br Businesses sell products and services for profit. The income generated from sales is reinvested in the business for growth and maintenance. When customers do not make payments or delay payments, valuable time and money is lost trying to recover the debt. br br Hiring a collection agency earlier in the debt recovery process increases the chances of recovering more of the unpaid debt in lesser time. However, in the interest of maintaining customer relationships, other ways of debt collection can be tried before hiring a collection agency. br br Be proactive br br Prevention is better than cure. Verify the financial situation of customers before extending credit to them by checking their credit rating. br br Specify terms of repayment clearly br br Terms of the credit transaction should be set down clearly in the contract between the customer and you.