B2B Collections: A CFO's Guide to Commercial Debt Recovery

B2BCommercial law — FDCPA does not apply

70-85%Recovery <12mo clean documentation

EOPEU: fastest cross-border instrument

What B2B Collections Actually Means

B2B onlyFDCPA exemptCommercial law — not consumer protection statutes

ECB+8ppEU Dir.2011/7EUR 40 fixed compensation per invoice automatic

MahnverfahrenGermany§§688-703d ZPO — weeks to enforceable title

70-85%<12mo recoveryClean docs in stable jurisdictions

10-25%ContingencyNo recovery = no commission

4-stage B2B collection framework

1

Amicable + pre-legal: 4-stage framework

Stage 1 (Day 0-60): Formal demand in debtor language citing contract reference, statutory interest, EUR 40 fixed compensation (EU). Stage 2 (Day 45-90): agency escalation — tone signals litigation imminent. 30-50% close here. B2B moves faster than B2C — no consumer cooling-off periods. Documentation carries more weight than consumer law.

2

Judicial: payment order procedures by jurisdiction

Mahnverfahren (DE) §§688-703d ZPO. Decreto ingiuntivo (IT) Arts.633-656 CPC. Proceso monitorio (ES) Arts.812-818 LEC. Injonction de payer (FR) Arts.1405-1425 CPC. EOP Reg.1896/2006 — no ceiling — directly enforceable 27 EU states. Each country has its own name, same logic: documents-only procedure, short debtor opposition window, no opposition → enforceable title.

3

CISG + enforcement: cross-border goods sales

CISG applies by default 95+ states. Art.53: buyer must pay — self-executing obligation. Art.59: no separate notice needed to trigger breach. Art.71: suspend performance when buyer clearly won’t perform. Art.74: damages including lost profit. Brussels I Recast: abolished exequatur — EU judgment enforces directly in all member states. Enforcement: bank attachment typically completes within days of bailiff receiving file.

Your company sold EUR 180,000 of components to a German buyer on 60-day terms. Day 90 passes. The buyer says “invoice in review.” Your auditor wants it off the watchlist. B2B collection moves on a different track from consumer — faster, more documentary, more procedurally direct. The FDCPA does not apply. EU Directive 2011/7 does.

Payment Order Procedures by Jurisdiction

JurisdictionInstrumentTimeline

Germany

Mahnverfahren

ZPO §§688-703d — online filing — enforceable title weeks without court appearance

2-4 weeks

Italy

Decreto ingiuntivo

Arts.633-656 CPC — ex parte on documentation — provisional enforceability available

15-40 days

Spain

Proceso monitorio

Arts.812-818 LEC — no ceiling since 2009 reform — 20-day debtor response

20d response

France

Injonction de payer

Arts.1405-1425 CPC — tribunal de commerce for commercial debts

4-8 weeks

EU cross-border

EOP Reg.1896/2006

No monetary ceiling — enforceable all EU states — 30-day opposition window

Direct enforcement

Japan

Tokusoku tetsuzuki

Code of Civil Procedure — demand-for-payment procedure — 2 weeks from service

2 weeks

What is B2B collections?

B2B collections pursues unpaid commercial invoices between businesses under commercial law and civil procedure — not consumer-protection statutes. FDCPA (US) and FCA CONC (UK) do not apply. EU Directive 2011/7: ECB+8pp + EUR 40 per invoice automatically. Four stages: amicable (Day 0-60) → pre-legal (Day 45-90, 30-50% close) → payment order → enforcement. Recovery: <12mo 70-85%, 12-24mo 50-65%, >24mo 25-45%.