How to choose a collection agency for your software or tech company

Most commercial collection agencies will happily take your software receivables—and then work them exactly like an unpaid freight bill or a gym membership. For SaaS renewals, usage overages, and enterprise contracts, that's how money gets left on the table and customers get torched. If you're a CFO, controller, or credit manager at a tech company, here's how to choose well.

1. Industry fit beats size

The biggest agency isn't the best one for you. Ask what percentage of their book is software, internet, AI, and technology debt. A specialist's collectors already understand auto-renewal clauses, usage-based billing, SLAs, and channel disputes—so your debtor can't out-jargon them. A generalist learns on your account, slowly.

2. Transparent, contingency pricing

You should never pay to try to collect. Look for straight contingency—no setup fees, no hourly billing, nothing unless they recover. Reasonable market rates run around 25% on fresher accounts and more on aged ones, negotiable on volume. If the pricing is complicated, that's a flag.

3. Compliance and security you can hand to your auditors

You're trusting an outside firm with customer data and your reputation. Confirm they're SOC 2 Type II compliant, a Commercial Law League of America (CLLA) member, and licensed and bonded in every state they work. These aren't nice-to-haves—they're table stakes for a finance vendor.

4. A relationship-safe option

Sometimes the late payer is also next year's renewal. The right agency offers more than one gear: full-strength collection when the relationship is gone, and a softer, audit-style approach when it isn't. If their only setting is "aggressive," they'll cost you customers.

5. Honesty about what's collectible

A good agency tells you on day one when an account isn't worth pursuing—and whether a lawsuit would win a judgment you could actually collect. Beware anyone who promises to chase everything; that's how you fund proceedings that cost more than they return.

Questions to ask on the first call

• What share of your placements are software/tech receivables?
• What's your success rate, and how do you define it?
• What's your average time to resolution?
• Can you handle international debtors?
• How do you protect a customer relationship we want to keep?

For the record, here's how we answer: software, internet, AI, and technology debt is all we do; 85.3% success on large claims placed within 12 months of delinquency; 23.6-day average resolution; yes to international; and a Soft Audit Program for relationships worth saving—all on contingency, no recovery, no fee.