The Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR) isn’t just another government service. A PPSR search is your way to protect your business and its bottom line from nasty surprises, as well as mitigate risk of a debt gone bad.

Simply put, it’s a national ‘proof of ownership’ register where details of security interests in personal property can be listed, and then searched by the public later. It’s a great way for those leasing or purchasing property to keep themselves covered.

Unfortunately, not a lot of business owners are aware it exists. The PPSR was created following the PPSA (Personal Property Securities Act 2009), and came into effect in January 2012. There has been widespread talk about PPSA being described as the most important piece of commercial legislation nobody has ever heard of. While this statement could be a little exaggerated, in reality the overall level of awareness is low.

Your guide to using the PPSR

To help you wade through the information available, we’ve put together a quick guide to understanding how the PPSR works, when to you use it, and the steps you need to take.

What type of property is registered in the PPSR?

The registry covers a range of vehicles, assets and more. It’s designed to cover assets or property that aren’t land. Some of them include:

  • Cars, trucks, busses and other motor vehicles

  • Boats, Caravans and trailers

  • Artworks

  • Livestock

  • Plant and machinery

  • Hire purchase & rental agreements

  • Shares

Getting protection when you’re buying goods

Are you thinking about buying a second hand car, truck or asset? You can use a PPSR to make sure you’re getting what you paid for, and no more than you bargained for. Formally known as a vehicle finance check, you can find out if the second hand car you want to buy still has money owing on it from any third party finance. This will save you from taking on any unpaid debts still associated with the asset, or having it repossessed by its rightful legal owner.

Use the PPSR register to check the VIN or Chassis number, and ensure that the vehicle matches its registered description or if it’s ever been written off.

How to check if a car has finance owing on it

It only costs $3.40 to check if a car is free of financed debt and safe from repossession, and all you need is an email address, VIN number of the vehicle and your debit/credit card number.

Then, to run a search;

  • Head to the PPSR website

  • Enter the VIN or Chassis number

  • Enter your card details to pay for the search

  • Get your search details and receipt

How to register a security interest on the PPSR

Depending on your level of service, using the PPSR to register a security interest can cost as little as $6.80, or up to $300 for some of the more complex certificates.

Before you use the PPSR to manage your credit risk, you’ll need a PPSR account, the type of collateral you’re using, an SPG number, the collateral class, grantor details and your method of payment.

Protect yourself when you’re selling on consignment

Selling on consignment or retention of title? You can mitigate the risk of a default by registering the goods on the PPSR. By securing the debt or obligation, you can make sure you get back your fair share before any other out-of-pocket creditors sell the asset to recover a bad debt.

Sleep better with a stronger lease

The register allows creditors to register property that’s been leased or financed, helping ensure its ownership status is correctly recorded. Then, in the event of a default, the lender/leaser is covered and in a better position to reclaim the asset.

A retention of title clause in your contract won’t protect you on its own, backup your agreements to keep what you own in the event of a default.

Tip: Talk to us about your Terms and Conditions if you are unsure about the clauses in your contract.

The PPSR can help with collections and debt recovery

Use the PPSR to ‘protect’ your security interests, to define the priority status of the collateral, and make sure the security survives any subsequent bankruptcy proceedings.

And while Professional Collection Services help streamline the collections you can make life much easier for everyone in your business by crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s in your credit department, especially when you’re using a professional recovery agency.

As for any owed debts to you or your business, we encourage streamlining your in-house process by using our collection letter template pack – click the image below to get your copy, and help your staff and stakeholders get a better night’s sleep with the knowledge that their incoming debts are well managed.

Why choose Profcoll?

When we work with Profcoll, you work with managers that really care. We want you to be informed, to know what’s happening with your debt and your customer. We want to protect small business and help return some missing cash into your cashflow. As a small business ourselves, we know how tough it can be, and how important cash flow is, that’s why we do what we do. To assist businesses in recovering missing cash flow, so they can put it too good use again.

Trust Profcoll to deliver results, quickly. And if we cannot recover your debt, we charge you a penny for our services. So, if you have unrecovered debt, enquiry today, free of charge.

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