When choosing a commercial collection agency, consider this your top priority: Rate of recovery.

Don’t select a Commercial Collection Agency based on the rate they’ll charge you. Cheaper isn’t necessarily better. Quality collection agencies typically cost more and there are good reasons for that. Consider the following:

Licensing

Not every commercial collection agency is licensed. Those that invest the time and money into obtaining and maintaining a license are held to a high standard. They operate within the laws of their state, they monitor their collectors and they invest in the resources it takes to offer top-notch performance and record keeping. It’s not cheap to obtain a license, but it is to your benefit to partner with agencies that make licensing a priority.

Experience

Collectors with experience and expertise in the field cost more. And they are worth every penny. Our average years experience for our collectors is 18 years.

Account Management

Many collection agencies take on the easier, big money accounts and leave difficult accounts to an attorney. The minute the attorney takes over, your rate increases. Essentially, the collection agency collects the easy accounts while getting paid for the tough ones they sent to the attorney’s office. Doesn’t sound fair to you, does it?

Agencies that employ a team to work an account will address the easy and difficult cases, avoiding the use of an attorney unless it becomes inevitable. On the one hand, there’s an expectation that they’ll lose money on those smaller, easy accounts – but on the other, they’ll win the long-term loyalty of their customers with greater overall success on both large and small accounts. It’s a partnership of trust that can potentially last for years bringing greater gains to both the agency and the customer.

Remittance

The agency that holds on to your money is collecting interest that belongs to you. Quality agencies remit quickly. It certainly costs the agency more to remit on a weekly basis, but this puts your money in your account working for you more quickly.

Communication

Technology costs money. But utilizing cutting edge software keeps the customer informed, which is critical to the process of successful debt collection.

The bottom line when choosing a commercial collection agency is dollars that come back to you. Net recovery is the number that is most important. Before you inquire about their percentage rate, ask the following:

1. Are they licensed?
2. What level of experience do the collectors have?
3. How do they handle small balance accounts?
4. How often do they remit?
5. How many collectors will be assigned to your account?
6. What are their methods for communication?

Quality commercial collection agencies are likely to cost more, but they also collect more for you.