"It was a very tough time at Portsmouth," said Smith, who played four times for the south coast club at the start of this season but scored QPR's late equaliser in their 1-1 draw at Fratton Park in November.
"No matter how much money you earn you rely on the money you have coming in. When you have allowed for it to come in but it doesn't arrive it is a shock. When that happens three months in a row it is quite stressful.
"As footballers, we are fortunate enough to be in a position where that wasn't life or death, but it was affecting everyone within the club.
"Then all the staff left because we went into administration. It was great that as a group of players we re-employed some of the staff as we were so short of what we needed at the training ground. So there were good things going on but it was very difficult."
And Smith is still angered at how little communication there was between the administrators and the players. "The biggest problem was that there was no kind of link between the people in charge and the playing staff," he added.
"We didn't know what was happening any more than anybody else. There would be all these rumours flying around but we couldn't go to anyone and ask: 'What's happening?'
"For weeks on end we wouldn't know if we were being paid or if we were going into administration. It was certainly an eye-opener for all of us.
"In the end they sold me to QPR because they needed the money. It's nice to be at a club that is financially stable."
Lack of funds certainly isn't a problem at Loftus Road and any further financial worries will melt away if promotion is secured. Understandably, Smith is optimistic about being a top-flight player next season.
"We are confident, as we have been all season," he said. "We have a lot of experienced Championship players.
"We know we have a lot of work to do. There is a lot of confidence but we aren't getting carried away."
Heider Helguson and Alejandro Faurlin are doubtful for tonight after picking up injuries at Hull on Saturday.
