Straight answers on getting paid. For owners chasing another business.

Start with what you can prove: the signed contract or purchase order, the invoice, and proof the work was done or the goods were delivered. Call the person who approved the purchase, not only accounts payable, and ask one plain question: is there a problem with the invoice, or a problem paying it? Put whatever you agree in writing with a date on it. If several attempts produce no payment, no dispute and no dated commitment, your own effort has done what it can and the account should move to a commercial collector before it ages any further. The full playbook is in how to collect past due accounts receivable.

Work out which kind of refusal it is. A customer who disputes the work needs the dispute resolved or documented. A customer who cannot pay needs a realistic plan. A customer who simply will not pay needs outside pressure. In all three cases, stop shipping on open terms until the balance is settled, keep every email and call note, and do not let the account sit. Age is the strongest single predictor of what gets recovered.

A collector contacts the business that owes the money, by phone and in writing, and works to reach the person who can actually approve the payment. Part of the job is finding out why the customer stopped paying, because that usually decides the fix: a lump sum, a payment plan or a corrected invoice. Our collectors average more than 25 years of experience each, and the goal is always to get you paid without a lawsuit. Legal forwarding stays a last resort. The five steps are laid out on how it works.

For most past due business invoices, the agency comes first. An agency works on contingency, so there is no fee unless money is collected, while going straight to court means filing fees and court costs before anything is recovered, and a lawsuit can open you up to countersuits. If an account does need to go to court, legal forwarding through us does not change your rate and adds no management fee. You pay filing fees and court costs at cost. Laws vary by state, so ask an attorney about your specific situation.

The agency keeps a share of what it actually recovers, agreed before the account is placed, and nothing if nothing is recovered. What deserves a hard look is everything around that share. Here there is no management fee, no paperwork fee and no increase if the account has to go to legal. Rates across the industry vary with the age and size of the account, which is why you get the number for your account on the first call rather than from a price list.

Five things. It collects commercial debt only. It works on contingency with no management fee. Its rate does not go up if the account goes to legal. You can see where every account stands, through progress updates, a monthly status report and an online portal. And it can prove it is certified, licensed and bonded (here is how to check that an agency is legitimate). Be wary of any agency that advertises a recovery rate.

Yes. Large balances are worked by the same veteran collectors, on contingency. On a big claim, speed and paperwork matter most: the contract, the invoices, proof of delivery, and any signed credit application or personal guarantee. Bring those to the first call and you get an honest read on whether the account is worth working before anything is placed. Accounts owed from another state or from overseas are worked too; see where we collect.

Not when the agency works the way it should. Only the business that owes you hears from a collector, and that collector is firm without threatening, insulting or shaming anyone. Customers who pay on time never hear from us at all. What hurts a small business is carrying a receivable that will never pay while it keeps extending credit to the same customer.