You are the subcontractor and supplier of tiles to the cladding contractor on a major commercial construction project. Midway through the project, one of your payment claims is not paid. Some weeks later, you learn that the cladding contractor has had a receiver appointed. You have unpaid payment claims outstanding and have delivered tiles to the cladding contractor which are yet to be installed. What can you do? This is a not unfamiliar scenario in today's economically challenged construction industry. Unfortunately, by the time disaster hits it is often too late to do much about it. However, there are advance steps you can take to lessen your exposure -- steps that will start before you even enter into a contract. Review your standard terms of business Too often companies rely on standard terms and conditions that have seen them through in flush times but that fail to protect them in bad times. Good terms of trade are the backbone of any business, particularly one where you part with possession prior to being paid. One of the key steps in protecting yourself is to establish a security interest in the goods you supply, and the right to payment. A security interest, if effectively established, will give rise to the right to register your interest on the Personal Property Securities Register and, provided registration complies with the rules created by the Personal Property Securities Act 1999, you will have elevated your position from that of an unsecured creditor to that of a