Finding software can be overwhelming. Software Advice has helped hundreds of businesses choose the right accounting software so they can manage their finances and keep track of payments owed and collecte
Showing 1-14 of 14 products
Katabat Restore is a cloud-based debt management and collection solution used by businesses of all sizes such as financial institutions, alternative lenders, utilities, telecom, retail and enterprises. The solution allows users to... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
SimplicityCollect is a cloud-based SSAE16 compliant debt collection solution designed for companies of all sizes. It features loan management, business-debt management, consumer-debt management, credit card integration and reporting... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
Formerly WebAR, ACE is a cloud-based, open-API debt collection platform for collection agencies, attorneys, property managers, healthcare providers and government agencies. This debt-based platform facilitates account bundling (common... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
Lariat is a cloud-based debt collections software designed for collection agencies, debt purchasers, education, medical, government entities, retail and collection departments in large organizations. Key features include a client portal,... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
CasetrackerLaw is a cloud-based debt collection management solution designed for companies of all sizes. It offers compliance management, contact management, credit bureau reporting, callback scheduling, transaction and commision management... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
Collections and Recovery is a cloud-based and on-premise debt collection software for businesses of all sizes. It is suitable for auto finance leaders, banks, finance companies, credit unions, peer-to-peer lenders, wholesale lenders,... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
Beyond ARM is a cloud-based and on-premise debt collection software for businesses of all sizes. It is suitable for Accounts Receivable Management (ARM), financial services, government, health care, legal, consumer lending and commercial... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
Anytime Collect is a cloud-based accounts receivable credit and collections software that helps users manage overdue payments and clients. It is suitable for business of any size in a variety of industries including utilities, transport,... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
Debtor Daddy is a cloud-based debt collection software that helps users send overdue invoice reminders, manage debt collection and follow up with phone calls. It is suitable for accountants, lawyers, bookkeepers, engineers, copywriters,... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
Kuhlekt is a cloud-based debt collection solution that helps businesses across various industry verticals to manage their accounts receivable, interactions with customers and accounting reviews. Key features include dunning via email... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
EveryBill is a cloud-based payment management platform that helps in online payment collection, manage payment information and maintaining compliance. It is suitable for health care, enterprise and professional services businesses... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
QUALCO Collections & Recoveries
QUALCO Collections & Recoveries is a debt management, collection and recoveries platform designed for businesses in finance, insurance agencies and utility companies. Features include agency management, compliance management, contact... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
Cogent is an on-premise debt collection and case management solution designed for companies of all sizes. It features document management, a rules engine, on-boarding and calendar management functionalities within a suite. Cogent... Read more
Platforms: Win
Deployments: On premise
Business Size:
ENCollect is an omnichannel digital collections management system that includes a field collection app for field staff, backend payment deposit screens for backend staff and APIs to integrate with other payment systems or digital systems.... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
There's an adage that goes, “If you loan someone $20 and never see them again, it was probably money well spent." While that financial rule may be a good for your social life, it hardly works as a business model. Things get a little tricky for business owners when balances are left unpaid, and that's where an easy-to-use accounting system can really help.
According to statistics updated by the Federal Reserve earlier this year, the average American household owes $16,425 in credit card payments. You can imagine how difficult it is for small or midsize businesses to keep their doors open with that kind of money pending. Fortunately, debt collection software exists to help you keep track of outstanding invoices and manage collection efforts in order to keep your books squared away.
Here's what we'll cover:
What Is Debt Collection Software?
Common Functionality of Debt Collection Software
What Type of Buyer Are You?
Market Trends to Understand
What Is Debt Collection Software?
One way to think of debt collection software is as the little brother to billing and invoicing software. It's true that these two types of programs are incredibly similar, and, in fact, many debt collection vendors offer integration with billing systems in order to streamline the collection process.
The distinction between the two is this: billing happens after a product or service is sold—within the normal course of business—whereas debt collection comes into play after the balance for a product or service becomes overdue.
Most debt collection software will integrate with either enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems or accounting software to fully automate the process. The benefit here is that you can incorporate your new debt collection system quickly into whatever program you're using now, and you can customize the software to fit your business needs.
Like most software, debt collection systems are generally priced out at different tiers or editions that offer varying services. A few elements of these packages that impact value are:
- Number of credit users
- Number of accounts
- Number of integrations
- Level of customization
Additionally, debt collection software is available to businesses as either cloud-based or on-premise software.
Common Functionality of Debt Collection Software
Email IntegrationDramatically increases debt collection rates by making collection notices, payment options and itemized bills visible and accessible to consumers via email. As of 2016, 88.5 percent of Americans are online, meaning the easiest way to get information in front of them is electronically.
| User Types | This is a useful option if multiple people need the ability to manage invoices, such as sales representatives, credit managers, customer support associates or clients. Some debt collection systems are priced according to the number of different types of users, while others are more simply priced according to the number of general users. |
| Billing and Invoicing | Having a debt collection system that automatically works with your billing setup can save invaluable time on your end. Invoices are automatically moved to the debt collection process when they pass the due date and are identified by the system as outstanding. Additionally, these programs can generate billing paperwork without input from managers or sales reps. |
| Automated Follow-Up | This feature assumes control of the collection timeline by queueing, creating and sending out follow-up letters or emails. It also keeps track of how many notifications have been sent out and when. |
| Contact Management | Helps agents find the right contact information to ensure no time is wasted sending letters or emails to inaccurate addresses or calling wrong numbers. |
| Performance Management | Allows managers to keep an eye on collectors' history, records, rates and behavior. Not only is this important for internal metrics, but also for compliance with government rules regarding appropriate debt collection practices. |
| Compliance | This feature protects collectors from violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (or any other government regulations, for that matter). Compliance applications manage the legal aspect of collection to ensure everything you and your agents do is up to code. |
| Credit Bureau Reporting | Creates documentation for reporting credit history to bureaus so that made, missed or delayed payments will be reflected in credit checks. |
| Client Portal | Client-facing dashboard where they can view pending payments, balances, notifications, and anything else they may need to verify. |
| Credit Card Processing/Online Bill Pay | Enables individuals to make payments directly and immediately without having to mail cash or checks. |
What Type of Buyer Are You?
Because of the variance between debt collection software vendors and the features they offer, it's good to identify your specific needs ahead of time. Different businesses will require different things of their software.
- Collection agencies or third-party collectors: This type of collector focuses its entire business on managing debts, which means that these companies will require much more robust systems that offer access to a larger number of users and user types. Additionally, these companies may be collecting on behalf of other businesses, in which case a client portal could be very useful.
- B2B collectors: This type of collector is generally using debt collection software to collect on commercial debts that are accrued through service transactions. These companies will typically have more than just debt collection on their daily agendas, so they may require software that is more automated and customized.
Market Trends to Understand
Process and decision automation. Quite a few processes involved in collection have already been automated, including phone dialing and follow-up notifications. Analysts are looking to see even more of those small steps taken over by AI in order to make the human collector's job faster and easier. In fact, we may not be all that far away from a time when machines handle the entire process. Using collection history as a basis, systems may one day learn how to interact with consumers to track and collect payments.
Mobile technology. It was only a matter of time before cellphones became tools for collectors to reach consumers, and mobile apps are definitely leveraging that accessibility as well. Be it SMS notifications or proprietary debt collections apps, more and more vendors are taking advantage of smartphones to collect on accounts.
Data analytics. It's amazing what can be gleaned from even the most basic data, and debt collection is one market that definitely proves this. Through identifying demographics and simple behavioral trends of consumers—for example, what time of day people are more likely to answer the phone—agencies can improve almost every metric. It's a safe bet that data analysis will only get sharper in the future, both in terms of what kind of information gets collected and what kinds of assumptions can be drawn from it.