When an owner-managed company falls behind, silence is often more damaging than an imperfect proposal. Suppliers and landlords fill the silence with their own worst assumptions.
Before any call, write three numbers: what you can pay this month, what you propose for the following month, and what trading changes support those amounts. If you cannot support a promise with cash evidence, do not make it.
Keep the conversation short. State the situation, the proposed schedule, and the single contact who will report progress. Avoid debating blame. Creditors care about whether the plan is believable and whether you return when you said you would.
If a creditor refuses the first proposal, ask what timetable they would accept and whether a smaller immediate payment unlocks breathing room. Document every outcome the same day. Memory fades; written positions do not.