Debt Recovery

Our dedicated legal team will review your current credit documentation including your existing credit application forms, terms and conditions, guarantees, security, charge, proper legal identity of debtor, samples of headed paper and other receivables management documentation to ensure it complies with existing legal requirements. This would allow a smooth collection process to commence should the need arise.

There have been a number of important new pieces of legislation and regulation that may require you to update your existing receivables management documentation. Our team can also review your policies and procedures in this area to ensure compliance with legislative and regulatory requirements. We refer to this as practicing “preventative credit control” so that the debt problem either does not occur or that all the necessary tools are in place for the effective collection of the debt should it occur.

This service allows you select and instruct us on the collection of outstanding accounts and applies to your customers who are slow payers as well as non payers. Our collection strategies allow us to effectively collect debt prior to using the court systems. The combination of our experienced collectors and our computer systems allow us to quickly collect outstanding debt thereby improving your cash flow and working capital. It is important to note that we will distinguish the customers you may wish to continue to do business with from the customers that you do not want an ongoing relationship with.

We are in a position to agree a strategy of collection with you using a combination of the above communication techniques. The content of the communication can be agreed with you to tailor the communication to your customers. We are keenly aware of the differentiation of slow paying customers that you may wish to retain as customers and non paying customers who you may not want to retain and will issue communications in a form and content that recognizes that distinction.

This solution allows you to grow your business without the need to incur additional overhead and capital expenditure. You will maintain or reduce your headcount and reduce your liability to employee benefits as we may become the employer. In a total or partial outsource there is no additional capital expenditure required. In fact it will reduce your current capital expenditure. In consultation with your management team you may restructure, reduce, transfer or remove your existing receivables management resource. It also allows you to review your current structure to objectively determine if you are focused on your primary business. Every business should have a focus on its primary objective but often that focus is lost through pressures from the receivables management areas. How much energy is spent on your original and primary business? Look at the cost and resource that is focused elsewhere. Outsourcing to receivables management solutions allows you refocus on your primary business objective.

We can provide you with the best resource for your business and maintain an effective management team. Your organization can also capture our employees’ skills, experience and dedication at your offices on secondment or on a part or full time basis in which case we remain as the employer thus eliminating many of the employer obligations. We also work with you to introduce the best in class policies and procedures to ensure that your current staff and new accounts employees operate to the best industry standard in receivables management. We do all the recruiting including drafting the advertisements, selecting the candidates for interview, interviewing, preparing a short list for selection of permanent and temporary staff. We can also review your systems to determine if they are adequate or require further adjustment or replacement.

You may have extended credit to your customers who are regularly making repayments to you. We will cost that service you are providing to that customer and show you how much of a saving you can make by allowing us manage the regular payments that your client is making. This will include the provision or management of a dedicated cash applications and reconciliation team who can resolve issues like debit balances, chargeback’s, volume discounts and advance allowances.

Customers who are not servicing the debt due to you are costing you money. The longer the debt remains outstanding the more expensive it is for you and the more detrimental it is for your business. Our service manages the non performing element of your debt portfolio and reports on the cost to you and your business. We offer solutions to minimize this cost in the most efficient way.

We are in the position to assist you by purchasing your debt portfolio and offer an array of flexible solutions to your debt portfolio. We can take full or partial portfolios on a recourse or non recourse basis. This provides your business with instant cash flow and rather then spending time and money on the collection or management of your debt portfolio you can obtain immediate payment and a current value for this valuable asset. This also prevents the build up of bad debt provisions. We are in the position to assist in the provision of working capital and cash flow through full, partial collection of debts or debt factoring.

Your debt portfolio may be too small to sell on its own or you may get a better price if you were to amalgamate your portfolio for sale with another vendor. Through our extensive network of vendor and purchasers we are in a position to pool accounts of certain industries to obtain the most competitive sales price.

Ineffective management of the accounts receivable portfolio results in high day’s sales outstanding (DSOs) and low volumes of accounts current. Queries on accounts receivable are generally items that can be reconciled if enough time is devoted to them. An efficient reconciliation strategy will allow the speedy resolution of outstanding items allowing for quicker payment thereby reducing debt ageing due to unresolved account queries. A system that identifies recurring causes will be of enormous benefit to your business. Early identification and resolution of disputes will have an enormous impact on the timely collection of accounts.

Most disputes can be resolved between the parties on an amicable basis but some will need to be arbitrated by an independent third party. We offer a service that will avoid unnecessary court costs and save time and unnecessary expense through the use of an arbitration process.

Payments are received in various formats and various ways. We can process, apply and manage payments made to you including payments made by way of cash, bank draft, credit card, cheque, direct debit, standing order, postal order etc. We can also process the payment if it is made directly to you or via a third party and can provide you with all payment documentation received by hard copy, email, scanning or soft copy.

We can set up and process your invoices and statements and manage the whole process of raising invoices and tracking the payment of same.

Objectives:

  • To review the method of granting credit
  • To review the collection procedures
  • To review accounts payable
  • To measure risk

Benefits:

  • Improved cash flow
  • Improved bottom line performance
  • Improved collection of overpayments
  • Improved management control

A reduction of DSOs is a measurable event and even one days reduction can have a significant impact on your bottom line. When you reflect on your business’ assets you will be aware that your accounts receivable portfolio is one of your strongest assets that can be realised through the reduction of DSO. The greater the reduction in DSOs the greater the improvement in working capital and cash flow.

Through our partnerships we offer credit analysis of your potential and current customers. Often a credit analysis is completed at the beginning of a relationship but the credit information is not updated on a regular basis. We can also offer a robust credit scoring system to ensure that you have the best information available when you are making credit decisions.

The receivables management process can be mined for information in relation to the quality of the sales team and the quality of your customer. Issues that arise on a regular basis in relation to sales by a particular sales person or customer are indicative of matters that need to be corrected. If your customers are satisfied with the process you will get paid on time.

We provide on site and off site training that will benefit existing and new staff. The series of training modules are tailored to reflect the level of experience of your accounts receivable staff from complete beginners to well experienced members of your team. We will also cover your needs by supplying resource when your staff is required to attend internal training so that no backlogs are built up.

As a client you will be invited to information seminars and briefings which will update you and members of your staff on the latest legislative and regulatory changes and changes in the best practices in the industry relating to receivables management.

Through our global network of collection agencies and law firms we offer a thoroughly global solution to your accounts receivables management.

The assessment of the adequacy of a defaulting customers’ assets is a determination that must occur at the commencement of the decision making process to pursue for collection. Many businesses do not make an informed decision before the collection process begins and end up spending money pursing a debtor with no prospect of payment. Our report of the assets of a debtor will assist you in making that initial decision to pursue a debtor.

Our tracing service allows us to conduct searches to identify a debtor who has defaulted on his payments. Our tracing services range from office based tracing to the use of representatives in the field. The percentage of successful collections often depends on making contact with the greatest number of debtors and that is why we spend time tracing the debtor to a verified location prior to dealing with the matter. This always eliminates wasted time through the use of old or incorrect address location.

Work done for clients in subrogation collection usually involves an insurance company that has paid to its insured monies for damages the insured has suffered and where it is has been determined that a third party was responsible for those damages.

We have engaged in all types of debt recovery work and enforcement procedures for our clients including taking cases to judgement in the following courts:

  • District Court €0 – €6349
  • Circuit Court > €6349 – €38,092
  • High Court > €38,092 no maximum

Enforcement:

We have vast experience in advising and executing enforcement options including the options listed below for most of our clients. See also
the article written by Hugh Ward titled “Enforcement of Judgements” and published in the Institute of Credit Managers gazette.

  • Examination and Instalment Order
  • Committal Order
  • The Sheriff
  • Registration of Judgement in the Judgements section of the Central Office of the High Court – Publication
  • Garnishee Orders
  • Liquidations
  • Judgement Mortgage and Well Charging Order and Order for Sale
  • Bankruptcy
  • Receiver by Way of Equitable Execution
  • Injunctions

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