No Debitura account yet? Start at app.debitura.com/Onboarding to create your free client account. Signing up takes only a few minutes and there are no upfront platform fees; once your account exists, follow the steps in this article to submit your first case.
Goal
Submit a new debt collection case through the Debitura platform so a collection partner can begin recovering the outstanding amount on your behalf.
You will need: debtor name and address, claim amount and currency, invoice date (or loan date), and, where applicable, supporting documentation (see the documents and evidence checklist for details).
Prerequisites
Before you can submit a case, ensure you have completed these setup steps (the agreement in item 1 is the exception: you sign it after you submit):
The Standard Debt Collection Agreement - This contract defines the "no cure, no pay" terms. You do not need to sign it before you submit a case: you will be asked to sign it after you submit your first case. If an exclusive collection partner covers the debtor's jurisdiction, you sign that partner's Power of Attorney as well, and the partner can only review your case once both are signed.
Add your banking details - Required so you can receive collected payments.
Have your debtor and claim information ready - You will need debtor contact details, the amount owed, and the invoice date.
You can see our full video tutorial below:
Steps
1) Go to the Create Case page
Navigate to Create Case. For new accounts, look for "Upload Your First Case" in the getting started checklist on your dashboard. In this guide we will cover how to manually add a case.
2) Describe the claim
On the first step, we ask you to describe the claim you are looking to collect
2.1 Define the claim type
The type of case comes first and starts unanswered. Choose the type that best describes your debt:
Unpaid Invoice - Standard invoices for goods or services where payment terms were not met
Loan Repayment - Loans, financing agreements, or credit extended to the debtor
Other claim types - Fall outside standard pricing; a partner may take the case at the standard rate or offer a custom quote
Please note that only “unpaid invoices” and “loan repayment” as default are categorised as pre-legal cases. Other case types might fall outside the scope of the standard debt collection agreement.
2.2 Enter claim details
Provide the following required information:
Principal - The invoice or loan amount, without interest and fees
Currency - Select the currency of the original invoice
Issued on - The date the invoice or loan was issued. It cannot be in the future.
Due on (optional) - When payment was originally due
For an Unpaid invoice, choose under Invoices in this case how to enter it:
One invoice (the default) - the fields above.
Several invoices - one row per invoice, with Reference (optional), Unpaid amount and Due on. Enter only what is still owed after payments and credit notes. The form adds up the rows and shows the total as Principal under the amounts. It does not ask when the invoices were issued. Each invoice's own due date counts towards the age of the claim, which can affect the price.
If you switch from Several invoices back to One invoice, the form suggests the oldest due date from your list, which you can change, and keeps your list so you can restore it. With One invoice, the whole principal is priced from that single due date.
As soon as the form knows the type of case, the principal, the type of debtor and the debtor's country, the sidebar shows what will happen with the case: your price, that a partner reviews it first, that the network sends quotes, or that the claim is below a minimum. It updates when you finish a field, not while you type.
2.3: Is the debt disputed?
Answer "Has the debtor disputed the claim?" with No, Yes or Don't know. Disputed means the debtor has told you they don't owe all or part of the amount, for example because the work was faulty, never delivered or the price is wrong. Not paying or not answering is not a dispute. If yes, describe the dispute.
Important note on disputes: The Standard Debt Collection Agreement only covers undisputed claims during the pre-legal phase. If your claim is disputed by the debtor, it cannot be processed through standard amicable collection and may require legal action under a separate agreement. If a dispute exists or arises, you must inform the collection partner.
2.4: Add supporting documentation
Add supporting documentation
Documentation requirements vary based on claim amount and type. For standard claims (Unpaid Invoice or Loan Repayment), claims under $2,000 and over $10,000 USD need a file. Between $2,000 and $10,000 you can submit with a file or a description, but if you send only a description, Debitura will still ask you for one supporting document before the case can move on. For the complete requirements, see the documents and evidence checklist. A required document is marked with a star, and the reason stands beside it before you continue. Where a file or a description is enough, neither is starred and one line says so.
Add a claim description (required for some claims)
Provide context for the collection partner using the description fields. A claim description, together with a file upload, is required for claim types other than Unpaid Invoice or Loan Repayment and for claims against a private individual. For standard claims against a company it is recommended, except that claims between $2,000 and $10,000 USD need either a file upload or a description to submit (with only a description, Debitura will still ask you for one supporting document before the case can move on).
What was sold or provided? - Explain what goods or services were provided (open it with "Add what was sold or provided")
Describe your request or Describe dispute - Shown instead for claim types other than Unpaid invoice and Loan repayment, and when the claim is disputed
3) Enter debtor information
Provide the debtor's details:
Type of debtor - Company or Private individual
Company name, or First name and Last name for a private individual
Contact email (optional) and Contact phone (optional) - The collection partner contacts the debtor by email and phone, so add both if you have them
Street address, Zip code (optional) and City
Country, and Jurisdiction when the country has several (the United States has one per state). Nothing is pre-selected, and the step does not continue without it. The jurisdiction determines collection rules and partner assignment
Company registration ID and Contact person (for companies, optional) - Each sits behind its own "Add" link
If the debtor looks like your own company, a warning appears under the name. It does not block the case.
Why jurisdiction matters: In most countries, the jurisdiction is the country itself. However, in countries like the United States, debt collection laws vary by state. For US debtors, you must select the specific state (e.g., "California" or "Texas") rather than just "United States." This ensures your case is handled according to the correct local regulations and assigned to a partner licensed in that jurisdiction.
4) Review and Submit
Review your price
The Review step shows your price as one statement (for example "9.50 % success fee on money recovered"), what you pay if the whole principal is recovered, who collects the case, the agreement, and that there is no setup fee or subscription. For a disputed or non-standard claim, or a country without a partner, it shows what happens instead: the partner reviews the case first, or the network sends quotes. Before submitting, review the calculated success fee. This percentage depends on the claim amount, jurisdiction (European or International), and the age of the debt. You only pay this fee if the debt is successfully recovered. The exception: if you withdraw the case or engage another collection agency during the active collection period (6 months, or longer if extended), the full success fee is due, calculated as if the claim had been paid in full.
Submit the case
Under "Add to this case", choose the division if your company has several, and add a bank account for recovered funds or a client reference if you want to (both optional). The button says what happens: "Submit case to [partner]", "Send for review" or "Request quotes". If the Standard Debt Collection Agreement or a power of attorney still needs your signature, you go straight to the signing page after the case is created.
Result
The confirmation shows the case reference in its heading, with the debtor, the amount and the partner, and an Open case button. Your case enters the Pending Verification status. Here is what happens next:
Debitura's automated system validates your case (typically within one hour)
The assigned collection partner reviews your case and either accepts it (moving it to Active) or requests additional information
If your case falls outside the scope of a pre-legal case, the partner might present you with a custom quote.
You can verify your case was submitted by checking your Cases list. For details on tracking progress, see how to track a case.
You can see how to track and see progress on a case that has been sumbitted here:
Edge cases and validation issues
Contract not signed: If you have not signed the Standard Debt Collection Agreement, your case will enter Pending Contract Signing status until the agreement is completed. If an exclusive collection partner covers the debtor's jurisdiction, the partner's Power of Attorney must be signed as well before the partner can review your case.
Missing documentation: If your claim requires documentation and none is provided, the case will not pass validation.
No partner available: If no exclusive partner covers the debtor's country, the sidebar shows "Quotes" and the button reads "Request quotes": your case is shared with the partner network, and several partners may submit quotes for you to select from. Below $3,000 USD-equivalent the form says it cannot take the case, under the field that decided it, and does not continue.
If you encounter validation errors during submission, see case submission errors for troubleshooting steps.
Next steps
For ongoing collections, consider automating your case submissions. See integration options for a comparison of accounting integrations, CSV bulk import, and API access.
Developers: See Developer Docs: Create a case for API implementation.