Your practice
Who you are and how you would like the partnership to work. There is no cost, no minimum, and nothing to install.
Find your practice
Search by name or enter your company number, so the partner agreement names the right entity. An unincorporated practice? Skip this and type the details below.
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First, your business
We check the register so the legal entity on your paperwork is exactly right. Writing to the wrong entity is the most common reason a debt gets disputed on a technicality.
The appointment
Who you are, the company you are appointed over, and where recoveries go. We check the company on the register so every letter carries its name and status exactly as the notice has them.
Find your company Find the company you are appointed over
Search by name or enter your company number. Sole trader or partnership? Skip this and fill in the details below. Search by name or enter its company number. The register gives us the exact name, number and registered office for the letters.
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Referred by the accountancy practice or adviser who sent you, if any
Your ledger
Rough numbers are fine. This tells us which service actually fits, and we would rather tell you not to buy something than sell you the wrong thing.
Your clients
Rough numbers are fine. This tells us how to set the partnership up, not what you are committing to.
Do you have an insolvency arm, or refer insolvency work?
No We refer to a firm we work with Yes, licensed practitioners in the practice
If you do, we can set the practice up for appointments as well as referrals, so book debts on a client that fails are realised under the same sign-in.
The book
Rough numbers are fine. The realisation report, within one working day of the ledger arriving, will give you the exact figures.
Oldest open invoice
Under 90 days 3 to 6 months 6 to 12 months 1 to 2 years Over 2 years
The company's accounting system
Xero QuickBooks Sage FreeAgent Spreadsheet Other or unknown
Does the export include invoices already paid, with the date paid?
Yes, six years of history Yes, some history Open invoices only Not sure
This is what makes the first phase possible: statutory interest and compensation on every invoice the company was paid late for in the last six years, whether or not the customer still owes anything.
How we get the ledger
Export from the accounting system Read-only connection to the accounting system From the company's former bookkeeper or accountant Not yet decided
Your standard payment terms
7 days 14 days 30 days 45 days 60 days 90 days Varies by customer
Accounting system
Xero QuickBooks Sage FreeAgent Spreadsheet Other
How old is the oldest one you would still chase?
Under 90 days 3 to 6 months 6 to 12 months 1 to 2 years Over 2 years
Statutory entitlements stay claimable for six years in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, five in Scotland. Anything older than that we will tell you to write off.
What do you need from us?
Pick everything that applies. You are not locked in and the free scan comes first either way.
How you want to work with us
Pick everything that applies. None of it is exclusive and you can change it in the practice area.
What we realise
Two phases, instructed together or separately. Both come from the same ledger and both are reported before anything is sent.
Fees are invoiced monthly against realisations and are expected to be treated as a Category 1 disbursement under SIP 9. Recoveries go to the administration or liquidation account only; Clearline collects only where you specify it and remits within two working days.
How we chase, and how far
This is the important part and it takes two minutes. These settings govern every letter, call and decision, and you can change them any time.
Authority and approvals
What we may agree without referring to you, and who approves the formal steps. You can change any of it once the appointment is open.
How we handle your clients
Your clients instruct us directly and set their own parameters. These are the things that concern you.
Who at the practice sees the numbers
The practice area shows each introduced client's counts, money and status. Add anyone else who should have a sign-in.
Any customers we should treat differently?
Optional, and you can add more later. Flagging a relationship now is the single best way to protect it.
Clients you would like to introduce first
Optional. Anyone you list gets an invitation with your referral attached, copying you in, once the practice account is open.
First introductions
+ Add a client
Debtors to exclude or handle separately
Optional, and you can add more once the appointment is open. Anything listed here is left out of the ladder until you say otherwise.
Excluded debtors
Related parties, retention of title claims, set-off, anything already in litigation, or a debtor you are dealing with yourself.
+ Add a debtor
Customers to handle carefully
We chase them, but gently, in your voice for longer, and we hold statutory sums back as leverage rather than claiming them.
+ Add a customer
Relationships that are over
No relationship to protect, so we claim everything the law allows and escalate on the normal timetable.
+ Add a customer
Anything in dispute?
Tell us now. We never chase through a genuine dispute, and knowing in advance stops an awkward letter going out. Anything the directors or the former finance team have told you is contested. We never chase through a genuine dispute, and knowing in advance stops a letter going out that later has to be withdrawn.
Check and authorise
Check and instruct
Check and agree
Everything you have told us, in one place. Nothing has been submitted yet.
Letter of authority Instruction as recovery agent Partner agreement
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This is what we send to a debtor if they ask who we are and on whose behalf we act. It confirms we are your agent. It does not sell, assign or transfer the debt, and you remain the creditor throughout. This is what we send to a debtor if they ask on whose behalf we act. Clearline acts as recovery agent on behalf of the company, instructed by its appointed practitioners. Nothing is sold or assigned, and the appointment schedule you sign with us case by case governs the detail. The partnership in one paragraph. Your clients contract with Clearline directly on the published terms; you are never party to a recovery and never liable for a fee.