When positive results are a reason to celebrate!

The past year proved to be another obstacle course, in which being positive was far from being a reason for celebration.

In a few days’ time, however, the festive season (and hopefully not another epidemic) will be upon us again, so what better time to share some tips on how to start the coming year on a happy note!

The perfect recipe for successful debt collection!

What are the key ingredients in this recipe for success? A proportionate amount of the following three components:

1. A clear, traceable and complete invoice

If you want to obtain payment of your invoice without any problems, then your invoice can better be very clear and in line with the necessary legal provisions. The structure of an invoice is subject to a number of legal requirements. You can find more information about this here.

You should also mention your general terms and conditions on the invoice. This is not compulsory, but it is necessary if you want the provisions in your general terms and conditions to apply (e.g. costs and interest). You must be able to prove that your debtor was aware of your general terms and conditions. The way in which these general terms and conditions must be stated and drawn up is also subject to guidelines; for more information on this subject, please request the white paper on this webinar.

In addition, make sure that your invoice is traceable, i.e. that you can prove that the invoice was correctly delivered to the debtor. Sending the invoice by e-mail can be a handy solution for this. In the event of a dispute, it is often claimed that the invoice was not received.

2. Know your client

Following the importance of a traceable invoice, it is also important to know to whom you should send the invoice. Know who your contact person is, which e-mail address should be used, on which telephone number your customer can be reached, etc.

Communication is of paramount importance, on the one hand to know which subjects to avoid at the Christmas dinner table, and on the other hand to know which points you should emphasise to your client.

3. Repetition is key!

We recommend sending reminders, even though this is not compulsory for B2B files. Why? A customer is often offended that he has not been called or written to by the creditor about the unpaid invoice. The non-payment is then often a matter of principle, of communication, as mentioned in the previous point.

If you do send reminders, make sure that these reminders are, here we go again, traceable. Debtors often claim that they have not been reminded of the outstanding invoices, even though they did receive reminders. Denying receipt of the invoice and/or reminder is often intended to avoid the costs and interest charged in accordance with general terms and conditions and the law.

How to avoid a painful hangover?

Have you followed the above recipe correctly (or rather correctly), but still do not receive payment of your unpaid invoice? Don’t panic! You can avoid a painful hangover by outsourcing this part of your administration.

Through the amicable collection of unpaid invoices, you save (legal) costs, you maintain the customer relationship (meaning no awkward encounters at the local Christmas market), and you no longer have to lose sleep over unpaid invoices.

Are we using a secret ingredient then? Perhaps we should indeed describe our visitors as such! Our visitors are trained by TCM Belgium and visit debtors to work out a solution in line with our internal efforts. This last amicable step in the collection process is often decisive.

However, before we arrive at this stage of sending out a visitor, the internal credit controller has already let his Fingerspitzengefühl loose on the file. Just as you have built up tons of experience in your core business, it is no different for our credit controllers. They can draw on their own experiences in previous files, but also on the experiences of (international) colleagues, and can rely on a thorough and user-friendly IT system as well as our legal department.

So what are you waiting for? Give yourself a relaxed mind this holiday season, and contact us for more information. But don’t wait too long! An unpaid invoice also runs the risk of being put aside for quite a long time, and thus decreasing the chances of successful collection. The sooner we are called in, the better the results. In addition, take into account the statute of limitations; once an invoice has expired, even our Fingerspitzengefühl can do little to change this.

22/12/2021

When positive results are a reason to celebrate!

The past year proved to be another obstacle course, in which being positive was far from being a reason for celebration.

In a few days’ time, however, the festive season (and hopefully not another epidemic) will be upon us again, so what better time to share some tips on how to start the coming year on a happy note!

The perfect recipe for successful debt collection!

What are the key ingredients in this recipe for success? A proportionate amount of the following three components:

1. A clear, traceable and complete invoice

If you want to obtain payment of your invoice without any problems, then your invoice can better be very clear and in line with the necessary legal provisions. The structure of an invoice is subject to a number of legal requirements. You can find more information about this here.

You should also mention your general terms and conditions on the invoice. This is not compulsory, but it is necessary if you want the provisions in your general terms and conditions to apply (e.g. costs and interest). You must be able to prove that your debtor was aware of your general terms and conditions. The way in which these general terms and conditions must be stated and drawn up is also subject to guidelines; for more information on this subject, please request the white paper on this webinar.

In addition, make sure that your invoice is traceable, i.e. that you can prove that the invoice was correctly delivered to the debtor. Sending the invoice by e-mail can be a handy solution for this. In the event of a dispute, it is often claimed that the invoice was not received.

2. Know your client

Following the importance of a traceable invoice, it is also important to know to whom you should send the invoice. Know who your contact person is, which e-mail address should be used, on which telephone number your customer can be reached, etc.

Communication is of paramount importance, on the one hand to know which subjects to avoid at the Christmas dinner table, and on the other hand to know which points you should emphasise to your client.

3. Repetition is key!

We recommend sending reminders, even though this is not compulsory for B2B files. Why? A customer is often offended that he has not been called or written to by the creditor about the unpaid invoice. The non-payment is then often a matter of principle, of communication, as mentioned in the previous point.

If you do send reminders, make sure that these reminders are, here we go again, traceable. Debtors often claim that they have not been reminded of the outstanding invoices, even though they did receive reminders. Denying receipt of the invoice and/or reminder is often intended to avoid the costs and interest charged in accordance with general terms and conditions and the law.

How to avoid a painful hangover?

Have you followed the above recipe correctly (or rather correctly), but still do not receive payment of your unpaid invoice? Don’t panic! You can avoid a painful hangover by outsourcing this part of your administration.

Through the amicable collection of unpaid invoices, you save (legal) costs, you maintain the customer relationship (meaning no awkward encounters at the local Christmas market), and you no longer have to lose sleep over unpaid invoices.

Are we using a secret ingredient then? Perhaps we should indeed describe our visitors as such! Our visitors are trained by TCM Belgium and visit debtors to work out a solution in line with our internal efforts. This last amicable step in the collection process is often decisive.

However, before we arrive at this stage of sending out a visitor, the internal credit controller has already let his Fingerspitzengefühl loose on the file. Just as you have built up tons of experience in your core business, it is no different for our credit controllers. They can draw on their own experiences in previous files, but also on the experiences of (international) colleagues, and can rely on a thorough and user-friendly IT system as well as our legal department.

So what are you waiting for? Give yourself a relaxed mind this holiday season, and contact us for more information. But don’t wait too long! An unpaid invoice also runs the risk of being put aside for quite a long time, and thus decreasing the chances of successful collection. The sooner we are called in, the better the results. In addition, take into account the statute of limitations; once an invoice has expired, even our Fingerspitzengefühl can do little to change this.

22/12/2021