A practical debt recovery workflow for lenders

1. Detect and segment

Measure days past due from the oldest unpaid instalment and place each loan in a bucket (for example 1–30, 31–60, 61–90, 90+). Buckets drive urgency and treatment.

2. Remind early

Send approved, polite reminders before and just after the due date, within consent and permitted hours. Many accounts cure here at low cost.

3. Open a case

At your chosen threshold, open a case, assign an owner and prioritise using transparent factors such as arrears size, age and broken promises.

4. Contact and record

Log every call, message and outcome factually. Capture promises to pay with date and amount, and follow up automatically if broken.

5. Offer a way out

For genuine hardship, propose an arrangement or settlement. Require approval for discounts and record the borrower's acceptance method and evidence.

6. Handle disputes and complaints

Pause collection on disputed amounts, investigate within a set SLA, and record the decision.

7. Escalate carefully

Legal referral should be a reasoned, approved step with documents attached, not a default.

8. Close properly

Close as repaid, settled or written off through an approved workflow so reporting stays clean.