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 yearon a happy note!

The perfect recipe for successful debt collection!

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

1. A clear, traceable and complete invoice

If you want to obtain payment of yourinvoicewithout any problems, then your invoice can better be veryclearand 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 thishere.

You should also mention yourgeneral terms and conditionson 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 thiswebinar.

In addition, make sure that your invoice istraceable, 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 toknow 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.

Communicationis 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 yourclient.

3. Repetition is key!

We recommend sendingreminders, 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 thecosts and interestcharged 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 yourunpaid invoice? Don’t panic! You can avoid apainful hangoverbyoutsourcing this part of your administration.

Through theamicable collection of unpaid invoices, yousave (legal) costs, youmaintain 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 usinga secret ingredientthen? Perhaps we should indeed describe ourvisitorsas such! Our visitors are trained by TCM Belgium andvisit debtors to work out a solutionin 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, theinternal credit controllerhas already let hisFingerspitzengefühlloose on the file. Just as you have built up tons ofexperiencein your core business, it is no different for our credit controllers. They can draw on their ownexperiencesin previous files, but also on the experiences of (international) colleagues, and can rely on a thorough anduser-friendly IT systemas well as ourlegal department.

So what are you waiting for? Give yourself a relaxed mind this holiday season, andcontact usfor more information. Butdon’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 thestatute of limitations; once an invoice has expired, even our Fingerspitzengefühl can do little to change this.

22/12/2021

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 yearon a happy note!

The perfect recipe for successful debt collection!

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

1. A clear, traceable and complete invoice

If you want to obtain payment of yourinvoicewithout any problems, then your invoice can better be veryclearand 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 thishere.

You should also mention yourgeneral terms and conditionson 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 thiswebinar.

In addition, make sure that your invoice istraceable, 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 toknow 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.

Communicationis 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 yourclient.

3. Repetition is key!

We recommend sendingreminders, 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 thecosts and interestcharged 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 yourunpaid invoice? Don’t panic! You can avoid apainful hangoverbyoutsourcing this part of your administration.

Through theamicable collection of unpaid invoices, yousave (legal) costs, youmaintain 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 usinga secret ingredientthen? Perhaps we should indeed describe ourvisitorsas such! Our visitors are trained by TCM Belgium andvisit debtors to work out a solutionin 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, theinternal credit controllerhas already let hisFingerspitzengefühlloose on the file. Just as you have built up tons ofexperiencein your core business, it is no different for our credit controllers. They can draw on their ownexperiencesin previous files, but also on the experiences of (international) colleagues, and can rely on a thorough anduser-friendly IT systemas well as ourlegal department.

So what are you waiting for? Give yourself a relaxed mind this holiday season, andcontact usfor more information. Butdon’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 thestatute of limitations; once an invoice has expired, even our Fingerspitzengefühl can do little to change this.

22/12/2021