Collection of accounts receivable as a way to protect business 2021

In order to collect receivables in court, you need to carefully prepare. It is necessary to collect evidence, correctly formulate the statement of claim and determine which arbitration court it should be submitted to. An appeal to the court can be made only after 30 days have passed after the claim was sent to the debtor. Next, we will consider the steps that should be taken before filing an appeal to the court.

It is worth recalling that accounts receivable is the amount of debt that an organization owes from customers or other debtors. The company expects to receive this amount within a certain time frame.

There are hardly any organizations that have not faced the need to collect receivables from dishonest counterparties. Some of them manage to achieve results by filing a claim, but this method is quite rarely effective. Most often, creditors are forced to go to court to protect their own rights and interests.

Send claims to the debtor

Before the creditor decides to go to court with a statement of claim containing information about the collection of overdue receivables, he needs to perform certain preparatory steps. First, you need to send a claim to the debtor, which must indicate the amount of the debt, as well as the grounds on which it arose. The claim must be accompanied by details that should be used to repay the amount, and copies of documents indicating the occurrence of the debt. If no response to the claim is received within a reasonable period of time, then you can begin preparing documentation for going to court.

Based on the practice of communicating with our clients, in order to simplify the preparation and sending of a letter of claim to the debtor, it is better to automate this process.

By automating the process of submitting a claim, we mean:

• Creation of claim letters in bulk based on a predefined template;
• Be able to add details and contact information of the debtor en masse to a template from the database;
• The ability to create a business process that will automatically send claim letters to a group of debtors who have reached a certain level of delinquency;
• Integration with the Russian Post service for automated sending of letters to debtors in bulk.

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Summary of the presented blocks

The steps described above are a methodological guide to closing your debt to a bank or other creditor using accounts receivable.

As you probably guessed, the main conditions are two main factors:

1. Search and acquisition of the required property record – it must meet the collection requirements.
2. A judgment on your debt.

No one except you will select the required DZ, but going to court may be difficult if you are not a lawyer. Therefore, we advise you to contact specialists in your region to correctly file a claim.

We also recommend that you consult with representatives of Rospotrebnadzor at your registered address. Such services are provided free of charge. Another plus is that Rospotrebnadzor employees can help you file a claim and attend the trial.

Check primary documents

A significant point in preparing for judicial debt collection is that the creditor has the originals of primary documentation, which confirms the fact that legal relations have been established. Of primary importance is the contract, which must contain essential terms and be signed by all authorized persons.

In some cases, there may be no agreement. In such a situation, the creditor, when going to court, has the right to provide another document. This possibility is specified in paragraph 2 of Art. 434 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, according to which it is permissible to conclude an agreement not only through the preparation of a single document signed by the parties, but also through the exchange of telegrams, letters, faxes and other documentation transmitted through various communication channels, including electronic. The only condition in the latter case is the possibility of reliably establishing that the document was sent by a party to the contract.

In addition, the creditor can confirm the existence of an obligation by providing certificates of completion of work, invoices and other primary documentation. Situations are quite common when the debtor repays the debt partially. This fact can be confirmed by payment documentation certifying partial payment (payment and other cash documents). When going to court, such circumstances must be taken into account.

An important point for debt collection is the existence of a reconciliation act carried out for mutual settlements. This document certifies the debtor's acceptance of the recognition and fulfillment of the debt. The specified act must be properly executed, having personally signed signatures of persons who are authorized representatives of the parties, and a transcript of these signatures. The document must necessarily contain an indication of the legal relations existing between the parties and their amount. The reconciliation act will assist the court in making an informed decision.

What accounts receivable documentation allows you to find out

Reports in this regard have a structure similar to reports on the company's financial activity in relation to its acquisitions and purchases. But there are also a number of differences. When analyzing debt documentation, you can find out answers to a number of questions:

1. How much money has already been received from debtors?
2. How much money was paid to creditors?
3. What is the amount of cash in the company's account at the moment?

The above questions will allow you to change the company’s financial policy in a timely manner. If the company needs additional funds, the report will help to calculate whether the available funds are enough for timely payments or whether it will have to turn to organizations providing loans.

If you need to apply for a loan, using the accounts receivable report, you can calculate how long the agreement will have to be drawn up. Debt documentation makes it possible to determine approximate cash receipts and urgent payments for the near future.

Using an accounts receivable report, you can free up some cash while deferring some debt payments. Based on this documentation, the company can decide which debtor to grant a deferment for payment.

I have information about projected receipts on the account, you can find out the following data:

1. Total amount owed.
2. Tax payment period.
3. Period of payment of wages to employees.
4. The amount of payments for the purchase of necessary equipment.

Debt can be repaid not only with cash; barter payment is also possible. For this reason, it is necessary to closely monitor accounts receivable reports. By analyzing this documentation, it is possible to identify unscrupulous payers and clarify the reasons for such a delay.

Types of accounts receivable. Photo: mosbuhuslugi.ru

Some companies, without the necessary controls, fail to understand the high importance of timely payment of debts. The head of the organization in such a situation needs to make a decision on how to proceed.

Any organization must be able to properly control settlements with buyers or customers. Strict accounting helps to find out in time the reasons for delays in the payment of funds and the timing of their expected receipt to the organization’s personal account.

There are a large number of programs that simplify the entire process of maintaining accounts receivable reports, the most popular of them is 1C. It is recommended to keep a table or chart. With its help, you can more clearly present all the necessary information for a certain date of any month.

If the list of debtors is too large, a diagram will greatly simplify the perception of the information flow. Preparation of the report involves 2 stages. The first is compiling a summary, the second is all the rest of the work.

How to create a summary

Accounts receivable summary is essential for better management of the company. This includes all accounts payable. The summary provides the following information.

1. Information about the seller or buyer of the product.
2. Payment dates.
3. Information about the company's products.
4. Terms of payments under the agreement.

The information described above must be included in the summary, but additional information may be indicated in it. The responsibility for compiling the summary lies with the company's finance team. The summary may include the following information:

1. Documentation confirming the fact of purchase and sale.
2. A contract that is the subject of obligations.
3. Documentation that confirms payment for the products.
4. Accounting documentation for financial statements.

The summary will be useful for the sales department, as it will help optimize credit policy when collaborating with other companies. The summary will help establish the best pricing policy for the company, which will reduce the likelihood of late payment of debt.

Based on the information obtained from the summaries, you can find out how solvent your customers are. They are ranked according to this.

Determine the possibility of debt collection in court

After checking the information specified above, the creditor needs to determine whether it is possible to go to court to collect the receivables. To do this, you need to clarify a number of questions:

• Has the debtor been liquidated?

If an entry was made in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities according to which the debtor’s activities were terminated due to liquidation, then it is impossible to bring a claim against him. However, if the debtor is in the process of bankruptcy, at one of its stages, then collection of receivables is carried out in the manner established by the Federal Law “On Insolvency”, that is, by including the claim in the existing register of creditors’ claims. Debt collection will be carried out in the order established by law.

If the debtor is an individual entrepreneur, then it should be taken into account that the termination of the functioning of an individual entrepreneur is not an obstacle to filing a claim for collection of receivables in court, since an individual undertakes to answer for all his existing obligations, including those formed in the course of business activities .

• Has the statute of limitations expired?

In general, this period is three years. Its calculation is carried out from the moment when the payment deadline was established. At the same time, if the parties did not indicate a payment deadline, then the rule of the second paragraph of Part 2 of Art. 200 Civil Code of the Russian Federation. According to it, if a deadline for fulfillment was not specified for obligations, then the limitation period should be calculated from the moment when the creditor acquired the right to make a claim regarding the fulfillment of obligations. If the debtor is given a certain period to fulfill such a requirement, then the beginning of the limitation period should be counted after the end of this period. In this case, the limitation period cannot be more than ten years, counted from the date of establishment of the obligations.

If more than three years have passed since the payment due date, you should check whether the debtor has retained any documentation that certifies the recognition of the debt (for example, a document confirming partial repayment). In accordance with Article 203 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the commission by the obligated person of actions that indicate his recognition of the debt interrupts the calculation of the limitation period. After this break, a new countdown begins.

It should be noted that even if the statute of limitations has expired, the creditor is not deprived of the opportunity to go to court due to a violated obligation. In such a situation, if there is no petition on the part of the debtor to skip the statute of limitations and there is evidence confirming the occurrence of the debt, the court will be able to make a decision to collect the receivables.

Block No. 1 – searching for suitable receivables

If the bank debtor owns a valid loan, the bailiff is obliged to seize it as property and put it up for auction or invite the creditor to take it on his balance sheet. If the plaintiff refuses, the bailiff is obliged to complete the enforcement proceedings on the basis of Art. 46 FZ-229.

In fact, debt is a tool that can pay off a large debt with the help of small investments or a way to make money by collecting it yourself.

Who is suitable for working with accounts receivable?

1. Bank debtors whose debt does not exceed 500 thousand rubles and there is no possibility of bankruptcy.
2. Debtors whose debt exceeds 500 thousand, but they do not want to go through bankruptcy proceedings and lose part of their property.
3. Borrowers who have no arrears, but want to pay off the loan using the money collected from the loan.
4. People who want to have passive income from corporate debts.

The concept of accounts receivable

Accounts receivable (RA) are goods or services received by an organization (debtor), but not paid at the moment.

A creditor is a commercial or municipal organization that provided a service or shipped goods, but did not receive money for it.

Debtor is a commercial or municipal organization that received a product or service but did not pay for it.

Such financial relations are the norm of business and common practice of trade turnover in Russia.

In another way, DZ is called deferred payment or release of products for sale.

Types of accounts receivable

Unfinished (current) loan - the period for depositing money into the creditor’s account for the service provided or goods received has not yet expired. For example, with an installment payment or staged payment method.

Overdue claim – the creditor has shipped the goods or provided the service, the payment deadline has passed, but the money from the debtor has not been credited to the account.

Important! The payment period is necessarily specified in the supply or service agreement.

Which accounts receivable is right for the job?

Like all civil legal relations, the contract has a statute of limitations, which is three years. The basis is Art. 196 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. If during this time the creditor has not filed a claim, then it will be IMPOSSIBLE to collect the debtor using the FSSP.

It is necessary to take this fact into account first of all when choosing and purchasing receivables.

Documents confirming the DZ

• Act of reconciliation;
• certificate of completion;
• invoices for shipment of goods;
• loan agreements;
• court decision to collect the amount of debt (which has entered into legal force).

If there are documents confirming the occurrence of a debt, but there is no court decision, then you need to understand that you will have to collect the debt on your own. To do this, you need to go to court yourself.

This type of debt claim (WITHOUT SOLUTION) is not suitable for quick collection, but is the CHEAPEST on the market, since collection work has not been carried out.

Important! If there are loan agreements in the documentation, it is necessary to check the clause that states that the borrower agrees to the assignment of debt to third parties in the event of a delay. Without this condition, purchasing a remote control makes no sense, since there is a high probability of losing the case in court.

Not every court decision on collection is suitable for the purchase of property rights. ONLY an arbitration award will be suitable for work. Such remote control should be considered as an investment.

The remaining decisions can be canceled and the claim will have to be filed again.

Where to buy accounts receivable

https://russianpeople.ru/

https://kommersant.ru/bankruptcy

https://www.fedresurs.ru/

Remote control that is NOT suitable for work

1. Remote control of an enterprise undergoing liquidation procedure.
2. Remote control of an enterprise at the stage of bankruptcy.
3. DZ of an enterprise excluded from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities.
4. Detailed knowledge of a foreign enterprise.
5. Remote data of an enterprise whose address does not correspond to its actual location.
6. DZ of an insolvent enterprise.
7. Financial protection of an enterprise that has significant debts to other creditors.
8. DZ of the enterprise, with the resolution of the end of the individual entrepreneur.
9. DZ of an enterprise for which there is no court decision that has entered into legal force.

Where can I see data on remote sensing?

whether the company is at the stage of liquidation or bankruptcy - https://fedresurs.ru/;

whether the company is excluded from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities - https://egrul.nalog.ru/;

does the company have debts - https://fssprus.ru/iss/ip;

is there a court decision on this DZ - https://kad.arbitr.ru/.

Step-by-step instructions for choosing a remote control for work

We go to the website https://fedresurs.ru/ in the “Tenders” section.

Select your region, type of bidding – Public offer, bidding status – Applications are open.

Select the offer you like and go to the bidding card.

In the product card we can see detailed information on the debt - the amount, whether the debt is confirmed by a court decision, additional documents, initial rates, case number, etc.

We check the organization for liquidation and bankruptcy. To do this, go to the main page and enter the name of the organization in the search bar.

A list of organizations pops up, from which you need to select yours and open its card.

As we can see, the organization is at the stage of liquidation and therefore is not suitable for us.

We check the organization for a court decision.

To do this, in the bidding card, click on the “Advanced” tab and copy the case number.

Go to the website https://kad.arbitr.ru/ and paste the copied number and click “Find”.

After this, information on the court decision will appear.

Click on the case number and see all the creditors of the company, as well as the court decision. Our main goal is to identify the amount of debt that was awarded to the organization.

Below are all the court documents for this organization; by clicking on “+” you can open the full package of documents.

Checking the site against the database of enforcement proceedings on the site https://fssprus.ru/.

Select the section – Data Bank of Enforcement Proceedings.

Check the section – Search for legal entities, select the region and enter the name of the organization.

From the downloaded data it is clear that the company has a lot of debts, therefore, it is not suitable for us.

Thus, each DZ is checked and the one suitable for the buyer’s needs is selected. If you want to present it to the bailiff for your own debts, then the main criterion will be the price - the cheaper, the better. For our own collection, we select what can be collected in the future.

We check the organization through the website https://www.nalog.ru/

A lot of useful information about accounts receivable can be found on the Tax Service website. Go to the main page and select the section – Check yourself and your counterparty.

We enter the OGRN or INN of the organization (we take the data from the court decision or on the fedresurs website), the CAPTCHA code and click find.

Click on organization.

We look through the opened documents. For this company it is indicated that it is at the stage of liquidation and, accordingly, is not suitable for us.

Block summary

We have found that accounts receivable that is suitable for work should include:

1. A court decision indicating the amount of the debt.
2. The organization must be active.
3. An organization must have a minimum number of enforcement proceedings.

These are three main factors indicating that the loan is suitable for both independent collection and for closing your own debt from bailiffs.

Homework (independent work)

• try to select at least three loan assignments suitable for collection;
• collect detailed information on open resources;
• try to view new remote data daily and analyze them.

Select the court to which you need to file an application for collection

Another significant issue is the choice of the court in which to file a claim for collection of receivables. According to current legislation, such an application must be submitted to the court located at the location of the defendant:

• when filing a claim against an individual entrepreneur or legal entity, its location is the state registration address, and the claim must be sent to the appropriately located arbitration court;
• in the event of a claim being brought against an individual, the place of his location is considered to be the address at which he is registered, and the claim must be sent to the appropriate court of general jurisdiction.

In addition, the parties have the right to indicate in the contract another court that will deal with their dispute.

Features of filing a claim for collection of receivables

By choosing a court to file a claim, jurisdiction and jurisdiction are established. Jurisdiction determines the territorial affiliation of the dispute and is established by agreement of the parties. In its absence, the case is examined at the location of the defendant, which is determined by the legal addresses of the main office or branches, if any. If several defendants are involved in the dispute, the application is submitted at the location of any of them, at the choice of the plaintiff.

Jurisdiction is determined by the subject composition of the participants; claims between economic entities, which include legal entities and individual entrepreneurs, are considered by arbitration courts. If the plaintiff or defendant in the dispute is an individual, the case is heard by a court of general jurisdiction. The rule also applies to cases where receivables are listed as an individual entrepreneur who has ceased to have status.

Considering economic disputes in a court of general jurisdiction is a bad idea; such cases are rarely encountered in the practice of judges, and when making decisions they are guided by beliefs formed by everyday disputes between citizens, which are not applicable to the activities of business entities. When collecting debt simultaneously from the debtor and the guarantors, if possible, exclude citizens from the list of defendants, involving them in participation as third parties. This will make it possible to consider the dispute in arbitration, the decision of which will have prejudicial significance for individuals, allowing them to quickly collect the debt in a district court, as part of a separate claim.

There are three procedures for obtaining judicial acts in an arbitration court:

• Order, for claims in the amount of up to 500 thousand rubles.
• Simplified, for claims worth up to 800 thousand rubles.
• General, for other claims.

The general order is the longest in format, but in practice it is the only correct option. The order is issued by the court alone within 10 days, but it can be easily canceled by filing an unmotivated objection. The same applies to the simplified procedure, in which a decision is made within 2 months, but if questions arise or the defendant has objections, the court proceeds to consider the case according to the general rules, starting the case over again.

If there are signs of bad faith by the debtor and the amount of debt is less than 800 thousand rubles, it would be correct to indicate in the claim the inflated amount of debt, and after accepting the case for proceedings according to the general rules, clarify the requirements.

Prepare a statement of claim

This stage is conventionally divided into two parts: drafting the text of the statement of claim and fulfilling the legal requirements that are associated with filing the application. The application must be prepared in accordance with the legally established requirements for its content and form. The statement of claim must include the following provisions:

1. The name of the arbitration court to which it is presented. Before filing a claim for collection of receivables from a legal entity, it is necessary to establish the jurisdiction of the dispute to a certain arbitration court. According to the rule of territorial jurisdiction, the case must be heard by an arbitration court that operates in the same territory where the defendant is located. In other words, in order to determine the jurisdiction of a case by any arbitration court, it is necessary to establish the location of the company that acts as a defendant in the case. The determination of territorial jurisdiction in most cases has no connection with the nature of the case.
2. The names of the parties, their addresses and other identifying information, as well as the channels that can be used to contact the plaintiff.
3. The plaintiff's claims are on the merits. The arbitration court can satisfy only the stated requirements. If the requirements are formulated incorrectly, the submitted application may be rejected. For this reason, it is important to pay special attention to the formulation of requirements and take a responsible approach to the inclusion of references to the rules of law that are subject to application in the dispute resolution process.
4. Circumstances that form the basis of the requirements. It is required to describe in detail the essence of the dispute, referring to specific existing evidence.
5. Extracts from the unified register of legal entities or individual entrepreneurs. They are necessary to establish the current status and location of the defendant. It is important to take into account that these extracts must be received no earlier than thirty days before the date when the appeal will be sent to the court.
6. The cost of the claim, including the calculation of the disputed or recovered amount of money.
7. Amount of debt. It is necessary to provide calculations of the amount that is formed not only from the principal debt, but also from penalties that are imposed in the form of penalties and forfeits.
8. Signature of an authorized person. It is necessary to ensure that the person signing the application has the appropriate authority. In general, if we talk about a legal entity, such powers are vested in the sole executive body, which has the right to act on behalf of the legal entity without a power of attorney. Evidence demonstrating the existence of authority to sign the application must also be provided to the court.

How to prove the existence of a debt for excess traffic?

The parties agreed that invoices for the service of connecting the parties’ networks and other one-time payments are issued by the contractor before the start of the provision of services. Invoices for the monthly traffic fee (and all other periodic payments) are issued by the contractor prior to the start of the period in which the services will be provided.

Payment for excess traffic volume or additionally paid traffic is made monthly after the provision of services and the signing of the acceptance certificate for the services provided. The Contractor issues a separate invoice to the customer for excess traffic or includes the price of excess traffic as a separate line in the next invoice.

In support of the demand for debt collection, the contractor presented the following evidence: an extract from the automated system about the excess traffic volume, copies of invoices and acceptance certificates for services provided, lists of postal items, electronic correspondence between the parties. At first, the judges did not accept this correspondence, since the parties did not agree on the possibility of sending documents by e-mail.

Meanwhile, the electronic correspondence is presented by the operator not as evidence of sending documents to the subscriber (acts and invoices were sent by mail), but as confirmation of receipt of the said documents. Moreover, the subscriber did not dispute the existence of email correspondence between the parties, as well as the authority of the person conducting this correspondence. The authority of the chief accountant, who signed and thereby certified the extract from the automated system, was also questioned. We believe that this does not deprive the document of legitimacy.

Read more: Malicious evasion of serving compulsory labor

The case has been sent for new consideration, and there is every reason to believe that the documents presented by the operator will be sufficient to confirm the debt for services provided that exceed the established traffic “quota”.

Pay the state fee

Details for paying the state fee can be easily found on the website of the court that has jurisdiction over the current dispute. On the same resource of the arbitration court there is a state duty calculator, with which you can get the exact amount, avoiding errors in calculations.

The creation of claims and the calculation of state fees can also be automated.

At the moment when the decision to file a lawsuit is made, claims can be created based on the current schedule. Claims can be created either for the entire debt or for part of it. In this case, an unlimited number of claims can be filed for the loan. Accordingly, the amount of claims when resubmitted to court may differ.

When filing claims, the type of proceedings is selected: claim or writ and the state duty is calculated.

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Send the defendant a copy of the statement of claim

The law obliges the plaintiff to send to the defendant a copy of the filed statement of claim, supplemented by the documentation attached to it, which the defendant does not have, by registered mail with notification. Evidence of this direction must be provided in the case file. If there are no documents in the case file confirming the payment of the state fee or the filing of the claim, the statement of claim will be guaranteed to be left without progress, which will significantly delay the consideration of the dispute. If the claim procedure has not been followed, the submitted application will be returned by the court without consideration. When sending a statement of claim, you should take into account the possibilities of summary and writ proceedings, but it is best to be prepared for a lengthy trial. It is worth remembering that when collecting receivables through the court, you may encounter certain problems.

Collection of receivables from a legal entity within the framework of writ proceedings

Writ proceedings are the procedure for considering an application regarding the issuance of a court order, which is a judicial act issued by a single judge, acting as an executive document. In writ proceedings, only the documentation submitted by the claimant is examined. After studying these documents, a decision is made regarding the issuance of a court order, which can be applied for in the following cases:

1. The basis for demands for collection of receivables from a legal entity is non-fulfillment or improper fulfillment of the terms of the contract. These requirements must be supported by documentation that establishes the monetary obligations recognized by the debtor. The size of these obligations should not exceed 400 thousand.
2. The requirements are based on the notary’s undating of acceptance, non-acceptance and protest of the bill of exchange for payment. In this case, their size cannot be more than 400 thousand.
3. Requirements have been made regarding the collection of sanctions and mandatory payments. Their size cannot be more than 100 thousand.

The documents provided must clearly demonstrate that the defendant undertakes to satisfy the demands placed on him. At the same time, there should be no legal dispute between the collector and the debtor regarding the collection of receivables.

The role of the contract in the collection of receivables

The company must have standard agreements for its main activities, the terms of which motivate counterparties to comply with payment deadlines. Art. 421 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, provides for freedom of contract, allowing you to draw it up in free form, specifying any conditions that do not contradict the law. The main attention should be paid to the following:

• Payment terms.
• Claim procedure.
• Jurisdiction of disputes.
• Sanctions.
• Additional collateral.

The procedure for making payment should be clearly visible in the text; the contract should indicate specific payment dates, without reference to legal facts, such as the delivery of goods or the signing of the UTD (Universal Transfer Document). The terms and signature may be disputed by an unscrupulous buyer, which, when going to court, will raise additional questions and delay the consideration of the dispute. In case of an ongoing transaction, with deliveries based on the buyer’s requests, each of them must be formalized with an additional agreement.

According to paragraph 5 of Art. 4 of the Arbitration Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, you can go to court with a demand for collection of receivables after 30 days, after following the claim procedure for resolving disputes. You can avoid the need to spend a month by introducing into the contract a condition on the non-use of the claims procedure when resolving disputes, or by specifying a shorter period for consideration of the claim.

Disputes regarding debt collection are considered at the location of the defendant, but even if you are in the same region with him, use the right provided for in Art. 37 of the Arbitration Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, introducing into the contract a condition on the consideration of cases by the arbitration court of your subject. This will allow you to protect yourself in case the debtor changes his legal address at the time of collection.

Sanctions

No one has the right to benefit from their dishonest behavior. This explains the large number of ways to compensate for damage caused when collecting receivables, which include:

1. Penalty.
2. Compensation for losses.
3. Interest.

As a legal penalty, interest is collected for the use of other people's funds, provided for in Article 395 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, equal to the key rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, which at the beginning of 2021 is 4.25% per annum. You can increase penalties by providing for an appropriate condition in the text of the contract; usually a liability of 0.1 to 0.5 percent is applied for each day of delay. Indication of a large penalty does not guarantee its receipt when collecting receivables, in accordance with Art. 333 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, it is reduced at the request of the defendant in the case of obvious disproportion to the damage caused. In practice, courts rarely apply a coefficient higher than 0.1% when calculating penalties.

If the overdue receivables have resulted in obvious damage that is not covered by the awarded penalty, the creditor has the right to recover the full amount of damages from the debtor. Claims should be submitted within the framework of one dispute, since a reduction in the amount of the penalty in one case will serve as a basis for refusing to recover damages in another.

Another way to influence the debtor is to demand interest for the use of funds, provided for in Art. 317.1 Civil Code of the Russian Federation. According to the letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated December 9, 2015 No. 03-03-RZ/67486, payment of interest is mandatory unless otherwise provided by agreement of the parties. They are taken into account when calculating the creditor’s tax base, and their failure to be reflected in the reporting during an audit by the tax authority will become the basis for additional tax assessment, collection of fines and penalties. Therefore, collecting interest is your responsibility, not your right.

The best way to protect the interests of the company when working with accounts receivable is to include in the terms of the agreement a clause on trade credit, which allows you to collect interest from the counterparty in the amount established by the agreement. Trade credit works similarly to a penalty, but has a different legal nature, which does not allow the rules of Art. 333 Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

Additional collateral

The provision of additional guarantees for the fulfillment of obligations is widely used in the banking industry, however, such instruments are rarely used as a mechanism for ensuring the collection of receivables. To guarantee timely payment will help:

• Pledge.
• Guarantee.

Pledge refers to the presentation of property as security for the fulfillment of obligations. The pledged item may continue to be in the possession of the debtor, but when collecting the debt, the creditor has the right to foreclose on it and satisfy his claims with the proceeds from the sale. Pledge is a universal method of protection, since in accordance with Art. 138 of the Federal Law “On Insolvency”, even in the event of bankruptcy of the debtor, secured creditors have a priority right to satisfy claims at the expense of his property.

The pledge clause may be contained both in the supply contract and in a separate document with reference to the main contract. Information about the pledge is subject to registration, the procedure for which depends on the type of property. Real estate is registered in the Unified State Register of Real Estate by Rosreestr, and information about movable property is entered by a notary into the register of pledge notifications.

There are two types of guarantee: joint and several, in which the main debtor and the guarantor are equally responsible for the payment of receivables, and subsidiary, when claims are made against the guarantor after the impossibility of collection from the debtor. The most common guarantors are:

• CEO.
• Member of the society.
• Affiliates.

By using a guarantee, you not only guarantee the right to collect receivables at the expense of third parties, but also stimulate them to promptly repay the debt by the main debtor.

Claim work when collecting accounts receivable

When specified in the contract, compliance with the claim procedure is not necessary, but this does not prevent the debtor from sending a demand for repayment of the debt. The mechanism for pre-trial dispute resolution is simpler and cheaper than litigation, and the results can be no worse. For many counterparties, a statement of intent to go to court is sufficient, after which payment obligations are fulfilled.

If the claim is not binding, it is drawn up in any form, but in order to comply with Part 7, Clause 1, Art. 126 of the Arbitration Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, the document must contain the following information:

• Name of debtor and creditor.
• The basis for the debt.
• The amount of debt and its calculation.
• Clearly formulated requirements for the debtor.

When going to court, you can submit the requirements specified in the complaint, otherwise the claim will be left without consideration. The rule applies only to basic claims, according to the clarifications of the Plenum of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation dated March 24, 2016, when recalculating interest or penalties on the date of collection of receivables, there is no need for an additional claim.

The demand is sent by registered mail with notification to the legal address of the debtor. The referral may occur in other ways that allow one to reliably establish this fact; for example, in case of courier delivery, the second copy must contain:

• Date of delivery.
• Employee's position.
• Transcript and signature.

When sending a claim by mail, the right to go to court arises after 30 calendar days, which are calculated from the day following the date of sending the letter to the debtor. If the correct address is indicated, confirmation of delivery does not require confirmation.

Simplified production

Summary proceedings, unlike writs, have an actionable nature, implying an adversarial process, the provision of arguments and evidence from both parties, even though it is carried out without their direct summons. The following categories of cases can be considered under simplified proceedings:

• for claims for collection of funds, including claims for collection of receivables from a legal entity, if the cost of the claim is no more than 800 thousand rubles for legal entities (from 10/01/2019) and 400 thousand rubles for individual entrepreneurs;
• on the collection of sanctions and mandatory payments, if the generalized amount of the amount collected is from 100 to 200 thousand rubles (from 10/01/2019).

Determining the price threshold is the basis for distinguishing between cases that are considered in simplified and writ proceedings.

The features of making and issuing a court decision include the following:

1. According to the general rule, the decision is made by the court immediately after the end of the trial by signing the operative part in the judicial act. The adopted decision becomes valid 15 days after the day of its adoption.
2. To draw up a reasoned court decision, that is, in full, it is necessary to submit a corresponding application by the initiative person taking part in the process within five days from the date of formation of the operative part. In this case, the decision becomes valid only after a month, since this is the period allotted for filing an appeal.

Thus, in the absence of a statement from one of the parties, the judge is freed from the need to prepare a reasoning part of the decision, which allows speeding up the legal process.

How to submit a report

An accounts receivable report implies documentation that provides information on all summaries. The report should show the total amount of overdue payments. In most companies, a report on accounts receivable is prepared once a month.

All information in the documentation is distributed into groups. Grouping criteria may vary, the most common of which are as follows.

1. Sellers.
2. Buyers.
3. Product category.

The following forms are typical for a report based on accounts receivable.

1. Debt represented in the form of monetary currency.
2. Debt presented in the form of barter.
3. Overdue debt, which may be in the form of cash or barter.

In addition, any report must contain the following data.

1. Product and buyer information.
2. Debt repayment terms.
3. Interest on a loan or late payments.

If there are any difficulties in collecting funds, they must be indicated in the report. In addition to the above data, the report may contain additional information. For example, we can cite a situation when we are talking about a barter transaction.

The report indicates the type of product and its volume instead of a monetary amount. Using the accounts receivable report, the company's finance department will be able to calculate the optimal course of monetary policy. When analyzing the reporting document, a legal entity determines the approximate amount of work for debt collection processes.

How to account for accounts receivable is discussed in this video:

For the head of the organization, the report is also important. With its help, you can analyze changes in the production and activities of the company and, in connection with this, change the planned volumes of purchases of equipment or products.

What opportunities does reporting offer?

A report on receivables or payables makes it possible to track financial interaction with other companies and employees of your organization. Reporting must be carried out without fail, this contributes to management activities, and also allows you to plan the future course of credit policy.

With the help of a reporting document, it becomes possible to be aware of the following parameters of the organization’s work.

1. The accounts receivable report helps you track changes in production, as well as calculate the total amount of money spent and earned.
2. The reporting document will allow you to create an objective picture of the organization’s calculations. An example would be a situation where a company unexpectedly needed additional funds. Where you can get them from will allow you to find out the accounts receivable report. If the head of the company decides to take out a loan, the reporting document will help calculate the period for which the loan agreement should be issued. If the company has the opposite situation, that is, there is a large amount of cash, the accounts receivable report will help to optimally distribute the money.
3. Documentation of accounts receivable or credit will help plan further expenses and income of the organization.
   The report will greatly facilitate the determination of the amount of funds expected from debtors. In turn, this will allow you to plan the amount of taxes and total profit. The documentation contains information about the total amount of monetary debt and the general direction of payment.
4. The document will allow a more objective assessment of the client. Based on the accounts receivable report, you can create a list of customer reliability, depending on how they pay their debts. This will allow you to determine the overall solvency of the company and find out the circle of the most conscientious payers. This will also make it possible to terminate the cooperation agreement with those organizations that often delay payment under the purchase and sale agreement.
5. If the organization has a planned credit policy, the report will allow you to find out the degree of its effectiveness. In case of large losses, the head of the organization will be able to notice the emerging problem much earlier and take appropriate actions to solve it.
6. The accounts receivable report allows you to timely demand payment under the agreement from debtors. The documentation clearly shows overdue payments, for which it is time to take special measures to collect them. For example, go to court or talk directly with the debtor.
7. The report will allow you to find out in advance which companies have accumulated a large amount of debt. This will make it possible to avoid conflict situations, additional monetary penalties and preserve the reputation of your organization.

Analysis of accounts receivable for the report. Photo: encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com

The head of any company should understand that a report on accounts receivable is needed not only for formality.

With the help of this documentation, you can react much earlier to changes in the dynamics in relationships with clients and customers; the report will allow you to plan the company’s activities based on clearer and more specific data.

How to organize a budget

As mentioned above, a special program 1C – Enterprise has been developed for these purposes. Based on it, you can create a report on accounts receivable. To do this, it has the following functions.

1. 1C allows you to generate forecasts on the financial condition of the company by analyzing the available information.
2. 1C creates financial reports and can maintain a management balance sheet, which is based on objective values. This allows you not only to calculate and analyze profit, but also to compare its values ​​with past indicators.
3. Allows you to compare budgets for different periods.
4. Helps analyze for deviations.
5. The program automatically compares the debts of your clients and your credit obligations for three periods for certain periods and calculates the final amount for specific periods.

How to make a report on accounts receivable in 1C, see this video:

1C has built-in all the necessary formulas for the above calculations.