What it is
The Referral Partner API enables SaaS platforms to offer professional debt collection as a seamless feature within their own products. Instead of redirecting users to a separate service, you can programmatically create client accounts, submit cases, and track collection progress without your customers ever leaving your platform.
The integration uses three components working together:
Referral Partner API - Your primary interface for managing client relationships, generating access tokens, and viewing revenue reports
Customer API - Used with bearer tokens to submit and manage cases on behalf of your clients
Referral Onboarding - A white-label web flow where your clients sign the Standard Debt Collection Agreement (SDCA)
Why it matters
For referral partners, the API integration unlocks several business advantages:
Embedded experience - Offer debt collection without building your own partner network or compliance infrastructure
Recurring revenue - Earn a share of Debitura's collection fees on every successful recovery. See Referral program overview for details
White-label branding - Your clients see your logo, colors, and messaging throughout the onboarding flow. See White-label customization for options
Automated workflows - Eliminate manual handoffs by connecting your invoicing or AR systems directly to Debitura
How it works
The integration follows a standard flow from client onboarding through case management and financial reconciliation.
Client onboarding and linking
When one of your customers wants to use debt collection, you create or link them as a client in Debitura. The API handles three scenarios:
New client, ready immediately - If the client has already signed the SDCA (perhaps through a prior interaction), they can submit cases right away
New client, onboarding required - Most common scenario. You redirect the client to a white-label onboarding flow where they confirm company details and sign the SDCA electronically
Existing client - If the client already has a Debitura account, the API creates a link request. The client must approve connecting their account to your platform
Case creation
Once a client is onboarded, you can submit cases on their behalf. Two approaches are available:
Bearer token method - Generate a short-lived access token (valid for 30 minutes) and call the Customer API to create individual cases
Multi-case creation - Submit multiple cases in a single API call during client creation, useful for bulk onboarding scenarios
Each case includes debtor information, invoice details, and supporting documentation. The API validates inputs and routes cases to appropriate collection partners based on the debtor's jurisdiction.
Status tracking
Track case progress through the collection lifecycle. You have two options:
Webhooks (recommended) - Receive real-time notifications when significant events occur: client onboarding complete, case created, case status changed, and more. See Webhook events for the business meaning of each event type
Polling - Query the API periodically to check current status
Webhook events include client onboarding milestones (PoA signed, contract signed), link approvals or declines, case creation, and case lifecycle updates.
Financial reconciliation
The Revenue Reporting endpoint provides transaction-level detail of your earnings. You can filter by date range and currency, and track each payment through four revenue stages:
Unrecognized - Collection partner has not yet paid Debitura
Recognized Uninvoiced - Payment received and locked; ready to include in your monthly invoice to Debitura
Recognized Invoiced - You have invoiced Debitura
Recognized Paid - Debitura has paid you
For details on the invoicing process and payment terms, see Revenue sharing and financial reconciliation.
Integration scope
A typical integration covers these capabilities:
Capability | What it enables |
Client management | Create accounts, link existing clients, check onboarding status |
Access token generation | Obtain short-lived tokens to act on behalf of clients |
Case submission | Create collection cases with debtor and invoice details |
Status tracking | Monitor case progress via webhooks or polling |
Revenue reporting | Query earnings, filter by date and currency, track payment stages |
Partner information | Retrieve your account details and white-label styling configuration |
Environments
Debitura provides separate test and production environments. Your development team should build and test against the test environment before going live. Contact the partnerships team to obtain test credentials.
Attribution and fees
How you earn fees depends on how clients are linked:
Attributed clients - Clients you brought to Debitura. All cases from these clients generate referral fees, regardless of how the cases are created
Non-attributed clients - Clients who already existed in Debitura before linking to your platform. Only cases submitted through your API (using bearer tokens) generate fees
See Lead tracking and quotes for more on how Debitura tracks attribution.
Next steps
New partners: Start with Getting started with Debitura
Need credentials: See Request credentials, environments, and support access
Developers ready to build: Visit Developer Docs for technical implementation details (link will be available when Developer Docs launches)
Developer Docs: Developers: Want to implement this integration? See Developer Docs: Referral Partners for technical guides and Developer Docs: Referral Partner API Reference for endpoint specifications.