Collectmore Pty Ltd

09/02/2026

Are you guilty of this common mistake? Something we see so often is a debtor being given more chances than they deserve. As the saying goes, less is more. We were just sent a debt to collect for $9000. Invoice was 165 past due. Our client sent no less than 12 reminders, all around a month apart. Yes, 12. They encouraged us to share this story so as to help others who may be thinking the more reminders they send the more likely they are to be paid. Folks I am sorry to say but you won't be. Reminders become worthless after about the 5th one. Sending more than that actual lessens your chances of getting your money. What made it even worse for this client was they threatened debt collectors after the 5th one. But they never followed through and instead sent 7 more. Guys I cannot stress this point enough- 3 reminders followed by a Final Notice or Letter of Demand is ideal. 4 is too many and 5 is potentially kissing your money goodbye. And more importantly if you're going to threaten debt collection you absolutely MUST follow through with it. The next day. If you're not ready to then don't threaten it.
I really hope this helps guys. And for those wondering sure enough we collected the $9000 within the first 10 minutes. As expected the debtor had the money all along.

Cheers

02/12/2025

Rant alert!!

After 25 years doing debt collection the audacity of some business owners continues to shock me. A client of ours just contacted us because they're owed $40,000 and their debtor has emailed them saying they will pay before the end of the year. The invoice is already 60 days overdue. Not a cent has been paid so far. What makes this audacity so grating however is in the director's email signature it has the addresses of their four separate locations including one which is they're "brand new headquarters". I am sorry but if you can afford to move into a brand new headquarters then you can pay your debts. Not only that but the email wasn't even personalised. It was generic which has clearly been sent to everyone they currently owe money to. Needless to say I implored our client to send the debt to us rather than agree to their extension "demand". Wasn't even a request. Businesses like this truly are the worst and you should never, ever, ever, ever agree to be their bank. Put your foot down and say NO!

Cheers guys

15/07/2025

Don't ever say this if you want to get paid.

We see a lot of emails sent to debtors by people wanting their money. Some are good, some are bad and others are downright awful. If drafted correctly, email is the single most powerful contact method available. But what lets down so many people is mixed messaging. Here's an example:

Dear Mr Debtor,

I hope you had a great weekend.

Unfortunately your invoice remains outstanding and you haven't paid as promised. I will now be sending it to our debt collectors unless it is paid today.

Many thanks,

Who can see the problem with this? The middle is great but the start and end are awful. All this debtor will remember is you thanking them for not paying and hoping they had a great weekend. If you want them to take your email seriously your message MUST be consistent. Remove all fluff and niceties. It's completely unnecessary. Save your kind words and politeness for sales emails, customer service or gentle reminders. Being too nice does not get you paid. Being firm and assertive does.

Cheers guys

16/02/2025

"Chase the debt, not the debtor".

I live and breathe this saying. Even after all these years I still repeat this mantra in my mind countless times each day as a way to stay motivated. So what does it mean? Simply put it means focus only on the amount you're owed, not who owes it. It is so easy to feel deflated when you know your customer owes all their other suppliers money too. When their phone number is disconnected and emails are bouncing back. Remaining motivated when it all seems too hard is bloody tough and it's no wonder so many bad debts get written off. But changing your focus to chasing a number rather than a person or business gives you a tremendous surge of confidence and determination. Focus on the amount only. Remove all the negativity from your mind and chase that number. Take it from us- we've collected hundreds of millions of dollars for people who told us it couldn't be done. That their debtor is going into liquidation or owes money everywhere. That they'll never pay. Did we listen? Hell no. Every debt is collectable until it isn't. That's our motto. Who or what entity owes it is academic. How much it is- that's all that matters.

Cheers guys

20/01/2025

Why saying no almost always leads to $$$

If there are multiple outstanding invoices on your customer's Statement then unfortunately my friend, you have a problem. When was the last time you cut off a debtor who owed you money? Said no when they asked you to do more work or provide more stock? Told them you'd only agree once they've paid you in full? If you're like most small businesses the answer is never. The promise of more money casts a spell over almost all of us. Especially when you're new in business. Future money appears more valuable than current money. It takes a very strong will to say no to "Once you do this new job I will pay you for the old job". Or even worse, this- "I need this new work otherwise I can't pay you for the old work". Holding your current invoice to ransom- classic debtor behaviour. One of the oldest tricks in the book. And what breaks our heart is that forgiving, trusting creditors almost always fall for it. Saying NO and meaning NO is an artform. It takes guts. But we simply cannot stress how vital it is. All allowing them to incur more debt does is increase your risk. It enables them. It reinforces a negative. And it almost never gets you paid. Saying yes doesn't get you paid- saying no does. 3 invoices, 1 month apart. That is the limit we recommend. If an invoice is due on the 30th September and it's still outstanding when they ask for more work or place a new order on the 5th November, what should your answer be? Exactly. Still not convinced? We were sent a new debt to collect last Thursday from a client who still owed us commission from December. Did I decline? You're damn right I did. Did they pay the outstanding and apologize profusely that same day? You're damn right they did.

Cheers guys, and happy new year to all! Here's to 2025!

28/10/2024

"What is your ABN?"

If your customer is a business then I cannot, cannot, stress how important asking this question is. You simply MUST get their ABN number. If you don't then you're opening yourself up to a whole lot of unnecessary risk. If you're giving a business time to pay, AKA credit, then you must always be thinking worst case scenario, being- they don't pay. If you have their ABN then you can use it to find their correct business information. You can use it to establish the correct entity you're going after. And when it comes to listing a credit default or suing them, this stuff matters. In fact it more than matters- it's vital. So ask the question- "what is your ABN?". If they ask why tell them you need it for invoicing purposes. Simple. If they say they don't have one then they don't have a business. And they will be liable for paying you themselves. So many people, new business owners especially, are so excited about getting a new customer or a new sale that they become blinded. All judgment and common sense goes out the window and they avoid asking questions like this because they don't want to offend. But please, take it from us- asking for their ABN isn't an offensive question. In fact it actually enhances your reputation and makes you sound thorough and diligent. Professional and particular. Please take it from us.

Cheers guys

21/10/2024

Discounting- just don't do it.

Almost every single week we get sent debts which are for two amounts- the original amount plus the discounted amount. When we ask why it's almost always because the client thought they were being nice. Generous. Accommodating. They thought it would incentivize the debtor to pay. And guess how often it actually does? Hardly ever. All discounting does is devalue your product or service. It's a sign of weakness which savvy debtors will absolutely seize upon. It's as if you're saying "just pay this lesser amount, I don't deserve the full amount". Not only this but once you offer a reduced amount, it's almost impossible to then revert back to the original amount. As soon as you amend the invoice, that's it. You cannot amend it back. Now this isn't to say you should never discount- but let them make the first offer. Don't ever be the one to start. And if you do discount, start small. 5%. And you should only do so as an absolute last resort. Back yourself and be confident that the product or service you provided is worth what you've charged.

Cheers guys

10/09/2024

If you want your money, you have to go and get it. Anyone who has ever had to chase payment would know that it's hard work. Like it's bloody tough. Don't let anyone ever tell you it's easy. We know that as well as anyone. And right now, in this economy, it's even more difficult. It's the unanswered calls, the emails that aren't returned, the reminders that are ignored. It's the broken promises and the negative thoughts that start to get into your head- "I might never see this money". This is all completely normal. As is that inner voice of yours screaming "JUST PAY YOUR DEBT!!!". It shouldn't be this way. It's unfair and it sucks but it is the reality. An outstanding debtor is unreliable and if you want your money from them, you have to go and get it. You cannot wait for them to come to you. I just spoke with a debtor who promised to pay $1500 last Friday. He didn't, and all day yesterday he was ignoring my calls and texts. So I used a different phone today and sure enough he answered. Said he would pay in full today and he just did. What does this tell you? Would he have paid today if I hadn't called him on that other phone? Not a chance in hell. I knew that if he was going to pay I had to go to him. It was on me to get it done not the other way around. Debtors are reactive- they will pay when they need to. They will pay who is making the most noise. Spot fires are forever being put out because self-preservation is their priority.
We really hope this helps. It's so hard to stay motivated when you're constantly being ignored or lied to but it really is the only way. Just know that your hard work is much more likely to pay off than the alternative is.
Cheers guys

16/06/2024

Want to get paid before 30th June? Here is what to do.

EOFY is in less than two weeks. If you're owed money then getting it paid before the 30th June is absolutely vital. Here are the benefits:

For you:

- Gets the debt off your books so you can start the new financial year fresh.
- You don't have to use your own money to pay the GST if you're registered.
- Makes your 30 June balance sheet look much better.
- Lets you begin the new financial year with more money in the bank.
- Makes your P & L much more accurate for accounting purposes.

For the debtor:

- Gets your debt off their books so they can start the new financial year fresh.
- Allows them to claim the GST if they're registered.
- Makes their 30 June balance sheet look more accurate

So they're the benefits but how do you make it happen? Easy. Make the 30th June D-Day. Create urgency using this day as the ultimate deadline. Come Monday 1st July all bets are off. No more mister nice guy. You must convey to them that you will escalate the debt on the 1st July if it's still outstanding. But don't just threaten it. You must follow through. Make Monday 1st July the day you stop allowing them to walk over you and dictate terms. All bad debts are avoidable. And if they reply saying they can't pay in full by the 30th June then ask our favourite question in the world:

"What's the absolute most you can pay?"

Anything is better than nothing at this time of the year. You don't want outstanding invoices falling over into the new financial year if you can help it. Hope this helps.

Cheers

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23/05/2024

Who is to blame when an invoice is outstanding? It's the debtor right? They're the ones who haven't paid so surely it's their fault. We're here to tell you this is only somewhat true. The creditor themselves is so often partly to blame and you only need to spend a day in our shoes to see what we mean. So often debtors are enabled by the very people they owe money to. Here are some examples of what we mean:

- A mechanic doing work on a car but letting the debtor drive it away without paying
- An electrician doing work and being promised by the debtor they will pay later that night
- Anyone handing an invoice to a debtor giving them 14 days to pay
- An accountant doing $10,000 worth of work without getting a deposit up front
- Any business continuing to do more work when existing invoices remain outstanding
- Any business releasing goods because they were sent a payment receipt but before the money actually arrived
- Signing off any reminder email with "thank you so much"

We could go on. Some people are literally their own worst enemy. We know why it happens. We really do. It's because they TRUST the debtor. They TRUST they will do the right thing. Folks you cannot trust anyone in business. How often do you think we see trust broken and the fallout? Every single day. If you want to be paid you MUST put yourself first. You MUST stop being so nice to people who do not deserve it. Of the hundreds of new debts we get sent each month, 95% of them could have been avoided. 95%. Almost every single one never needed to happen. But they happened because the creditor, inadvertently, allowed it to.

Cheers guys

20/05/2024

We just collected $4300 from one of the largest and most recognized brands in Australia. A company you would never in a million years expect to be sent to debt collectors. But they did and the invoices that landed on my desk were treated like any other debt we're asked to collect. Our client had done works at one of their sites and followed every single compliance requirement necessary in order to get paid. A Purchase Order was obtained, the works were signed off on, the invoices sent to the dedicated inbox. But each time they were rejected for payment with a "technical error" cited as the reason. Tearing their hair out in frustration they engaged us. I knew straight away that this would need a very different approach. A novel approach and one which I had a feeling would work. Turns out I own shares in this particular company. Knowing the conventional channels above hadn't worked and wouldn't work, I went straight to the top- the CFO. Of the whole company. I had their email address as it was all over their disclosures and lodgments with the ASX. Knowing how many hundreds of emails each day this person probably received however, I knew I had to be strategic. So I disarmed them from the outset. Told them I owned shares, acknowledged their great performance to date and thanked them for the dividend cheque they'd sent me not a month prior. I then explained the situation. Within 30 minutes they replied apologizing profusely and cc'ing in their Senior Financial Controller requesting our client be paid immediately. An hour later the money was in their account. The moral of this story is this- if Plan A isn't working, try Plan B. Or C. Or D. Basically do whatever it takes to get paid. This company had incredibly stringent protocols for paying suppliers. But I knew someone, somewhere, would have the discretion to bypass them. And they did.

Cheers guys

14/05/2024

Pty Ltd company vs individual. Which debtor is easier to chase?

Most businesses have a mixture of both customers. But is one easier to get money from than the other? Each have their own pro's and con's and establishing what type of customer you have as early as possible is vital.

Pty Ltd company pros:

- Often multiple people in the business you can speak with, demand payment from or escalate to.
- Often they will have an online profile including website where you can obtain vital info
- Shareholders who are invested in the success of the company meaning you enforcing your debt is the last thing they will want
- If your debt is more than $4000 and not in dispute then you can serve a Statutory Demand which gives them 21 days to pay you in full
- Most legal documents can be served by post meaning no risk of the debtor hiding or actively avoiding service
- Expensive to liquidate a company and risk of insolvent trading claims if they do go under. Often cheaper to just pay the debts and then deregister
- All company information is publicly available meaning it's easy to get their company name correct

Pty Ltd company cons:

- Very easy to abandon a company and start another one under a different name to avoid paying debts
- High failure rate of small businesses in Australia with many being run by people with zero acumen
- High likelihood the company also owes other suppliers money
- Potential for preferential payment action by liquidators if you get paid and then the company goes under

Individual pros:

- Only one of them. This means one credit file, one set of assets, one income.
- Going bankrupt is much more damaging than liquidating a company. Permanent record for life.
- You're dealing with a human with emotions that can feel guilt and remorse meaning they may wake up one day and want to pay you. A company isn't a living, breathing thing. It's merely an entity that exists only on paper.

Individual cons:

- May avoid any type of legal action and evade any attempts to serve them
- Easy to go bankrupt and costs nothing if using the public trustee
- For legal action to be successful you will need to have their name perfectly correct. This can be difficult.

Which do we prefer? Definitely Pty Ltd company's. The fact you can take enforcement action without needing them to co-operate is the biggest benefit. As is the Statutory Demand.

Cheers guys