Before you call a collection agency.
Agencies exist for a reason — but they’re built for debts you’ve nearly given up on, and they charge like it. Most unpaid invoices never needed an agency. They needed follow-up that actually happened.
The math
What each path actually costs.
| Collection agency | Triceratops | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Typically 25–50% of recovered amounts | $199/month flat · keep 100% of collections |
| Who talks to your customer | The agency, in the agency’s name — the relationship handoff is the point | You — the agent writes and sends in your name, with your approved tone |
| When it fits | Late-stage: seriously delinquent, unresponsive, or charged-off accounts | Early: every invoice from day zero, before accounts ever go bad |
| Customer relationship | Usually ends — "placed for collection" is hard to come back from | Preserved — polite persistence, and a review request when they pay happy |
| Payment friction | Their process, their timeline | One-tap pay link on every message · card + ACH |
| What you learn | Little — accounts leave your visibility | Everything — days-to-payment, collection rates, live on your dashboard |
The mechanism
Persistence, automated.
Most invoices go unpaid because follow-up is inconsistent, not because customers refuse. The agent makes persistence free: right channel, right tone, right timing — every invoice, every time, without anyone dreading the task.
- invoice.sentpay-by-link · card + ACH
- agent.followup#1email · friendly · personalized
- agent.followup#2sms · channel switched · tone adjusted
- invoice.paidsettled · relationship intact
When an agency is the right call
Honestly: sometimes it is. Accounts that are seriously delinquent, unresponsive after sustained good-faith follow-up, or already charged off belong with licensed professionals — that’s their lane, and it isn’t ours. Triceratops works your receivables early and in your own name precisely so that far fewer accounts ever reach that point.
Try persistence before you try a percentage.
Run a $1,999 sprint on your aged receivables — before/after numbers included — or start on the platform today.