collection

Collection of your invoices

Your customer do not pay you invoices on time. Discover our tips to improve the collection of your invoices. Or read how our solutions can protect you against unpaid invoices. 

Recovery refers to all the legal, amicable or judicial means used by a creditor to obtain the reimbursement of the debt or debts from his debtor. We usually talk about debt collection.

A claim is considered recoverable when it is certain, defined and payable:

Certain
The claim must arise from an existing debt. The ordered goods or services must be delivered.
Defined
The amount of the debt must be quantified and must be mentioned on the invoice.
Payable
The payment term must be mentioned on the invoice and it must be exceeded.

dummy Unpaid invoices can have serious consequences for your company. They can strongly affect the financial health of your company and even lead your business to bankruptcy. Did you know that unpaid invoices are responsible for more than 25% of bankruptcies?

Unpaid invoices generate direct costs: phone calls, reminder letters, and eventual legal proceedings. However, those consequences go far beyond.

Unpaid invoices jeopardize your company’s dummy cash flow. In order to pay your own invoices, you must draw on your cash and perhaps make short-term credits that generate additional costs.

Unpaid invoices also prevent the development of your business. Due to lack of cash, you have to postpone your development projects. You may even need to reduce your costs in order to maintain the viability of your company.

To compensate that financial loss, you must generate a turnover significant higher than the default. In the case of an unpaid invoice of €10,000, when your profit margin is 10%, you must generate €100,000 of additional turnover to compensate the loss.

Collecting overdue invoices should be fully part of your business management. Late payment ties up your working capital, while non-payment can have a drastic effect on your profits. When an invoice becomes overdue, it is therefore vital to adopt the right attitude and maximise your chances of collecting the money you are owed.

  1. Act fast
    Collecting an overdue invoice is a race against the clock, so a swift response is crucial to maximize your chances of success. That is why it is essential to identify late payments quickly, so that you can take action as fast as possible.
  2. Use software to manage dunning
    Business software can improve your monitoring of overdue invoices. It enables you to generate reminders automatically whenever a late payment is detected and to easily monitor the progress of each case.
  3. Collect debts without going to court
    The best way to collect your unpaid debts is to reach an amicable agreement without resorting to legal action. Amicable arrangements are less time-consuming and less costly than going to court. However, they require a strong dose of diplomacy and above all excellence in negotiating skills.
  4. Payment by instalments
    The best solution for an amicable recovery is to put in place an instalment plan. A good instalment plan will opt for the shortest possible collection period and include late payment interest to compensate for the extensions granted.
  5. Use a collection agency
    Using a debt collection agency is a key route to success in out-of-court debt recovery. Calling on a professional with sound legal training and excellent negotiating skills strongly improves your chances of collecting your unpaid debts.

A friendly telephone call, a formal notice and finally a registered letter, all of which remain unanswered. As an entrepreneur, outstanding invoices can have you at your wits’ end several times a year. And the collection of unpaid invoices takes a lot of time. In this case, a professional debt collection agency is just what the doctor ordered.

Below we have summed up five benefits:

You get a neutral intervention

A professional debt collection agency can smooth over the row and consider the situation from an objective and independent standpoint. The purpose? To reconcile your interests and those of your customer.

You benefit from an international service

A professional debt collection agency has collection services in many countries. She provides a professional solution to all your payment issues anywhere in the world.

You benefit from a well-substantiated expertise

A professional debt collection agency has ample experience in difficult negotiations. She presents you all the pros and cons of an amicable settlement and she always submit you a proposal before taking it to your customer.

You benefit from a watertight solution

At the end of the negotiations, the legal knowledge a professional debt collection agency has acquired culminates in a watertight document. This way there can be no new argument between you and your customer.

You maintain a good customer relationship

For a professional debt collection agency, preserving the business relationship is the No. 1 priority. She always start by solving financial disputes in mutual consultation so that you keep a good relationship with your customer.

 

 

 

Protecting your company has never been so important than now. Especially in this crisis period, you are never safe from the default of payment or the insolvency of one of your customers. Very often bad payments and insolvencies lead to a snowball effect. This creates risks for the cash flow and profitability of your business. A large unpaid invoice can jeopardise the growth of your business or eventually lead you to insolvency.

A trade credit insurance protects your business against the risks of defaults of payment and insolvencies of your customers:

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We monitor the financial health of your customers

We take care of the collection of your unpaid invoices

And we compensate you when your customers don’t pay