Goal
Notify your collection partner that you received a payment directly from the debtor, so they can update the case and process any outstanding fees.
When this applies
You need to report a direct payment when:
The debtor paid you directly instead of the collection partner
You received payment to your own bank account while the case was active in Debitura
This situation can occur because some jurisdictions do not permit collection partners to receive payments directly, or the debtor may have chosen to pay you instead of the partner.
Important: Under the SDCA (§05.3), you must inform your collection partner in writing within 3 Business Days of receiving a direct payment. Failure to do so is a material breach, and the collection partner may be entitled to the full Success Fee on the total Principal Amount.
Steps
Log in to your Debitura account
Go to Cases in the client portal.Find and open the relevant case
Use the search or filters to locate the case where you received the direct payment. Click on the case to open the case detail page.Open the case chat
On the case detail page, find the chat section. This is where you communicate directly with the assigned collection partner. For more details on using the chat, see How to contact your collection partner.Send a message to the collection partner
Write a message informing the partner that you received a direct payment from the debtor. Do this within 3 Business Days of receiving the payment — this is a contractual obligation under the SDCA (§05.3). Include the following information:
The payment amount received
The date you received the payment
Any relevant payment reference or documentation
Attach proof of payment (recommended)
If you have a bank statement, payment confirmation, or receipt, attach it to your message. This helps the partner verify and register the payment accurately.
What happens next
After you report the payment:
The collection partner receives your message and a task to respond within 48 business hours.
The partner registers the payment in Debitura, recording that the payment was received by you (the client) rather than by them. If the case was already closed when you notified the partner, they may need to reopen it first.
The partner invoices you for their success fee and any applicable fees that would have been charged to the debtor.
Once you settle the partner's invoice, the case is marked as resolved.
To understand how payments flow between debtors, clients, and collection partners, see Payments, payouts and invoicing.
Receiving and paying the partner's invoice
The partner's success-fee invoice can reach you through Debitura. Debitura sends it on the partner's behalf: the email is written in the partner's name, the invoice is also posted in the case chat, and replies go to the partner, not to Debitura. The email goes to the user assigned to the case, or to all users in the case's division when nobody is assigned. It comes from Debitura ([email protected]), in English, with the subject "Invoice for partner commission (Case [reference]) – [partner name]". The invoice email follows your email settings: a user who has switched off case emails does not receive it. In your portal this invoice is called a fee request.
Where to find it: open Payments in the left menu and select the Fee requests tab. Use To pay, Paid, Voided or All to filter the list. Open the invoice PDF to see the invoice number, the amount, the due date and the payment instructions. See Clients: The Payments page.
How to pay: pay the collection partner according to the instructions on the invoice. The money goes from you to the partner. Debitura does not collect this fee and does not receive the payment.
Due date and days overdue: the invoice shows the due date printed on the document. Days overdue are counted from your payment deadline, which starts when the invoice reaches you. It can therefore be later than the printed due date.
Reminders: if the invoice is not paid by your payment deadline, Debitura sends up to three reminder emails, each with the invoice attached. The first goes out 5 days after the deadline to the user assigned to the case, the second 10 days later to all users in the case's division, and the third and final reminder 10 days after that. The reminders come from Debitura, replies go to the partner, and they show the invoice number, the amount and the due date with a link to the Payments page. Their subjects start with "Reminder:", "Overdue:" and "Final reminder:". They do not show interest or late fees, and you cannot switch them off in your email preferences. Debitura does not calculate interest or fees on the partner's invoice. The reminders stop once the partner records your payment, turns the reminders off or pauses them, or voids or replaces the invoice. Nothing is emailed after the third reminder.
In the portal: once an invoice is 5 days overdue, a banner appears across the client portal. From 15 days overdue a full-screen notice also appears when you open the portal, with View invoice, Go to case and Already paid? Tell partner in case chat. From 25 days overdue the notice is firmer (Action required, Payment overdue). You can dismiss the banner and the notice.
Questions or "I already paid": Debitura cannot confirm a payment, dispute an invoice, or change or waive it. Contact the partner instead: reply to the invoice or reminder email, or write in the case chat. There is no "I have paid" button. The partner records your payment, and the fee request then shows under Paid. For a problem with the platform itself, such as a reminder you did not receive, contact Debitura support.
One payment, one fee request: each fee request covers one payment from the debtor. If the debtor paid you in several payments, you can receive more than one fee request, each with its own invoice number and due date.
Invoices from the partner's own system: a partner can also invoice you from their own accounting system and share the invoice in the case chat. Those invoices, and fees on payments recorded before fee requests existed, are not listed under Fee requests, and Debitura does not send reminders for them. Pay them according to the invoice and contact the partner with any questions.
Edge cases
Partial payment: If the debtor paid only part of the outstanding amount, report the partial amount received. The partner will update the case balance and continue collection on any remaining debt.
Payment before case was active: If you received payment before submitting the case or before the partner started work, contact the partner through the case chat to clarify. You may need to withdraw the case.