As a subscriber to our 3rd party collections services, it is essential that you understand how the process works and the benefits it brings to your business.
Q: WHAT IS 3rd PARTY COLLECTIONS?
A: 3rd party collections is the processes of recovering a debt owed to a business. Each day, past due accounts are placed into 3rd party status according to your established date. 90 days is the standard setting recommended, but it can be customized to your preference. The goal of 3rd party collections is to recover lost revenue and attempt to return members to active draft.
Q: HOW CAN I TELL IF AN ACCOUNT IS IN 3RD PARTY?
A: In the agreement summary of the account, the status will read “3rd party". This status means that the member has reached the threshold for default (generally 90 days) on one or more payments, and is currently being worked by the Swift Funds team. If the account status reads "in collections," the account is in the Past Due Communications (PDC) process and being worked by ClubReady’s internal professional services provider.
Q: IS CLUBREADY INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS?
A: ClubReady does not contact or attempt to collect debt from members in 3rd party status. All 3rd party
collection communications are carried out by Swift Funds.
Q: HOW DOES THE COLLECTIONS PROCESS WORK? WHEN DOES IT START?
A: The collections process starts when a member reaches default. The agreement in default is canceled,
tagged "3rd party”, and pushed over to Swift Funds via API. The amount to be collected from the debtor is the balance of all outstanding invoices tied to the agreement (whether past due or not), plus the collection fee.
Q: IS THE DEBT REPORTED TO THE CREDIT BUREAUS?
A: Yes. Swift Funds will report the debt to all major credit bureaus. This reporting happens approximately 30 days after the agreement is placed into 3rd party.
Q: WHAT FEES ARE ASSOCIATED WITH USING 3RD PARTY COLLECTIONS?
A: The collection fee on payments made to Swift Funds and directly to the club is decided at the moment of signing with ClubReady (refer to your Terms of Services contract). This fee is added to the debtor’s account where applicable.
Q: CAN THE CLUB TAKE PAYMENTS ON MEMBERS IN 3RD PARTY?
A: Absolutely! We want the member to feel comfortable when settling their account. It is crucial to remember that a % fee will be deducted from the amount that has been collected; you may choose
to add the % fee to the balance shown in ClubReady when collecting a payment internally from a
defaulted member. As previously detailed, Swift Funds adds a % on top of the balanced placed when a member reaches 3rd party status. However, there are times when a settlement is offered to the member to encourage payment. In these instances, sometimes Swift Funds is not able to add the fee to the amount. In this case, the club may receive a % of the amount collected.
Q: WHY DOES SWIFT TAKE A COLLECTIONS FEE FOR PAYMENTS MADE TO THE CLUB?
A: Swift Fund’s collections fees apply to all payments taken after a member is placed into 3rd party status regardless of who collects the payment. Chances are, if a member has come in to pay their balance after their account was placed into 3rd party, it was Swift who initiated it via their team’s ongoing contact with the defaulted member.
Q: THIS MEMBER’S BALANCE IS UP-TO-DATE. WHY ARE THEY STILL RECEIVING CALLS?
A: First, check to ensure the account was/is in 3rd party status. The “notes” section of the member profile will indicate this. The communication of the PDC team can easily be confused with 3rd party because the account is tagged as "collections” while in the PDC process.
When an agreement is placed into 3rd party status, the Swift Funds API picks it up and sends it over to their collections system. But, when a staff member removes the account from 3rd party status in ClubReady, the API does not send this information over to Swift Funds. Because of this, Swift Funds requires a request, in writing, to remove a member from collections. These requests should be made via email to sjaworski@clubready.com.
Q: HOW DO I RECEIVE PAYMENTS FOR AMOUNTS COLLECTED BY SWIFT FUNDS?
A: Full Service/Fully Managed Subscribers: Payments collected by Swift Funds from the 1st – the end of the month are remitted the following month. Depending on your remit schedule, you will receive you’re your deposit in either the 3rd or 4th week of the month. The details of the 3rd party payments can be seen via remit report (Reports > Misc Reports > Remit Reports). Under the “adjustments” tab, payments collected are detailed. If a club runs a payment for an account in 3rd party status in-house, the payment will be received in the regular remit just like any other payment processed via POS. Swift’s collection fee will be taken in the month following processing. You can view this under “adjustments” in the remit report.
Club Managed Subscribers: Collections made from the 1st – the end of the month are sent via check from Swift Funds on the 15th of following month. The check will be sent to the address indicated on the set up form.
Q: HOW DID SWIFT RUN A PAYMENT THROUGH THE CLUB?
A: When Swift Funds collects a payment, the integration allows the club to see it on their end. The payment was processed externally but is visible in the member's profile for convenience. This payment can be seen under "Payments" and "Notes." This payment will be received in the month following its processing via remit or check.
Q: WHAT CAN I DO TO MAKE THE 3RD PARTY PROCESS RUN MORE EFFICIENTLY?
A: A couple suggestions are:
- Remember to correctly cancel agreements and invoices. If an agreement or invoice was not canceled accurately and the account has reached default, it will move into 3rd party status and be pushed over to Swift Funds.
- Check past due reports often. This practice is a great way to catch 3rd party placement mistakes before they happen. The past dues report will show the number of days an account has aged. If you see a member coming up on 90 days past due (or the club’s specific default cut-off), you should verify that the balance is valid and the account should be placed into 3rd party status.
- Cancel any invoices that you don’t want to be included in the balance to be collected. When an
agreement is canceled and pushed over to Swift Funds, any unpaid invoice, including future invoices, will be added to the balance. - Do not write a new agreement with the previous 3rd party balance tied in. It is critical that the account in 3rd party is settled before creating a new agreement. For Swift Funds to correctly report to the credit bureaus, the payment settling an account must be on the same agreement on which the default occurred.
Q: WHY WOULDN'T AN UNPAID AGREEMENT AUTOMATICALLY MOVE INTO 3RD PARTY COLLECTIONS?
A: There are three reasons:
- The (past due) agreement is either cancelled or inactive.
- The agreement is not tied to an invoice.
- The date range setting based off of your 'Place past due invoices into past due status'.
Q: WHO CAN I TALK TO IF I HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT 3RD PARTY COLLECTIONS?
A: Your best point of contact for 3rd party related questions is Sadie Anderson, 3rd Party Collections
Specialist for Swift Funds & ClubReady. Sadie’s email is sanderson@clubready.com.
If a member would like to settle their account with Swift Funds, the number which should be provided
is (888) 479-4384.