Debt Recovery · Professional Services
Recover unpaid legal, accounting, consulting and architecture fees.
Professional services businesses face a specific collections paradox: the client disputing your invoice is often someone you'd like to keep. Retainer disputes, scope creep arguments, and 'value' objections are used to delay payment on work that was clearly delivered. Recovia's professional services recovery team handles these accounts with a commercial, relationship-aware approach — firm on the entitlement, careful with the relationship.
Industry challenges
Why Professional Services businesses struggle to collect.
Scope disputes
Clients who didn't sign off on a clear scope of work routinely dispute invoices on 'value' or 'scope creep' grounds. The strength of your engagement letter determines how far this argument gets.
Retainer disagreements
Ongoing retainer clients sometimes challenge accumulated work-in-progress at the end of an engagement, disputing months of invoices at once. Early collection of each invoice is always better than chasing a large arrears balance.
Relationship preservation
The client disputing your invoice may have future work, or may refer future work. Recovery has to be handled in a way that doesn't permanently damage the commercial relationship — or the referral network.
Trust accounting complexity
For law firms, costs in trust must be drawn correctly. We understand legal trust accounting and work within those constraints when assisting with law practice invoice recovery.
How Recovia helps
Recovery built for Professional Services.
Negotiation-first
We start with a structured negotiation — a formal payment request with the engagement documents attached and a clear payment timeline. Most professional service debts are resolved at this stage.
Documentation review
Before first contact, we review your engagement letter, time records, and invoices. Gaps in the paper trail get flagged — we'll tell you if a dispute has merit before we pursue it.
Scope dispute handling
We respond to scope objections with the original engagement terms and a structured counter-proposal. If the scope was agreed, we pursue it. If there's genuine ambiguity, we advise on a negotiated resolution.
Early placement advantage
Professional service invoices placed within 60 days of the due date recover at roughly double the rate of those placed at 180+ days. The longer you wait, the stronger the 'I don't remember agreeing to that' argument becomes.
Court escalation pathway
For disputed accounts that won't settle, we have a clear escalation path to NSW Local Court and District Court — no need to separately engage a solicitor for the recovery action.
No win, no fee
Commission on recovered amounts only. Professional services firms pay nothing upfront and nothing if we don't recover.
FAQ
Common questions about Professional Services debt recovery.
Can you recover fees where the client disputes the scope of work?
Yes. Scope disputes are the most common reason professional services invoices go unpaid. We review your engagement letter and work records, prepare a structured response to the objection, and pursue the documented entitlement.
What if my client is also a referral source?
We handle professional service debts with the relationship in mind. Our approach is professional in tone and gives the client multiple opportunities to resolve the account — most do, without the relationship being permanently damaged.
How does commission work for large invoices?
Commission rates are negotiated for accounts above $50,000. Contact us to discuss volume or high-value placement pricing.
Do you work with law firms on cost recovery?
Yes. We work with law firms on unpaid costs accounts, including matters with trust account implications. We understand the legal practice obligations and work within them.
Ready to recover your professional services debts?
Commission-only, no upfront cost, and a team that understands your industry. Place your accounts today.