Three invoices are due Friday. Which gets paid?
A fictional NSW strata payment run puts three invoices against insufficient administrative cash. What should be checked before anyone promises payment?
You manage a fictional 48-lot building. It has $43,000 in its administrative fund. Friday's invoices are an insurance renewal of $31,000 (the policy renews Saturday), electricity of $12,400 and cleaning of $5,600. Together, they total $49,000: a $6,000 gap. The capital works fund holds $168,000 for planned work. Administrative levies of $21,000 are overdue, with the first $3,000 payment-plan instalment due the following week. What would you do before promising any supplier a payment date?
Which option would you choose?
- APay the insurance first, then tell the other suppliers a revised date once the next levies arrive.
- BAsk for an immediate decision to use capital works cash, then reconcile the fund position later.
- CCheck actual bank receipts, invoice and insurance terms, fund allocation and authority; give the decision-maker a dated options brief today.
- DAsk the owners in arrears to bring their payments forward and base Friday's payment run on those expected receipts.
Choose your response before opening the practical explanation.
Reveal the practical explanation
Check the facts, then take a dated brief to the right decision-maker.
Insurance continuity needs urgent attention, but the renewal and payment terms must be verified. The electricity and cleaning terms matter too. An owner may pay early; if that money has actually cleared the bank and is correctly allocated, include it.
A promise, an arrears balance and the capital works headline balance do not settle Friday's administrative payment decision. Record the options, authority, supplier communication and next update. This is a fictional exercise, not an instruction to prioritise a particular creditor.
The payment sequence needs a decision, not a guess.
Each invoice has terms and consequences. Checking them alongside reconciled cash and delegated authority lets the manager present options without making a promise the owners corporation has not authorised.
Tell us which missing fact you would check first, and why. For a real scheme, verify the bank, the invoices, the fund allocation and who has authority before communicating a payment date.
What would you do?Which missing fact would you check first, and why?
Fictional NSW training example. NSW Government finance, levy and payment-plan guidance checked 28 September 2026. Confirm current guidance and scheme-specific records before a real decision.
Turn the explanation into practice.
Open the linked Guide or Academy pathway when you need the complete checks, official sources and practical learning.