Commercial debt collection: handling unpaid debts

Debt collection is a step a creditor takes to make a debtor settle their debt.

Your debts can be recovered amicably using a third party to intervene, which can result in full payment, payment plans, or if required the option to take legal action.  Each step of recovery is assessed to establish the best option to take.

The first thing to do is to remind your client about the due dates and then send further reminders about unpaid invoices. If they fail to respond, you can send a formal notice to pay. State that you are prepared to start legal proceedings (ideally by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt) if the invoices are not settled within the deadline you set with additional penalties for late payment.

If your invoice has still not been paid, you can instigate legal action or indeed use Coface to achieve an amicable collection followed by legal action if required.

While an amicable process simply encourages your client to pay an invoice, legal redress obliges them to comply.  You can follow various procedures, including:  

• A court order to pay, which is very easily attained. This judicial remedy is more relevant to small claims where the debtor does not dispute the invoice. You can call on a bailiff to take action to seek payment of the outstanding invoices. 
• Summary procedure: you are required to prove that the invoice is actually pending payment in order to use this procedure. 
• Summons for payment: this procedure, which results in a trial, is more expensive and time-consuming, but is ideal for large companies and more serious disputes.

Late or non-payment means there is less liquidity in your cash flow: this can hamper your ability to grow or lead to cash-flow problems that affect your firm’s sustainability.
Devoting time and energy to trying to get your customers to pay means there’s less time to focus on your future contracts and growing your business. When Coface handles your business debt collection, you collect your outstanding invoices quickly - leaving you free to concentrate on future development.

Coface’s debt collection experts use our unique tools and data to check your debtor’s real situation as opposed to what they have told you. 

Our specialists can also review your debtor’s financial situation so you can find out the reasons for a late payment. You benefit from a single point of contact who will call on our top experts to negotiate amicably or take the necessary legal steps to ensure you obtain payment – irrespective of where your debtor is based. With Coface’s international debt collection service, you recover your money quickly and only pay a commission if we’re successful.

To ensure your company stays in good health, it is vital that the process for collecting unpaid invoices does not exceed the limitation period. When this is the case, legal redress might end up being impossible.
The limitation period for receivables when the debtor is a business (i.e. not an individual) is anywhere from 5 – 10 years depending on the country of your debt. The older the debt, the less chance there is that the debt collection process will get results. To have the best chance of success, get in touch with our experts: they know the most effective ways to recover your unpaid invoices quickly so you can maintain good business relations with your client. 

Various procedures are possible, and they are explained in detail on this page. Extending the payment period, however, and any delay in calling in a debt collection agency, may mean you will never recover your money.