Up and down the country local authorities are pursuing various debt recovery methods – may it be for unpaid council tax, parking payments, business rates, sundry debt, or for other local authority debts. But this process is challenging, and has a major impact on cash flow. To ensure you get the debt you’re owed, follow these debt collection tips and best practices:

COMMUNICATION

Never take it personally when you don’t get paid on time. A reactionary response will rarely lead to success. Firstly, look into why the payment is late. Perhaps they simply forgot. To avoid this, provide gentle reminders on payment due dates. A secret to success when it comes to government and local authority debt collection is gradually increasingly the strength and assertiveness of your communication over time. A great benefit of LATERAL TECHNOLOGY’S omni-channel collection process is that it automates SMS, email, WhatsApp and voice calls. Customers are met with automated, positive, direct and assertive communications, which are proven to increase debt collection success rates, in addition to saving you money through automation.

LABOUR

The temptation is to employ numerous personnel in pursuit of council tax and local authority debt recovery, each person handling their own accounts. But the most productive approach is to free up your staff and automate processes. Designate a leader who can oversee debt collection, and couple this with running powerful software, such as LATERAL, which is proven to increase debt collection success rates and reduce overheads.

TECHNOLOGY

Today the most successful local authorities and councils are embracing technology in their pursuit of debt recovery. LATERAL’S powerful analytics and reporting tools can help you prioritise debt recovery, using advanced AI and machine learning processes. It is a ground-breaking, singular, streamlined system through which you can manage all debt across your authority.

Please get in touch for more information about how LATERAL can help your local authority.