Collections is one of the most operationally complex problems in the rental industry.
At eZhire, a customer who doesn't return a car or doesn't pay their invoice triggers a recovery workflow that spans multiple departments, multiple communication channels, and potentially legal escalation. Before we built the Recovery Platform, all of that happened in spreadsheets, WhatsApp messages, and phone calls.
The result: no visibility, no accountability, no measurement, and a collections rate that couldn't be tracked with any precision.
This is how we built the system that changed that.
The Problem with Manual Collections
Manual collections isn't just slow — it's fundamentally unscalable.
When a customer account goes delinquent, someone needs to:
- Identify the account (find it in a spreadsheet)
- Check the balance and history (cross-reference multiple sheets)
- Decide on the action (call, message, escalate, write off)
- Execute and log the action (manually update the spreadsheet)
- Follow up on the next cycle (remember to check again)
At 50 delinquent accounts, this is manageable. At 500, it's chaos.
Beyond the scale problem, manual processes have a consistency problem. Different agents handle cases differently. Some escalate quickly; others give too much time. Some communicate by phone; others by WhatsApp. There's no SLA, no standardization, and no way to know what's working.
What We Built
The Recovery Platform is a purpose-built collections system integrated into the eZhire ERP.
At its core, it has three components:
1. Workflow Engine
Every delinquent account is automatically entered into a configurable recovery workflow. The workflow defines:
- Stages — Day 1, Day 7, Day 14, Day 30, legal escalation
- Actions per stage — SMS, WhatsApp, call task, email, payment link
- Escalation triggers — Balance thresholds, response status, account history
- Auto-progression — Accounts move through stages automatically unless manually held
This means the system handles the "what to do next" decision for every account, every day. Agents execute tasks; the system manages the workflow.
2. ClearGrid Integration
ClearGrid is our debt collection partner for accounts that reach legal escalation stage. We built a deep integration that:
- Automatically submits accounts to ClearGrid when escalation criteria are met
- Syncs payment status back from ClearGrid in real-time
- Tracks collection fees, legal costs, and settlement amounts
- Reconciles ClearGrid collections with NetSuite financial records
Before this integration, submitting accounts to ClearGrid was a manual process. After, it's automatic.
3. Real-Time Reporting
The Recovery dashboard gives Finance, FinOps, and Operations leadership a real-time view of:
- Total outstanding balance by age bucket (0-30, 31-60, 61-90, 90+)
- Collections this month vs. last month vs. same period last year
- Agent performance metrics (tasks completed, contact rate, resolution rate)
- Workflow stage distribution (how many accounts at each stage)
- ClearGrid portfolio performance
Before the platform, nobody had a live view of the recovery portfolio. After, the CFO can see it in real-time.
The Integration Architecture
The Recovery Platform integrates with three systems:
Checkout.com — Payment links are generated and sent directly from recovery tasks. When a customer pays, the payment event flows back into the platform and updates the account status.
ClearGrid — Accounts are submitted, tracked, and reconciled automatically. Legal escalation is no longer a manual handoff.
Oracle NetSuite — All recovery transactions (payments, write-offs, legal costs) are synced to NetSuite for financial reporting and revenue recognition.
The event flow:
Account delinquent → Recovery workflow starts
→ Agent completes tasks (calls, messages)
→ Payment received → Checkout.com webhook
→ NetSuite sync → Account closed
OR
→ Escalation threshold hit → ClearGrid submission
→ ClearGrid collects → Sync back → NetSuite reconciliation
The Results
Within the first quarter after launch:
- 65% of delinquent accounts were resolved in the same calendar month
- 85%+ of delinquent accounts were resolved within 3 months
- Collections portfolio size dropped by 40% as backlog was cleared
- Agent productivity increased by 3x (more accounts handled per agent per day)
- Finance had their first-ever real-time view of the outstanding portfolio
These numbers didn't come from working harder. They came from eliminating the friction and ambiguity that the manual process created. When every agent knows exactly what to do next, and the system tracks every action and outcome, collections becomes a process instead of a scramble.
What I'd Do Differently
Model the workflows before building the engine. We spent two weeks rebuilding the workflow engine after launch because the initial design didn't account for manual overrides and workflow branching. Detailed flow modeling upfront would have saved that time.
Build the reporting layer first. We built reporting after the workflow engine. If we'd built it first, we would have understood the data model better and made different decisions about what to track.
Collections is unglamorous work. Nobody celebrates a great recovery platform at a product launch event. But at the operational level, it's one of the highest-leverage systems you can build — because it protects revenue that already exists.