Debitura: The company operating the debt collection platform. Debitura connects clients with vetted collection partners and provides the portal where cases are managed.

Client: A business or individual owed money. Clients sign the Standard Debt Collection Agreement (SDCA) and may organize their account into separate client divisions for different brands or subsidiaries.

Client division: A sub-account under a client used to group cases for a particular entity. Each division stores its own company details and can be chosen when a case is created. See how to set up divisions.

Debtor: The company or person who owes money to the client.

Collection partner: An agency or law firm that recovers debts on behalf of Debitura's clients. Collection partners fall into two categories based on how they receive cases and how revenue is structured. See understanding partner types.

Exclusive partner: A collection partner that receives automatic case assignments for specific jurisdictions under standard SDCA terms.

Legal network partner: A collection partner that receives lead notifications and submits competitive quotes with custom pricing. Despite the name, these partners can handle any case type (pre-legal, legal, disputed, or complex).

Managing partner: A collection partner that submits a case on behalf of their own client but forwards the work to another partner while remaining the client's point of contact.

Referral partner: An external SaaS platform (such as accounting software or invoicing tools) that embeds Debitura's debt collection capabilities into their own product. Referral partners earn a percentage of Debitura's revenue on attributed cases through API integration. See referral program overview.

Backend admin: Debitura staff with full access to all organizations. Backend admins manage users, configure the system, and can override normal business rules.

ClientAdmin: An administrator for a client organization. ClientAdmins can invite team members, manage company settings, and view all cases.

ClientUser: A regular user within a client organization with access only to the cases assigned to them.

CollectionPartnerAdmin: The administrator for a collection partner. CollectionPartnerAdmins manage collectors, contracts, and partner settings.

CollectionPartnerDebtCollector: A debt collector working for a partner. Debt collectors handle assigned cases but cannot manage the partner account.

Case: The debt being collected. Cases are stored as Invoice records internally and may include multiple sub-invoices. See cases in Debitura.

Lead: A potential case sent to one or more partners when no exclusive partner automatically accepts it or when non-standard pricing is required. Leads collect custom quotes and progress through statuses such as Open, Qualified, and Closed. Note: Clients never see the term "lead" in the UI - they only see "quotes."

Lead quote: A partner's proposal on a lead, including pricing type (hourly, flat fee, success fee, or hybrid). Quotes move from Sent to Accepted or Declined. Winning quotes assign the case to that partner. In client-facing UI, displayed simply as "Quote" or "Custom Quote."

Network lead: A lead type that invites multiple partners to bid competitively (typically 3 or more quotes). Used for legal cases or when the client wants options.

Exclusive lead: A lead type limited to a single partner quote. Often created when an exclusive pre-legal partner declines a case before it goes to the network.

Pre-legal case: An undisputed case handled outside of court under the Standard Debt Collection Agreement. See case stages.

Legal case: A disputed or escalated case that may require legal proceedings and customized pricing.

Skip tracing: The process of locating debtors when their contact information is missing or outdated.

Pending Contract Signing: Case stays in this state until the client has signed the SDCA.

Pending Verification: The assigned collection partner reviews the case. They can accept it (moves to Active), request more information (moves to Needs Additional Details), or decline it (creates a Lead).

Active: An accepted case where the partner begins pre-legal debt collection. For cases with standard terms, an exclusive collection period of 6 months begins.

Needs Additional Details: Partners use this status when they require further information from the client. Once provided, the case can move to Active or Closed.

Leads / Leads Quote Given: If the initial partner declines the case, it is distributed to the partner network as a lead. When partners respond with quotations, the status becomes Leads Quote Given. A client can accept a quote to reassign the case.

Paused: A partner may temporarily pause an active case. Work can resume by moving it back to Active or it can be closed.

Closed: A case is closed when the debt is paid, the partner declines further action, or all options are exhausted. Debitura retains the history for reporting.

Paid: Full payment received. Debtor paid the full outstanding amount. Counts as collection success.

Partially Paid: Partial payment received. Debtor paid some amount but not the full debt. Counts toward collection rate.

Case Never Started: Partner declined before starting work. Used for jurisdiction mismatch, case type not handled, or capacity issues.

Case Never Started (Internal): Case closed by Debitura admins before partner engagement.

Wrong Data on Case: Critical case information is incorrect or missing (wrong debtor details, invalid documentation).

Debtor Insolvent/Bankrupt: Debtor has filed for bankruptcy or is officially insolvent.

Debtor Untraceable: All reasonable efforts to locate the debtor have failed.

Statute of Limitations Expired: The legal deadline to collect this debt has passed per jurisdiction laws.

Validated decline codes: The six codes above (Case Never Started through Statute of Limitations Expired) that do not count against a partner's engagement multiplier or collection score.

Withdrawn by Client: Client requested withdrawal. Often because the debtor became a customer again or an internal resolution was reached.

Disputed - Legal Action Declined by Client: Debtor disputes the debt validity and client declines to pursue legal action.

Settlement Rejected by Client: Partner negotiated a settlement but client rejected the terms.

Unresponsive Client: Client stops responding to partner communication, making collection impossible.

Pre-Legal Exhausted - No Payment: Partner has completed all reasonable pre-legal collection attempts without payment. Typically used after the 6-month collection period when all standard actions have been attempted.

Other: Any closure reason not covered by specific codes. When using Other, partners must provide a detailed comment explaining the closure reason.

Collection period: A time-bound engagement where a collection partner has exclusive rights to work on a case under standard terms. During this period, the client cannot engage other collectors or withdraw the case without paying the full success fee.

Initial collection period: When a case is submitted with standard terms, a 6-month collection period begins. The partner has exclusive rights to work the case during this time.

Collection period extension: The period automatically extends by 12 months when the debtor provides a written promise to pay, signs a payment agreement, or makes any payment.

Exclusivity: During an active collection period, the partner has exclusive rights to contact the debtor, negotiate payment terms, and receive commission on recovered amounts. The client cannot communicate directly with the debtor about the claim or engage other agencies.

Communication center: The built-in chat where clients and partners exchange messages and files for each case. Every new post creates a ReplyToChat task for the other party.

Task: A to-do item assigned to a client or partner. Examples include verifying a new case, replying to a chat message, or reviewing a rating request.

Rating request: A request sent to the client after a case is closed asking them to rate the collection partner from one to five stars and leave optional feedback.

Notes and calls: Records added by partners to document phone calls or internal notes on a case. Visibility can be limited to the partner or shared with the client.

Case pricing: Standard "no cure, no pay" pricing defined in the Standard Debt Collection Agreement. Applies when claim type is Unpaid Invoice or Loan Repayment and the dispute status is not disputed/unknown.

No cure, no pay: Debitura's foundational pricing model for pre-legal debt collection. Clients pay zero upfront costs and only pay a success fee when debt is successfully recovered. Also known as "No Win No Fee" in UK/US markets. See fee structure explained.

Success fee: The contingency-based fee charged by the partner after successful recovery. The percentage depends on claim size, jurisdiction, and debt age. See success fees.

Age-based fee override: An optional setting on a ClientPartnerRelationship that disables the 10-point and 20-point success-fee surcharges normally applied to debts older than 12 or 24 months. See age-based fee surcharges.

Custom terms for cases: Optional text stored on a creditor that overrides standard case pricing or conditions. Managed by Debitura staff through the Backend Admin portal.

Commission type: Configuration on a collection partner that determines which fees are subject to Debitura's revenue share. The standard type covers all fees, while the success-fee-only type applies only to the success fee.

Recovery rate: The percentage of principal debt placed with collection partners that is eventually recovered. Calculated as: (Amount Collected / Total Principal Placed) x 100%. Also called collection success rate. Not a guarantee for any specific case.

Reverse charge (VAT): A VAT mechanism used for cross-border B2B services within the EU where the collection partner issues an invoice without VAT, and the client self-accounts for VAT in their own country.

Bank account: Owner-scoped payout destination for a client or collection partner. Stores scheme (IBAN/SWIFT/LOCAL), currency, bank country metadata, and masked identifiers. Only one default per owner.

Default bank account: The single active bank account flagged for an owner. Setting a new default automatically unsets the previous one and records audit events.

Bank account scheme: Format type for bank account identifiers. Three schemes supported: IBAN (International Bank Account Number), SWIFT (Account Number + BIC code), LOCAL (country-specific identifier).

Assignment rule: Automatic selection criteria determining which bank account is used for a case. Rules match by division, currency, or debtor country with priority-based fallback to a global default account.

Payment: An incoming financial event when money is received by either the client, the platform, or the collection partner. Payments store gross amount, recipient, date, and currency conversions.

Payout: How a payment is split between the client and the collection partner, including Debitura revenue and commission payment status. Created automatically alongside each payment. See payments, payouts, and invoicing.

Revenue share: Debitura's portion of the partner's earnings. Typically 40% on pre-legal collections and 20% on legal work.

Debitura revenue: The platform's share of collection partner earnings. Source of referral partner fees and monthly partner invoicing.

Partner balance: A partner-portal ledger listing all recorded payments and payouts. Partners use this to track earnings, transfers to clients, and outstanding items.

Commission payment status: A field on payouts showing whether the partner has paid Debitura's revenue share. Values include Paid, Pending, Overdue, or Disputed.

Payment flow: Steps for recording a payment, creating the payout, and marking commission as paid depending on whether the debtor paid the partner or the client.

Partner billing overview: Monthly process where Debitura invoices partners for its revenue share after payouts with commission payment status = Paid are recognized.

Collection score: Metric measuring a partner's recovery rate. Cases closed with Case Never Started or Case Never Started (Internal) are excluded since the partner never began collection work.

Case engagement multiplier: Metric measuring how reliably a partner accepts or legitimately declines cases. Formula: Approved Cases / (Approved Cases + Ignored Cases), where "Ignored Cases" excludes validated decline codes.

Partner scoring: System that evaluates collection partner performance based on collection score, engagement multiplier, and other metrics. Used for partner ranking and case assignment decisions.

Country: A sovereign nation in the system, storing ISO codes, region, default currency, and tax rate. Countries link to one or more jurisdictions.

Jurisdiction: The legal territory governing a case and determining which collection partners may handle it. See countries and jurisdictions.

Standard Debt Collection Agreement (SDCA): The contract all clients sign before submitting cases. The SDCA defines standard success fees and responsibilities for pre-legal work. See SDCA key terms.

Power of Attorney (PoA): Authorization for a collection partner to act on a client's behalf. Signed once per partner when a case begins. See Power of Attorney.

Data Processing Agreement (DPA): A legally binding contract between a data controller and data processor governing how personal data is processed. Required under GDPR Article 28 for EU clients using Debitura. Clients can generate and sign DPAs via a self-service wizard. See data protection and DPA fundamentals.

Data controller: The entity determining the purposes and means of processing personal data. Clients are data controllers for debtor data.

Data processor: The entity processing personal data on behalf of the controller under their instructions. Debitura acts as data processor for clients.

European case: A debt collection case where the jurisdiction for debt recovery is within Europe (EU member countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, the UK, and Switzerland). European cases qualify for lower success fee rates than international cases.

International case: A debt collection case where the jurisdiction for debt recovery is outside Europe. International cases have higher success fee rates to reflect increased complexity.