from an insolvent customer – only to be told your claim is worthless due to an incorrect registration.

3. Correct any mistakes

   Update your registrations with the right information to ensure you protect your property. Our EDX team of expert PPSR consultants  can do the hard work for you. Our premium software, ESIS, can make the process of fixing mistakes quick and easy.

4. Introduce systems 

   Manual processes significantly increase the chance of human error. Automated systems like our ESIS application provide assurance around registering correctly. Our suite of innovative PPSR solutions is designed to help companies register, update and search the PPSR with speed and accuracy. Correct processes in place will help to make sure you are registering correctly and immediately.

5. Review and monitor 

   Keep your registration documents in order and monitor your customers, so you’re in the best position to reclaim property in the event of insolvency. Your registrations should be regularly reviewed to ensure they still comply with the PPSA and best industry practices.

   Our team of professional PPSR consultants take the complexity out of the registration process for you, and provide helpful advice to ensure your PPSR processes are robust and effective.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is general in nature and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Therefore, you should consider whether the information is appropriate to your circumstance before acting on it, and where appropriate, seek professional advice from a finance professional such as an adviser.