International debt collection, how does it work?

The Netherlands is an exporting country. Many companies do business with foreign companies and are therefore faced with extra payment risks. Because besides the language and time barrier and the literal and figurative distance to your non-paying customer, every country has its own laws, rules and customs.

It is therefore important that you prepare for non-paying customers.

Some precautionary measures

International debt collection is anything but simple. To protect yourself against the possible risks of unpaid invoices abroad, you can take a number of measures in advance.

• Gather as much information about your customer as possible before doing business with them. You can then easily check whether he can meet his obligations.
• Know that the lack of documents proving the debt makes the collection of your claims more difficult than necessary. It is important to keep all documentation about the debt, especially the order and delivery notes and the correspondence and e-mail between you and your customer.
• Also draw up a watertight contract with general terms and conditions that are clear and conclusive.
• Finally, the last measure may sound harmless, but we still strongly advise you not to wait to long to send your invoices.
• Take your accounts receivable seriously.

Amicable collection abroad

If the payment term has expired, take the first action as soon as possible. Call your customer. Ask why payment has not yet been made. You can then solve problems as quickly as possible. This prevents objections at a later stage. Is your customer still not paying? Then follow up your first action with a second. Send a written reminder with a short payment term. Of course you are free to approach your customer a third time, but do not wait too long with a collection procedure. The older your invoice is, the less likely it is to be paid. Did you know that at a gross margin of 20% you need 5 sales to collect an unpaid invoice?

Your debtor does not respond to your actions?

Then it’s time to call in TCM Netherlands. We work together with local offices of TCM Group international. They know the local laws and regulations and can contact your debtor much faster and more efficiently. They know how to deal with administrative and cultural obstacles on the spot. In this process we undertake all collection actions that fall under an amicable collection.

Judicial debt recovery abroad

Of course there are always claims that are not paid despite all efforts. By working with TCM Netherlands, you will receive sound advice on whether legal proceedings are worthwhile . The legal procedure is also regulated locally. Our TCM partners know better than anyone what legal steps they can take.