倒産 and 廃業: business failure, closure, and stated causes
Compare bankruptcy and uncollectable payment with a studio's closure and a search for a successor, preserving the cause and the stage before a decision.
倒産: loss of funds and uncollectable payment
倒産 (とうさん) means bankruptcy or failure. 「資金が続かず、小さな会社が倒産した。」 means “The small company went bankrupt after running out of funds.” The small company went bankrupt after running out of funds. The sentence gives a financial cause, so it provides more than the bare fact that a business stopped operating.
「取引先の倒産で代金を回収できなくなった。」 means “The client's bankruptcy made it impossible to collect payment.” The client's bankruptcy made payment impossible to collect. The client is the party that went bankrupt; inability to collect is the resulting problem. Do not transfer bankruptcy to the party trying to collect.
廃業: closing a business and its stated reason
廃業 (はいぎょう) means go out of business or closure. 「店主の高齢化により、町の写真館が廃業した。」 means “The village photography studio closed because of its owner's advancing age.” The photography studio closed because of its owner's advancing age. 廃業 describes ending the business, and the stated reason here should not be replaced with lack of funds or bankruptcy.
「廃業を決める前に、事業を継ぐ人を探した。」 means “Before deciding to close the business, the owner looked for a successor.” The owner looked for a successor before deciding to close the business. The sentence reports a search, without confirming that a successor was found, a closure decision was made, or the business was closed.
Read the action before the closure decision
Both words can concern a business that does not continue, but the causes and consequences in these examples differ. The company that ran out of funds and the studio that closed because of its owner's age do not share a stated cause.
決める前に places an action before a decision, without settling that decision's outcome. Keep the successor search separate from the photography studio example instead of borrowing its owner or reason for closure.
What result or stage is shown by payment becoming uncollectable after 取引先の倒産 and by seeking a successor 廃業を決める前に?
Show the answer and why
The first gives the consequence of the client's bankruptcy: payment could no longer be collected. The second is a search before a closure decision, not confirmation of succession or completed closure. The separate studio example's reason, the owner's advancing age, does not supply a cause for these other events.