Debt recovery during a pandemic: Available to all UK businesses

There is also a certain stigma around debt collection services. Many business owners are afraid that contacting a debt collection agency will be expensive, complicated or that such aggressive tactics will destroy the relationship between them and their client.

The current pandemic has massively impacted the economy, creating some of the most difficult trading conditions for SMEs in decades. During these hard times, companies don’t want to risk their business reputation by employing an antagonistic debt recovery service.

But what if there was another way?

Chaser released debt collections services to bring an alternative option to UK businesses

Chaser announced this week another significant step on the journey to improving the lives of small and medium businesses, by introducing a debt collections service.  

Using Chaser’s automated credit control software themselves, businesses have chased over £3 billion worth of invoices to date, with an over 80% success rate. For the customers who can’t or won’t pay, Chaser Collections offers the opportunity for businesses to distance themselves from the collections process and benefit from the clout of a third party without having to worry about the customer being harassed and losing repeat business. 

Chaser Collections’ team uses the automation and personalisation tools within Chaser, meaning the user has full visibility over all communications. Combined with in-app insights, Chaser Collections’ team carries out debt collections while remaining sensitive to issues the customer may be facing, working to find a solution that suits both the business and the customer. 

This allows users to escalate an invoice in just three clicks. It also removes the need for a lengthy handover between the business and the Collector team as all communications and background information on the customer are stored within the app already. It is priced separately from Chaser’s credit control software, meaning users only pay for what they use, and pricing is split into three tiers depending on the activity required to get the invoice paid. 

Why you should be outsourcing your debt collection

While we all appreciate the difficulty that the pandemic is causing all across the business spectrum, late payment is far from a new problem.

UK SME late payment debt has risen to a staggering £23.4 billion, nearly doubling the £13 billion owed in 2018.

The number of smaller businesses waiting on overdue payments has risen to 54 per cent, with the average late payment burden adding up to £25,000 per company.

The impact of late payments can inflict significant damage to a smaller business. Around 35 per cent of SMEs have had to use overdrafts to make up the late payment shortfall. About 24 per cent have had to delay paying their own suppliers, creating a vicious cycle.

Even more worryingly, 13 per cent of SMEs waiting on late invoices have struggled to pay their business debts, 12 per cent have been unable to pay their staff on time, and around 10 per cent have been forced to use invoice financing.

Not does the late payment of invoices negatively impact SMEs, it also comes with its own costs. Chasing late payments costs SMEs around £4.4 billion per year, with 22 per cent of businesses spending £500 a month on payment chasing.

Rather than asking you to spend your own valuable time and huge sums of money chasing late invoices, Chaser allows you to automate the entire process. If that isn’t enough, we also offer a new take on professional debt recovery.

Polite, friendly and effective

Chaser is as wary of traditional abusive debt collection techniques as our customers are. We fully understand how much effort you’ve put into building a relationship based on trust and compassion with your customers and our main aim is to preserve that relationship.

We firmly believe that treating your customers with respect and professionalism is the best way to get you the money you’re owed, without impacting your reputation.

We fully understand that most companies or individuals that owe money are eager to rectify the situation. Our professional collectors are there to help create a solution, not intimidate or harass anyone.

We see ourselves as mediators, working with both parties to get the best possible solutions, without the risk of litigation.

Our way also works. Implementing Chaser within your business will get up to 80 per cent of your outstanding invoices paid.

What are the benefits of professional debt collections?

There are a number of significant benefits associated with escalating your outstanding debt to a friendly debt collections service. The first and most important is getting your invoices paid faster.

Our collections team are industry experts who have years of experience recovering outstanding debts. Our innovative software will help you resolve 80 per cent of your outstanding invoices, our dedicate collections team is there to help you with that last 20 per cent.

Engaging our collections team helps you business grow. Instead of ploughing hours of work and large sums of your own money into chasing outstanding payments, you can rely on our experienced team to do it for you.

All that time and effort can then be spent on taking your business to the next level while Chaser works tirelessly to make sure you get the money you are owed.

Compared to simply writing off bad debt, spending your own money chasing it, or paying interest on overdrafts to make up the shortfall, our collections service is remarkably cost-effective.

You’ll get an instant quote as soon as you escalate to us and you’ll only pay for what you use, keeping you in charge of the costs right from the beginning.

You can also rely on us to maintain a positive relationship between you and your customers at all times. Chasing bad debt yourself can be stressful and put unnecessary pressure on the business relationship between you and your clients.

Our well-trained and experienced collections team is well versed in how to best mediate these kinds of situations. We don’t employ any form of aggressive tactics. Instead, we act with compassion and professionalism.

We work as arbitrators between you and your client, working with both parties to come to a mutually agreeable resolution. Using this approach to debt collections, Chaser ensures that you can have a productive trading relationship with you clients in the future while still getting you the money you deserve.

What can we offer your business?

The Chaser collections team uses insights generated from our innovative credit control software to quickly and effectively collect on outstanding payments. We offer our customers a range of benefits and services, including:

1. Easy and simple escalation

The Chaser credit control software brings all your accounts receivable actions into one easy place.

By using Chaser you can provide your customers with flexible payment options, a Payment Portal that puts all the relevant information at your fingertips and a fully automated process that still has your personal touch.

That same ease-of-use and “one application only” approach applies to out debt collection services. You can escalate an unpaid invoice to our collections team with just a few clicks, saving you time so you can spend it on your business.

2. Protecting your business relationships

We know exactly how important it is for you to maintain a positive relationship with you customers. We feel the same about our customers.

That’s why, when you escalate an unpaid invoice to our collections team, you can be sure that our highest priority is maintaining the relationship between you and you clients. We work to get you the money you’re owed without damaging your reputation.

We don’t believe that the debt collection process has to be aggressive or antagonistic. We are always working to make sure your customer has the largest number of options available to ensure the smooth and fair repayment of debts.

Using our ‘people-first’ approach, we actively work with your customers to find a solution that benefits both you and them.

3. Time saved

Time is money, especially for small businesses. Chasing late payments costs both time and money, as much as £500 a month on average. Our ground-breaking AR software makes it as simple as possible for you to chase late payments.

You can schedule payment reminders, provide your customer with all the relevant information, put payment links right in the reminder, and keep track of all your outstanding payments from one central portal.

Our friendly debt collections service uses the same time-saving principles as the rest of the offerings. You pass the issue over to us and we keep you updated throughout the entire process, letting you spend your valuable time on other parts of your business.

4. Integrated software

Because our collections services are a fully integrated part of our software, you don’t even need to give us a handover. All the information we need on your unpaid invoices is contained within our system and can be forwarded to our collections department with just a few simple clicks.

5. Full transparency

We always operate with full transparency, which is why you’ll be able to see a full record of all the interactions with your customers. By combining our collections services with our Chaser credit control software, you’ll stay informed, every step of the way.

6. Ethically trained debt collectors

Our team on the ground are consummate professionals who fully embody the idea of fair but firm collection service. All of our collections team are CICM-trained. They approach each and every collection with compassion and professionalism to get the best result for you.

7. Instant quotes and clear prices

As soon as you escalate an outstanding invoice to through the Chaser software, you’ll be given an instant quote and a breakdown of what the collections will cost. With Chaser, you only pay for what you use, making us a hugely cost-effective alternative to traditional debt collection agencies.

For more information on Chaser Collections, we invite you to book a meeting with one of our friendly team members or to sign up for our webinars.